By Warren Rappleyea
Three Old Bridge High School wrestlers won championships at the District 20 competition Feb. 20 in South Brunswick, and five others finished in the top three in their respective weight classes to qualify for the Region 5 Tournament Feb. 28.
All those top-three placements helped coach Bryan Garnett’s Knights compile 190 points, well ahead of second-place Monroe Township High School, which finished with 162.5 points.
Mike Botte won the District 20 title at 113 pounds, Xavier Jenkins captured the 152-pound championship and Dan Makagon won at 220 pounds for the Knights.
Jenkins, who leads the Knights with a 32-2 mark, scored a major decision over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South’s Steven O’Campo to clinch the district. The Old Bridge senior won the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) championship in his weight class earlier this season. Jenkins also clinched his team’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group V semifinals win with a major decision.
Makagon earned the district title by edging Monroe’s Nicholas Goff, 8-5. Also a senior, Makagon has posted a 28-6 mark this winter. Botte, a sophomore who sports a 25-9 mark, pinned Sayreville War Memorial High School’s Francisco Roman in the district finale.
Steve Nadera took second place at 120 pounds. The senior, who won his 100th match earlier in the season, is 31-3 and has a career mark of 119-26. At 106 pounds, sophomore Jake Wiatrowski, who is 26-10 this season, took second place.
Third-place finishers included senior Nezzar Dimes, who is 19-13 at 138 pounds; senior heavyweight Dakota De Santis (25-10); and junior T. J. Angstadt (21-12) at 145 pounds.
“We’re very proud to have so many of our wrestlers move on to the region tournament,” Garnett said. “Our team had a very strong season and they deserve the success they’ve had.”
The Knights went 16-4 on the year and scored victories over opponents such as Hillsborough High School, Piscataway Township High School, Watchung Hills Regional High School, Wayne Valley High School and Woodbridge High School. After upsetting Hunterdon Central Regional High School in the Central Jersey Group V semifinals, Old Bridge fell to Howell High School, 44-16, in the finals, despite major-decision wins by Jenkins and Mike Murphy.
Along the way, Garnett picked up his 100th win at the helm. After a four-year hiatus, Garnett returned to the Old Bridge sideline last season and has produced back-to-back 16-4 campaigns.
“We have great, hard-working kids and great parents,” the coach said. “Our athletes are in top shape, and they could go the distance with anyone. We had some really big wins.”
Garnett also credited his three assistant coaches — Dave Kiley, Mike Corrigan and Rob Weiss — for his team’s success.