Lions’ Oswin takes title at South Christmas tourney
Jackson dominates
holiday tournament
for fifth straight year
FARRAH MAFFAI Middletown North’s Mark Fields goes to work on Colts Neck’s Paul Pizzuto during their 215-pound bout at the Middletown South Christmas Tournament on Dec. 22.
The Middletown South Christmas Wrestling Tournament is one of the more traditional holiday tournaments found in the Shore Conference, and is recognized for its ability to attract some of the area’s top wrestling programs.
But there’s another tradition growing within the tournament, specifically the Jackson wrestling team’s ability to come into the tournament and walk away with the overall team title. The Jaguars won the Middletown South tourney for a fifth year in a row Dec. 22, with a dominating performance that included six first-place winners, a second-place finisher and four third-place finishers. The end result was 225 1/2 points, easily beating out second-place Woodbridge (191 points).
The host Eagles finished in sixth place (52 points) in the 11-team tournament, and saw their cross-town rivals from Middletown North take fourth with 106 1/2 points.
The Lions got a first-place finish from 140-pound senior Ryan Oswin, who pinned Freehold Township’s Jim Anderson in the final, despite having the bout stopped when he choked Anderson while holding him in a cradle.
For Oswin, it was his second tournament win this season, after taking home the individual title at the Neptune Classic earlier this year. Oswin was impressive throughout the Christmas Tournament, registering a pin in his quarterfinal match (3:58), a technical fall in his semifinal match (17-1), before ending his match with Anderson with a pin at the 2:49 mark.
Although Oswin was the only local wrestler to win an individual title, a pair of Middletown wrestlers came away with second-place finishes. Middletown South senior Tom Anderson lost to Jackson’s outstanding 119-pounder Jay Koonts, 3-0, after registering a technical fall (16-1) and a hard-fought 5-4 win in his earlier matches.
Middletown North senior Joe Bisking also took home a second-place trophy after marching his way to the 171-pound final with a quarterfinal-round pin at 0:46, and another pin at the 2:14 mark on his semifinal match. In the final, however, he ran into Jackson’s Jeremy Edwards, who finished third in Region VI last year and was pinned at the 1:34 mark.
A number of Middletown wrestlers walked away with third-place trophies after winning their consolation matches. At 119 pounds, Middletown North senior Derek Torchia registered a 9-6 win in his consolation match after dropping his semifinal bout to Jackson’s Koonts (4-2).
At 130, North freshman Ben Hockin, the younger brother of the school’s all-time winningest wrestler John Hockin, made an impressive tournament debut by winning his consolation match, 12-6. Hockin lost in the semifinals, 12-1.
At 145 pounds, North senior Pat Cross took third after winning his consolation match with a pin at the 3:43 mark.
And at 171 pounds, South junior Matt Fish took third with a consolation 6-3 win, after dropping an earlier match to Bisking in the semifinal round.
Among the local wrestlers who finished in fourth place in their respective weight classes were South’s Scott Barbour (112), and Anthony Macaluso (189), and North’s Matt Fix (135), and Ryan Miller (160).