Good Bears squad facing tough Red Division schedule
Four of GMC’s
top teams vie
for division title
The East Brunswick wrestling team is in a tough spot. Despite having an experienced team, with a number of solid wrestlers returning from last year, the Bears happen to be in the same division as the three top teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
Wrestling in the GMC’s Red Division will certainly make you a better wrestler. Squaring off against grapplers from schools such as South Plainfield, Old Bridge and South Brunswick can only help you develop your skills as the season progresses. The problem is, it will also keep you from racking up wins.
Glen Pazinko’s East Brunswick team has performed well thus far, taking a 3-3 record into yesterday’s match against J.P. Stevens. With wins over Woodbridge, Sayreville and West Windsor, the Bears have wrestled well enough to be a leader in most divisions.
Then you look at their three losses. First was South Plainfield, the top rated team in the GMC, followed by South Brunswick, currently ranked third in the GMC, and Perth Amboy, also ranked in the top 10. And then you realize that all three teams are in the Red Division, as is an Old Bridge squad the Bears are yet to face and that Pazinko expects to challenge South Plainfield for the top spot in the GMC. That’s when you begin to see why East Brunswick is facing a uphill challenge.
But Pazinko is confident that his team will be competitive with these top squads throughout the year.
"We have a lot of kids with experience, and some who are in their first year of varsity wrestling," the 11th-year Coach said. "We certainly have a lot of guys back, but we have holes to fill at the same time."
Pazinko said that the problem his team faces is finding quality starters to fill every weight class, a problem that more and more coaches seem to be facing this year throughout the GMC.
"Fourteen weight classes is a lot to fill," he said. "And to place solid kids throughout the entire line-up is not that easy."
Pazinko said that as a result, he’s had to mix up his line-up in order to get to three wins.
"A lot of the things that we do depend largely on match-ups," he said. "If we can’t get the match-ups we need, we seem to have trouble winning matches."
The Bears do have some spots where they are exceedingly strong, starting with the 125-pound weight class. Junior Keith Ritchings has been very solid thus far, coming off a season where he was 23-8 and was the top guy in Region 5. He has continued his dominance thus far, and is looking forward to defending his region title.
Sophomore Brian Ackerman has also impressed Pazinko in the early going, dominating his matches at the 130-pound class.
The lighter weight classes are being filled with freshman and sophomores, which is good for the future of the program, but doesn’t always translate into wins now.
From 135-pounds and up, the Bears feature an experienced line-up with senior Nick Yannazzo (135), who finished 13-12 last year; sophomore John Clay (171), who was 8-8 last year; and senior Adam Fleischauer (215), 13-9 last year, all back after making it to the regions last year.
At heavyweight, senior Dennis Bruno is also back, a year after going 18-8, when he won a District 20 title and finished fourth in the region.
Pazinko is also looking for some wins from sophomore Nate Mull (140/45) and senior Matt Kolbeck (171/89), who should be improved since last year.
By the end of the season, the Bears’ record will probably not be a true indication of how they wrestled this year. Their schedule is loaded with top teams, most of which they will see at least twice in divisional matches.
This Saturday, the Bears will get their first look at an Old Bridge squad which is challenging for the top spot in the conference. The Knights have been steamrolling their competition to this point, and don’t show any signs of letting up.
Pazinko expects Saturday’s match in Old Bridge to be as tough a challenge as his team will face all year.
"I think they might be the best team in the conference this year, and I certainly think they have a shot at knocking off South Plainfield," he said.
And those are just the two best teams in the Bears’ division.