South Brunswick High junior goes for 135-pound championship Sunday at the Meadowlands arena.
By: Ken Weingartner
EAST RUTHERFORD Winning a state wrestling championship is something Kyle Nasdeo might dream about, provided he could get to sleep.
But he doesn’t expect to sleep much Saturday night.
"Oh, no," the South Brunswick High School junior said with a laugh minutes after advancing to the semifinals at 135 pounds in the NJSIAA wrestling championships with an 8-6 win over Kevin Bryan of Seton Hall.
"I’ll be thinking about everything."
Nasdeo, the second seed, will face No. 3 Mike Weber of Kittatinny in the semifinals at the Continental Airlines Arena. In the other semi, returning state champ Mark Manchio of Sterling meets Joe Marotta of Wood-Ridge. Semifinal action is scheduled to begin 11 a.m. Sunday. The finals are slated for 3 p.m.
Nasdeo, who lost to Manchio in last year’s quarterfinals at 130 pounds, is 33-1 this season. Weber, also a junior, is 32-3.
"This is better than last year," said Nasdeo, who dropped his first two matches at the arena last year and was eliminated from the tourney. "I won a match, so I achieved one of my goals. Now it’s to become a state champ."
Nasdeo trailed Bryan, 6-5, entering the final period but used an escape and takedown to earn the win. He rode out Bryan the last minute of the bout to gain the triumph.
"I felt pretty good," Nasdeo said. "I thought I would do a little bit better than that. There are so many people here, it’s kind of intimidating. But I learned last year not to get psyched out and not to pay attention to the fans."
Nasdeo is the first South Brunswick wrestler in what coach Joe Dougherty called "the common era" to reach the semifinals of the state tournament.
"It’s pretty exciting," Dougherty said. "We didn’t know much about (Bryan) but we knew he was tough. Everyone here is tough."
Dougherty said remaining aggressive is the key to advancing in the tournament.
"You watch all the best kids here and they just go, go, go," he said.
Weber advanced to the semifinals with a 7-6 victory over Rob Morello of Freehold Township. Nasdeo defeated Morello, 11-9, at last year’s "super regions" at 130 pounds.
The top-seeded Manchio (21-0) advanced to the semifinals with a 13-3 victory over Anthony Popeskic of Triton. Marotta (29-3), the fourth seed, pinned Brad Webb of Randolph in 1:58. Both Manchio and Marotta are seniors.
Nasdeo won’t have to worry about dreaming of a title if he can go out Sunday and win it. He knows what it will take.
"I just have to do my job," he said.