By: Sean Moylan
Northern Burlington County Regional High School wrestling standouts Steve Makuka (130), Mike Brewer (135), Rich Feig (152), Ryan Buchanan (160) and Chris Garofalo (215) were all eliminated in Region VII Tournament action this past weekend at Eastern High School.
And while only Erik George advanced to the NJSIAA Finals at Atlantic City, all of NBC’s other qualifying grapplers went down fighting to the bitter end.
With fourth-place finishes, Rich Feig and Ryan Buchanan both did as well as they could without moving on.
On Friday, Camden Catholic’s Joe Danfield slipped by Feig, 6-4. However, Feig fought back and pinned Maple Shade’s Bill Calhoun in the first round of wrestlebacks. Then in the second round of wrestlebacks, Feig clubbed Cherry Hill West’s John Lynch, 9-4.
Unfortunately, in the consolation finals for third place, Haddonfield’s Patrick Hessert pinned Feig with 22 seconds remaining in the third period.
"He (Feig) went under the radar and had an unbelievable season. He had a win in about every dual match. It’s a shame to see some of these guys end their season on a loss," noted NBC head coach Jule Dolci. Feig finished with an amazing 31-5 record.
Buchanan, on the other hand, started out with a 7-2 victory over Kevin Woods from Eastern in Friday’s quarterfinals.
But Riverside’s Brendon Griffin captured a tough 2-1 decision against Buchanan in the semis. Buchanan bounced back to top his Trenton buddy Tyrone White, 9-5, in the second round of wrestlebacks. However, that was the end of the line for the tough-as-nails NBC 1670-pounder, who was beaten by Haddon Height’s Tyler Orlando in the consolation finals for third place overall.
‘Tough, tough kid," Coach Dolci said of Buchanan. "He was born to be a wrestler and a hard-nosed guy. What he’s done for our program the last four years . . . you can’t replace that." Buchanan’s record was 12-3.
Makuka (25-10), who won a District 25 title just like Buchanan, was eliminated by Camden Catholic’s Ryan McCormick, 3-1, in the second round of wrestlebacks. Previously, he had lost in the quarterfinals to Willingboro’s Brandon Hill (10-6) before clubbing Hamilton North’s Greg Ambrose, 12-3, in the second round of wrestlebacks. Makuka ended the tourney in a fifth place tie.
"I thought he (Makuka) really wrestled well. He took a couple of steps up to a new level this season. It really will help him the next couple of years," remarked Coach Dolci.
Many thought that 215-pound senior District champ Chris Garofalo (26-4) represented NBC’s best chance for a state title. Unfortunately, Garofalo was sick and dropped both of his matches (Moorestown’s Al Pierce beat him in the quarterfinals and Camden Catholic’s Mike Ragone edged Garofalo 3-1 in Saturday’s wrestlebacks).
"Chris (Garofalo) ran into some bad luck getting the flu this time of year. He had a really great four years. Hopefully he’ll keep pushing it at the next level," said Coach Dolci.
Garofalo placed seventh overall.
And while Mike Brewer lost both of his Region VII matches to tough competitors (Cherry Hill West’s Tom Cunningham and Pennsauken’s Jorge Vazquez), no one could take away from his many accomplishments this season.
"He’s (Brewer) been through a lot the past four years. This has been his best season yet. He wrestles hard and aggressively. He knows his stuff inside and out," remarked NBC’s head coach of his 25-9 135-pounder.
Northern Burlington should be very proud of its wrestling squad. It won a District 25 title and almost advanced as many wrestlers to Regions as the entire county of Mercer. This is a great program and hopefully George (30-5) will do well in Atlantic City.
