By: Kyle Moylan
Unlike their teammate Dan Indellicati, Tim Trivisonno and Ricardo Calamari did not qualify for the state finals this weekend in Atlantic City.
Also unlike Indellicati, Trivisonno and Calamari will both have another try.
"I felt bad for them, but the good thing is they are both juniors," Hightstown Coach Mike Russo said.
If Trivisonno emerged with anything from the Region VII Tournament at Eastern High School, it might be the label as the unluckiest wrestler.
For starters, Trivisonno, a District 25 champion that had qualified for the Region VII Tournament twice before, only earned an eighth seed for the quarterfinals. This put him in a match against Delran’s Jake Sweezy, the top seed and eventual champion.
On Friday night, Trivisonno was probably about an inch or so away from messing up everyone’s brackets.
Down 3-0 late in his match, Trivisonno managed a reverse that put Sweezy on his back for an instant. If not a pin, Trivisonno was certainly near getting the back points that would have swung the match in his favor.
"It was really close," Russo said.
Not being able to hold the move for back points, Trivisonno allowed Sweezy to escape and tried to get the takedown that would force overtime. He didn’t get it and lost a 4-2 decision.
In the wrestlebacks, Trivisonno lost a 2-1 decision to Camden Catholic’s Ryan Masterson. The decisive point came on a stalling call.
"Timmy is a guy that wrestles 12 months a year," Russo said. "I’m glad that he has another shot at this next year."
After placing third in the districts, an eighth seed for the Region VII quarterfinals wasn’t unexpected for Calamari. Even so, it put him up against Holy Cross’ Chris Notte, the eventual champion, on Friday. Notte won by pin at 3:10. Calamari was then pinned by Allentown’s Sean Mulligan at 1:34 in the wrestlebacks.
"He had a great end to his season," Russo said. "When you look at the guys he was up against, there’s no shame losing here. Everyone thought he’d lose in the districts, but he didn’t. Once you move on to the regions, everything is icing."
The season is over for Trivisonno and Calamari, but the learning hasn’t stopped.
"I go to the state finals every year," Russo said. "I bought my tickets a month ago. I want the kids exposed to that type of wrestling. This is great. Now that Dan has made it, even more kids will come."
