BY PAUL SALUS
Staff Writer
Usually, when you enter a wrestling tournament having to forfeit at three weight classes, your chances for a team championship go out the window.
Monmouth Regional’s effort on Saturday proved that is not always the case as they overcame their shortcomings to win the team title at the Holmdel Christmas Tournament.
The Falcons used three individual championships and a slew of second- and third-place finishes to top the field with 102 points, narrowly edging out Manasquan (99) and Freehold (90.5).
Jim Eggie was the first individual winner for the Falcons, taking the title at 112 with a 9-3 win over Manasquan’s Tom Farese. Eggie was dominant in all three of his matches on the day, scoring a pair of pins to get to the final.
Sophomore Kyle Christiansen made it back-to-back wins for the Falcons when he beat Manasquan’s Dave Alseiux by a technical fall (17-2) in the 112-pound final. Christiansen was equally impressive on the day, scoring two pins in the earlier rounds in 27 and 28 seconds, respectively, before his dominating showing in the final.
Mike West was the third individual champion for Monmouth, winning the 171-pound title with a pin of Keansburg’s Brandon Bullock at the one-minute mark of their match. Like Eggie and Christiansen, West also pinned his way to the finals, scoring a pin at the 1:11 mark of his quarterfinal match before topping his semifinal-round opponent at the 5:29 mark.
Monmouth also had its share of second-place finishes, led by senior Joe Silva at 125, who lost to Manasquan’s Steve Schiavo, 15-7, in the final. Monmouth’s Zach Maines also took second at 130, dropping the final to Holmdel’s Ryan Lambertson by pinfall (3:35).
Anthony Bongarzone took third at 119, winning his consolation match over St. John Vianney’s Joe Cangelosi by tech fall, 17-2.Rumson-Fair Haven had its share of top finishes, led by sophomore J.C. Clark, who won the title at 135 by beating St. John Vianney’s Lenny Sasso by major decision, 11-3. Clark pinned his way to the final, winning his quarterfinal match in 3:25 before coming back to win by pinfall in 3:51 in the semifinals.
RFH also had a pair of second-place finishes from Pete Venti at 140 and Jason Sena at 189. T.J. Van Cleef took fourth at 112.
Shore Regional had a strong showing, led by senior Billy Jungfer, who won the 140-pound title with a pin over Venti in 1:28. Jungfer also recorded a pin in the semifinals.
Junior Brian Wrubel was the champion at 275 after winning by injury default in the final against Holmdel’s Chris Rue. Wrubel recorded a pin in the semifinals to get to the final.
Sophomore Ted Fister took second at 125, losing to the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, Freehold’s Nick Triozzi, in the final, 14-6. Triozzi was the bracket’s eighth seed and won four matches to earn the title.
Sophomore Tim Walden took second place at 152, losing in the final to SJV’s Gabe Cannico by pinfall (4:32). Eric Marley took third at 112, beating RFH’s Van Cleef in the consolation round with a 37-second pin. Sophomore Adam Chiarella took fourth at 215.
Long Branch fourth
at Walter Woods tourney
The Long Branch Green Wave participated in its second tourney of the year this past weekend, traveling to Middletown South for the Walter Wood Holiday Tournament, and emerging with a fourth-place team finish.
The Wave finished with 100 team points, behind Middletown North (197.5), St. John Vianney (173.5) and Point Boro (104), led by Manny Navarro’s individual title at 275.
The junior beat SJV’s Jon Lazarchick, 11-8, in the final, after recording a 9-2 win in the semifinals over Middletown South’s Nick Rubino.
Long Branch also got second-place finishes from Nick Groeger at 119 and Anthony Loring at 135. Groeger ran into Middletown North’s Frank Molinaro in the 199 final, just a week after losing to the freshman phenom in the finals at the Neptune Classic. Molinaro once again proved to be too tough for Groeger, as he pinned the Long Branch junior in 3:34.
Loring lost to SJV’s Anthony Pardun by pinfall (59 seconds) in his final after scoring a hard-fought 3-2 win in the semifinals.
Long Branch also got fourth-place finishes from Sergio Chiaparra (140), Joe Miscia (160), Don Conover (189) and Sean Sims (130).