Led by tournament champion George Vosinas at heavyweight, the Metuchen High School wrestling team turned in a solid performance at East Brunswick’s Bear Invitational last week. The Bulldogs finished in a very respectable ninth place out of a 16-team field.
Metuchen High School’s Josh Adlerman (r) has control of New Brunswick’s Rumarvin Torre in their 103-pound match during the East Brunswick Bear Invitational at Churchill Junior High School on Dec. 30. JEFF GRANIT staff “I was very happy with our performance,” said Metuchen head coach Nick Zaneto. “We’re now heading into the heart of the dual-meet season, and it’s good to head into this part of the schedule with some confidence. We’ll be averaging three meets per week for a while and this looks to be a very busy month.”
Governor Livingston High School won the event with Bishop Ahr taking second place and followed by Matawan and East Brunswick in third.
A trimmer version of Vosinas from last season may have been the difference for the tournament champion.
“George got his weight down to about 215, and I really didn’t know what to expect from him,” Zaneto said. “He’s more used to the heavyweight style so that’s where he wrestled. This win should be a good confidence booster for him.”
Vosinas won the event in dramatic fashion with a double-overtime pin.
“He gave a phenomenal effort,” Zaneto said. “Slimming down worked to his advantage and hopefully this is something that continues.”
Metuchen’s Brody Gordon (130 pounds) and Jake Freed (125 pounds) took home third- and fifth-place finishes, respectively. Gordon suffered just one loss through the event.
“He had a nice run,” Zaneto said. “He lost to a kid from Bishop Ahr who ended up taking second place. It was a really tough weight class with tough competition from all over the place. We expect him to do well this year and hopefully his success will carry over into this weekend’s tournament.”
The Bulldogs will look to place among the top teams at the Bucks Classic this weekend at Red Bank Regional. The event kicks off at 10 a.m.
Also taking home a fifth-place finish was Mickey Ladines at 145 pounds. Teammate Kevin Sullivan grabbed sixth place at 135 pounds.
“Jake and Mickey never gave up and did great jobs at wrestle backs,” Zaneto said. “Both won two matches at wrestle backs to earn a fifth-place finish. I was really proud of them because they didn’t pack it in and give up until the very end. We had some guys give up in similar situations last season and it’s a good sign to see guys give it their all in wrestle backs.”
Prior to the weekend tournament in Red Bank, the Bulldogs will get ample opportunity to improve upon its 1-0 record. The team started its season with a 39-32 win over Carteret.
The Bulldogs play host to visiting New Brunswick for a 7 p.m. showdown before traveling to Bishop Ahr for a 5:30 p.m. match-up with Bishop Ahr.
“Bishop Ahr is loaded,” Zaneto said. “Hopefully, we will wrestle tough and pick up the wins we should. I expect us to keep it closer than we did last year.”