By: Kyle Moylan Sports Editor
Going back five years, Robbinsville High wasn’t even officially a varsity wrestling team. Now, for the second year in a row, Robbinsville is officially the best team in all of District 25.
“We were 2-14 in my freshman year,” noted Brandon DiDonato, a senior who was one of five individual District 25 champions for Robbinsville. “We just decided we didn’t want to lose anymore.”
Well, that and the fact the Robbinsville Rec Department has steadily supplied the high school with amazing wrestling talent.
Robbinsville gets better every year. It needed a win in the last match by DiDonato to pull out the District 25 title last year. This year Robbinsville’s 188 points was 66.5 more points than anyone else in the District 25 Tournaments, which was held this past weekend at Rancocas Valley High School.
“I was a lot more pumped up last year because there was so much more on the line,” noted DiDonato.
Because the finals started at 171 pounds, DiDonato was the first Robbinsville wrestler to earn a title when he defeated Northern Burlington’s Cody Melton, 5-2, to win the 285-pound classification.
DiDonato was the first of four straight champions for Robbinsville. David Bossie (103), Brian O’Toole (112) and Jared Icenhower (119) followed with championships.
Bossie defeated Hamilton West’s Jared Staub, 4-0, in the championship match. It was the third time Bossie has wrestled Staub this season and he has yet to surrender a point.
“This is the part of the season that makes all of that practicing worthwhile,” Bossie said. “Everything from here on out really matters.”
Brian O’Toole, a junior, was excited just to get a chance to wrestle. He couldn’t even crack the Robbinsville lineup last year. This year, he defeated Nottingham’s Jonathan Delgado by a 20-5 technical fall in the championship match at 112 pounds.
“This is the best team we’ve ever had and I’m just glad to be a part of it,” O’Toole said.
A spot opened up for O’Toole when Icenhower moved to 119 pounds. Icenhower won the title last year (at 112) and he pinned Hightstown’s Cody Parker to win at 119 pounds on Saturday night.
“Most of the guys in my grade (junior) wrestled together at Robbinsville Rec,” Icenhower noted. “We were expecting big things, but nothing like this. Everything is coming really quick.”
Robbinsville’s fifth champion came at 152 pounds when Jordon Hankins defeated Nottingham’s Jonathan Sanchez, 3-0, in the title match.
“I still don’t think I’m all the way back where I could be,” noted Hankins, who is 10-1 after missing the beginning of the season with a suspension. “To win a match like this one, I had to give it everything I had.”
The champion of each weight class earned a spot in the Region 7 quarterfinals, which are being hosted by Robbinsville this week. The second- and third-place finishers in District 25 needed to win a match on Tuesday to reach the Region 7 quarterfinals.
Jeffrey Bruno (125), Matthew Joseph (130) and Christian Nemeth (215) all placed second. Andrew Reca pinned Steinert’s Brandon Bernstein in the consolation final to place third.
“I think the fact we’re hosting (Region 7) played into what you saw here this weekend,” Robbinsville Coach Rich Gildner said. “I know the seniors were excited about getting the chance to wrestle some of their last matches in that gym. Getting a chance to host the regions is exciting for the kids, the school and the community.”
Hankins, for one, would like to thank Gildner for helping get Robbinsville to this point. Gildner was named the Coach of the Year at the District 25 Tournament. According to Hankins, Gildner was the real deal before this year.
“When I was in seventh grade, Coach Gildner came in and took over the program,” Hankins noted. “We were 14-4 my freshman year, 17-1 last year and 16-4 this year. Give the credit to Coach Gildner and all of the coaches in the feeder program.”
NOTES: Jeffrey Condit (135), David Steward (140), Jeremy Sander (171) and James Liu (189) also competed in the District 25 Tournament for Robbinsville.
GIRLS HOOPS
The Robbinsville High School girls basketball team was defeated by Trenton Catholic, 77-26, in the opening game of the Mercer County Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Rachel Stepien scored seven points and Jen Bryan added six points for Robbinsville.
Robbinsville defeated Ewing, 53-33, on Thursday in a consolation game in the Mercer County Tournament.
Amanda Orlak (17 points) and Taylor Mayweather (12 points) both scored in double figures for Robbinsville. Jen Bryan and Christine Levering added eight points each.
BOYS HOOPS
The Robbinsville High School boys basketball team was defeated by Trenton, 77-51, in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Sam Burum scored 20 points and Steve Kowalski added nine points in the loss.
Robbinsville defeated Allentown, 49-42, on Thursday in a consolation game of the Mercer County Tournament.
Sam Burun (15 points) and Steve Kowalski (14 points) both scored in double figures for Robbinsville. Joe Carrubba (eight points), Ryan Mayer (six points), Johnny Demkovitz (three points) and Brett Hackel (three points) also scored for Robbinsville.
ICE HOCKEY
The Robbinsville High School ice hockey team was defeated by West Windsor South, 4-2, on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
Robbie Colton and Robbie Boyne scored for Robbinsville.
