Now that the dual meets are behind them, area wrestlers will begin the most important part of their seasons this weekend.
The NJSIAA District 21 Championships are the first step on the path to every wrestler’s dream — going to Atlantic City, the site of the state championships.
For area wrestlers, the journey starts at Manalapan High School, which is hosting the 11-team District 21 tournament on Feb. 22.
District 21 is one of the most loaded districts in the state, with five teams that qualified for the state sectional championships — Howell High School, Jackson Memorial High School, Jackson Liberty High School, St. John Vianney High School and Manalapan. Howell won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV crown on Feb. 14, defeating Brick Memorial High School, 27-25.
Colts Neck High School, Freehold High School, Freehold Township High School, Holmdel High School, Matawan Regional High School and Marlboro High School complete the District 21 field.
Many wrestlers who will be chasing state championship medals in Atlantic City will be on display this weekend.
There will be seven returning champions looking to become multiple winners. Jackson Liberty’s Mike Russo (120 pounds) and T.J. Liquori (160), Colts Neck’s Nick Ottaviano (126), Howell’s Joey Schultz (170) and Kyle Cocozza (heavyweight), and Jackson Memorial’s Connor Bohringer (182) and Ken Bradley (195) are the returning champions.
Because there is so much talent in this district, there are many good wrestlers who will see their seasons — and in some cases careers — come to a conclusion this weekend.
Wrestlers don’t necessarily have to leave Manalapan as District 21 champions to be happy with their results. The second- and third-place finishers in their respective weight classes will also advance to the next hurdle, which is the Region 6 Championships at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River on Feb. 26, Feb. 28 and March 1.
While this weekend is all about the individuals, the final team championship of the season is also up for grabs.
Howell is the defending champion, having won a close three-team battle last year with Manalapan and Jackson Memorial. The Rebels won with 161 points, followed by the Braves (153) and Jaguars (151).
Manalapan became the first team to break the one-two stranglehold that Jackson Memorial and Howell have had in the tournament the past decade. Since 1998, only two teams have won the championship — the Jaguars and Rebels. Jackson Memorial ran off 11 in a row from 1998 to 2008. Howell dethroned the Jaguars in 2009, and the Jaguars were back in 2010-11. The Rebels have won the last two, and they are the favorites to make it three straight and four in the last six years.
Howell put the “can’t win the big one” label behind it by capturing its first Shore Conference Tournament and Central Jersey Group IV championships.
Howell heads into this weekend as balanced as ever, led by returning champions Schultz and Cocozza.
The Rebels had plenty of other wrestlers step up this season, especially at the lower weights, with Peter Dee (106), Mike Sisolak (113), Jimmy Slendorn (120), Anthony Gagliano (126) and Kris Lindemann (132) all having won at least 20 matches.
Stephen Boncimino (195) and Nate Litowsky (220) have been Howell’s answers up top.
Jackson Memorial has its share of standouts as well, with Fredy Terranova (113), Sean Leahey (152), Jarrett DiGiantomasso (160) and Brody Graham (220) joining the Jaguars’ returning champions as contenders.
Bradley is seeking his third District 21 crown. Manalapan has a lot of quality in its lineup, led by Ben Aquilina (27-2) at 195. A two-time District 21 place-winner, he is seeking his first title. He’s hungry to leave this year’s tournament as a champion.
Joe Santamarco (138), Jake Kaminsky (145), Steven Chandler (160) and Anthony Benedetti (182) have been the Braves’ cornerstones.
Speaking of quality, that is Jackson Liberty’s strength. Russo (27-0) is seeking his third district title. He finished fourth in the state last winter. Liquori is 23-1.
Matt Russo (132) and Mike McKenzie (220) are other Liberty Lions to watch out for.
Freehold Township is led by Nick De- Pierro (113), who qualified for Atlantic City last winter. He’s 26-3 and joined the 100-career win club this year, as did Schultz and Slendorn.
Mike Plaska (106) also bears watching.
Colts Neck has serious contenders as well. Ottaviano is 29-1. Austin Maltez (113) has won 25 matches.
Marlboro is looking to Pete Powell (138), Dan Saraiva (145) and Jeff Goldrosen (160) to extend their seasons past this weekend.
Other contenders this weekend are Freehold’s Colin Monahan (113); Matawan’s James Pierce (152), Chris Hartigan (170) and Sultan Abdelaziz (heavyweight); and St. John Vianney’s Paul Piccone (113) and Terrence Davis (145).
On Feb. 22, wrestling will begin with the preliminaries at 9 a.m. The quarterfinals, semifinals and consolation matches begin at 12:30 p.m., with the finals scheduled fora4p.m.start.