Howell High School’s Pete Dee maintains his control of Brick Memorial High School’s Giovanni Ghione during their 106-pound match at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship finals on Feb. 14 in Howell. Dee’s 1-0 overtime win was critical for the Rebels, who captured their first state sectional title with a 27-25 win over the defending champions. MATT DENTON What a difference six days has meant to the Howell High School wrestling program. The Rebels have gone from the program that couldn’t win the big one to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV champions.
Howell captured its first state sectional title on Feb. 14 at home before a packed gym, defeating Brick Memorial High School, 27-25.
It was the second time in two weeks that Howell knocked off one of the state’s marquee programs. On Feb. 1, Howell won its first Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) championship by beating the Mustangs, 28-27.
There is no getting around how big that SCT win was for Howell, and what it meant for the program and these wrestlers.
In those wins, it was the Rebels who were winning the toss-up matches, winning the matches that went into overtime, and avoiding giving up bonus points while getting them where they needed them. In other words, they did all the things that championship teams do.
Joey Schultz said the SCT win “gave us more confidence,” and he added that the Rebels took the approach, “If we beat them once, we can beat them again.”
Jimmy Slendorn, who sealed the sectional win with his 4-0 decision at 120 pounds, agreed with Schultz.
“Our confidence level has gone up,” he said.
Howell needed all of that confidence when Brick Memorial led 25-15 with four matches remaining. That meant that Howell had to win all four of them. Fortunately, they were four matches that Howell had won in the SCT finals, starting with Kyle Cocozza at heavyweight.
“I knew what I had to do,” the Rebels’ senior said. “[Opponent Nick Rivera is] a tough kid, and they’re a tough team. I knew my gas tank was a lot more full than his.”
Cocozza relied on his conditioning to outlast Rivera, 5-4, and keep Howell alive.
It was then into the teeth of Howell’s strength — its lower weights.
The match of the night was at 106, where Howell’s Peter Dee and Brick Memorial’s Gianna Ghione, both state ranked, waged an incredible battle of wills. Neither scored a point through three periods, and Dee scored a point on an escape to win it, 1-0, in overtime.
“That was an amazing match, a great high school match,” Rebels head coach John Gagliano said.
It was now 25-21, and the packed gym at Howell High School could sense history in the making.
Mike Sisolak kept the momentum going, beating Luke Vescovi, 7-1, duplicating his conference win and making it 25-24 with one match remaining. Fittingly, it came down Slendorn, a senior and one of two Rebels to reach 100 career wins this year (the other was Schultz), and his 120-pound match with Luis Bocalman.
Previously, Howell had never been the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey Group IV, and never got to host the finals and feed off a frenzied home crowd.
“It was awesome,” Slendorn said of wrestling in front of the boisterous home fans. “It elevates it to a different level. It fires you up.”
Slendorn, of course, didn’t need extra firing up. Howell’s fate rested on his shoulders.
“I knew what I had to do,” he said. “[Bocalman] was better on his feet this time.”
The match was scoreless through the first period, with Slendorn taking control with a reversal in the second period to lead 2-0. When he scored on a takedown in the third period for a 4-0 lead, everyone knew a Howell victory was inevitable. As the fans counted down the final seconds, Slendorn said it was “euphoric.”
It was easily the biggest win of his career.
“One hundred wins is an individual accomplishment. I got to enjoy this with the whole team. It’s awesome,” he said.
For Cocozza, the championship came out of the work that everyone on the team and the coaching staff had put into the season. It was a reward.
“We worked so hard in the [wrestling] room, it’s great to see it pay off,” he said after the victory. “Everyone told us if Howell was going to do it, this was the year. There was no letting off the gas pedal all year.”
That conditioning could well have been the difference in those overtime wins that loomed so large in the tight match.
Schultz edged Cliff Ruggiero with a takedown in overtime, 3-1, in their 170- pound match.
At 182, Stephen Boncimino trailed 2-1 in the third period and was in the defensive position to start. He came through with a reversal to take a 3-2 lead. Brick Memorial’s Connor Owen forced overtime with an escape. Boncimino then won the match with a takedown, 5-3.
Had either of those matches gone the other way, Howell would not have won.
“Those are the matches you have to win,” Gagliano said.
While Brick Memorial was racing out to a 13-3 lead after four straight wins — Anthony Gagliano had opened the match with a 3-0 win at 126 to give Howell a 3-0 lead — Howell needed a spark, and Nick Lurski gave it to them by pinning Tim Santiago at 4:54 in a 160-pound match.
“That was huge,” John Gagliano said. “That got us going.”
Howell did the small things that win matches as well, including avoiding bonus points.
Kris Lindemann was on his back in the first period against Joe Ghione in their 136- pound match, but he didn’t give up the pin or bonus points, losing 7-3. It was a loss, but Howell avoided near disaster.
At 145, Howell’s Anthony Pozsonyi had been pinned by Brick Memorial’s Alec Donovan in the SCT finals, but he saved the team two points by losing a major decision, 18-7, this time around.
All of those little things added up.
Howell had beaten Monroe Township High School, 43-16, in their sectional semifinals on Feb. 12.
After the win, Howell’s wrestlers lifted Gagliano on their shoulders in appreciation for what he and his coaching staff have done to elevate the Rebels to the point that they are now on an equal footing with Brick Memorial and Jackson Memorial High School. This is Gagliano’s team, and the wrestlers reflect his principles of working hard, making no excuses and giving it your all in a match.
Gagliano was quick to spread the credit around, however.
“I have to say the coaches did an amazing job preparing them well all year long,” he said.
Assistants Todd Going, Chris Provow, and Jason Brandl, and volunteers Mike Verrochi, Rich Famularo, Harry Turner and Jason Ecklof make up the Howell staff.
Howell’s greatest dual meet season concluded on Feb. 16 at the Group IV semifinals, where Southern Regional High School beat the Rebels, 34-24. The Rams had beaten Howell 28-19 during the regular season.
The Rebels finished the year 28-4, marking the program’s most wins in a season.
There is still one more championship to chase, and that is the NJSIAA District 21 tournament title on Feb. 22 at Manalapan High School, where Howell is the two-time defending champion.