By Justin Feil, Contributor
Kevin Faulkner is going to Atlantic City for the Tournament of Champions., The Hillsborough High School junior has been there before to watch the state’s top competition. This time, he will be a part of it after placing fourth at 160 pounds at the Region 5 championships on Saturday. The top four finishers from each weight class at regions advance to the TOC that begins Friday and continues through Sunday in Atlantic City., “I remember ever since I was little, it was a dream to go there,” Faulkner said. “I remember going to Hillsborough and Hunterdon Central to watch districts and regions. I always wished I’d be that good. Now that it’s here, it’s a dream come true.”, Faulkner will be the lone Raider wrestling at the TOC. Faulkner opened the regions with a 10-0 major decision win over Corey Knoth of Sayreville. He was ahead early, but lost in the quarterfinals, 4-3, to Nicholas Cofone of Middletown North. In the consolation first round, Faulkner topped Chris Ammirati of Holmdel, 7-1. He sealed a berth in the TOC by advancing to the third-place match when he overcame an early deficit for a 9-2 win over James Verbeyst of Princeton. He finished fourth when Cofone defeated him again, but his TOC spot was already secured., “I’m extremely proud of Kevin,” said Hillsborough first-year head coach Ron Dolenti. “I think it’s just an awesome experience for him to get the opportunity to put all the hard work that he’s put into wrestling throughout the dual meet season then into the postseason in the district tournament and regional tournament., “Of all the different sports that the NJSIAA sponsors, the hardest place to win a state championship of all those sports that are out there is a wrestling state championship. To qualify for the championships is a very proud moment for the wrestler and the coach and to have the opportunity to compete with other such great athletes in the bracket with you and the other weights, it’s a great opportunity for myself as a first-year head coach of a program that was young this year but had some tough young wrestlers. For us to have one make it, it’s gratifying and just a great situation.”, The decisive moment for Faulkner came in the first period against Verbeyst. The two were competing for the chance to punch their ticket to the TOC., “He went out and James took him down and he gave up a point,” Dolenti said. “I said, ‘This will tell if he’s Atlantic City material, how he reacts to this short window of adversity.’ You have to be resilient right away and stick to your plan and keep moving yourself and not really worry about the points you gave up. Some wrestlers can’t do that. They go through a psychological block if they gives up points that they’re defeated or worrying about in that moment the points they gave up. Kevin didn’t do that, and I could tell from the matches before, he was wrestling at his peak. He came up and immediately went to work on Verbeyst and took Verbeyst down.”, Two other Hillsborough wrestlers also competed at the Region 5 meet, but did not earn a top four finish to automatically advance to the TOC. Ray O’Callahan was eliminated with a loss in the first round to Donald Albach of Monroe., “I thought it was great for Ray O’Callahan to even qualify,” Dolenti said. “He was a kid that I really thought deserved it with the work he’s been putting in and the level he’d been wrestling at to qualify. I definitely think he’s in a position to qualify for the state championships next year. He has a ton of experience wrestling at that level and those types of guys. The weekend tournament showed the level that he needed to wrestle at next year to be considered a qualifier for the state championships.”, Michael Dooley, Faulkner’s wrestling partner in practice, came painstakingly close to qualifying at 182 pounds. He topped Been Schutsky of Hopewell Valley, 7-0, in his opener before losing to Michael Iodice of Hunterdon Central in the quarterfinals. In the wrestlebacks, he beat Matthew Johnson of Edison with a first-period pin. He was leading Josiah Walker of Saint John Vianney in the consolation semifinals that would have secured his spot for the TOC before Walker fought back to pin him. Dooley battled back to win his fifth-place match with a pin of Gustavo Palacio of South Brunswick. Dooley has continued to practice this week for the chance to compete at the TOC if someone in his weight class withdraws or does not make weight., “He’s not going to be satisfied until he gets to A.C.,” Dolenti said. “Michael came back and beat the guy from South Brunswick in the fifth/sixth match to become the fifth-place alternate. He still got a medal. Even though the top four get spots, they recognize the top five on the podium. He was recognized. I thought it was great he was recognized because he belonged there.”, Dooley and O’Callaghan traveled with Faulkner to Hunterdon Central on Monday and Tuesday to train with other TOC qualifiers. Faulkner will open the TOC as the No. 26 seed against seventh-seeded Matthew Dallara of Hasbrouck Heights on Friday., “I don’t know who he is, I’ve never wrestled him before,” Faulkner said. “I go out there and wrestle my match, wrestle how I normally wrestle. It’s gotten me this far, so I’m doing something right. I have to keep my mind right. At this point in the season, anything can happen. It doesn’t matter the seed or the score. It comes down to who wants it more.”, Faulkner has been looking forward to competing at the TOC for years. He went as a teammate to support the Raiders representatives Jack Donnadio and Austin Schimmel two years ago., “It definitely helps to watch that next level of wrestling and how good those kids perform,” Faulkner said. “It’s good to go down there and watch and see how good you have to be to get better than them.”, Getting there has been a long process of growth and development. Faulkner has been a solid wrestler for the Raiders for the last three seasons and the third time was the charm. He wrestled stronger at regions than he had at districts when he placed second., “I was the fifth seed,” Faulkner said of regions. “I actually didn’t think I was going to go. Then the kid I wrestled in districts and lost to (Cofone), it was a lot closer and a lot better this time. I didn’t think I’d be able to beat the third seed. I went out there and wrestled my match and got the win.”, The win is the result of his years of dedication to improving. His training over the offseason was his most involved yet., “It was definitely more intense,” Faulkner said. “I was going to the club a lot more and reaching out and going to more offseason tournaments. At least twice a week, I was running on the treadmill at least an hour. It’s all adding up.”, He’s been working every offseason to improve, and he came into this year a more polished and experienced wrestler thanks to his work., “I’d say definitely my neutral is a lot stronger, a lot quicker,” Faulkner said. “I’m quicker to the shots and quicker to finishing the shots. And bottom, freshman year I would not move on bottom. Working on bottom has played a huge role getting that 1-point escape and getting back on my feet has played a huge role in getting some wins.”, He also has done more competitions outside of school in the offseason. That has helped prepare him for what has been described sometimes as an intimidating crowd in Atlantic City., “I also wrestle at Virginia Beach and Wildwood, so a huge crowd is not new,” Faulkner said. “I have to keep my mind right and keep focused on the match and not focus on what’s around me but what’s in front of me.”, Faulkner will have a strong supporting group of fellow Hillsborough wrestlers on hand to cheer for him. Making it maintains an important standard for the Raiders, who have consistently sent a representative to the TOC. Faulkner is thrilled to do so with his senior year still ahead of him., “It’s definitely a huge opportunity,” he said. “Especially with upcoming freshmen, it’s going to look good for them too. I have to step up as a leader and take control of the team and show them if you put in the work, good things will come.”, Faulkner says he had a tough start to the season, but he came on steadily and is finishing where he always dreamed of. His progress makes his first trip to Atlantic City as a competitor all the more satisfying., “It was a little rough at first,” Faulkner said. “It’s going well. I didn’t think I’d make it this far. I proved myself wrong and showed I do deserve this. It came down to Michael Dooley and I pushing ourselves. Making it this far has been huge.”
