The Metuchen High School girls basketball team is hosting John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in a Greater Middlesex Conference game on Jan. 8. The game tips off at 6 p.m. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR BISHOP AHR
T he area high school wrestling season doesn’t usually crank into high gear until after the holiday break, but that hasn’t been the case for Bishop George Ahr High School, which met five opponents before the New Year.
Its record stood at 1-4 as of Jan. 6, with the lone win coming against Bernards High School, 57-21. The losses have come to perennial powers Old Bridge High School, 51-11; Hopewell Valley Central High School, 58-18; Somerville High School, 34- 27; and Seton Hall Preparatory School, 40- 24. The Trojans are set to continue their ambitious schedule with a Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) White Division match at Woodbridge High School on Jan. 10, followed by a visit to West Orange High School the following day. A key match that could decide the White Division will occur on Jan. 15, when Bishop Ahr hosts Monroe Township High School.
Nick Tonzola, who enters his 24th season as head coach, has never shied away from scheduling traditionally strong opponents, which remains the case this year. The expectation is that the Trojans will gain the kind of experience necessary to perform well in the season-ending state tournament.
“In my opinion, we wrestle one of the toughest schedules in the area,” Tonzola said. “The goals for the team are to compete for the division, section and district titles.”
Bishop Ahr will be hard pressed to duplicate what it did last year — capture its fourth consecutive White Division crown. The Trojans graduated a number of seniors, including some of the best the program has ever produced. Key losses were Brian Mc- Crystal, who registered 117 wins; Kyle Brady, who had 109 wins; and Greg Mc- Crystal who managed 99 wins. In addition, Jake Seider, Tom Cardace and Jon Black were two-time district place winners.
The lineup that Tonzola puts on the mat this year features freshmen Gaven Ringwood or Dylan O’Connor at 106 pounds, freshman Giuseppe Capasso or junior Andrew Rich at 113 pounds, sophomore John Sheedy at 120 pounds, freshman Vince Cocina or junior Nick DelDuca at 126 pounds, and senior Pat Passintino or junior Tyler Earl at 132 pounds.
There will also be Tyler Underwood or junior Joe Napoli at 138 pounds, freshman Andrew Brazicki at 145 pounds, junior Mark Ramos at 152 pounds, juniors John Sandoval or Mike Schreck at 160 pounds, junior Devin Michael at 171 pounds, senior James West at 195 pounds, juniors Matt Spielman or Mike Shaw at 220 pounds, sophomore Chris Vargas at heavyweight, and senior Dan Israel at 285 pounds.
In addition to capturing the White Division, the Trojans finished with a 12-9 dual meet record last year. Tonzola’s career record stands at 219-198-3.
“The best that I can do as a coach is to give our wrestlers [what they need] to succeed. And if that means wrestling tough competition, that’s going to help them in the long run,” Tonzola said.
The coach believes Monroe Township, crosstown rival Edison High School and John F. Kennedy Memorial High School represent the toughest foes in the division.
METUCHEN
Metuchen High School wrestling coach Nick Zaneto believes in a high-tech approach to preparing his team for the rough and tumble GMC Blue Division. That includes a year-round strength and conditioning program built around a training principle called 5-3-1, mixed with CrossFit workouts. His wrestlers are also prescribed a Zone nutritional plan to maximize their performance.
The Zone plan consists of a diet of 40 percent quality carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent healthy fat. Zaneto is also utilizing the Hudl Internet program that high school football teams use in order to share game videos.
“The program enables athletes to access their own videos, and the coaching staff to add notes on each video for them to view,” he said. “This type of film study will help with our mental and strategic match-planning throughout the season.”
Metuchen will depend on Kevin Coleman, 20-13 at 113 pounds last year, to compete at 120 pounds this season. In addition, Gianni Pascucci (12-14) is working hard in practice at 120 pounds. Robert Marcantonio (29-9 and fourth in the district) is a senior captain at 132 pounds, and he is looking to return from an injury next week. Mike Rehorn (17-7) returns at 170 pounds.
Other wrestlers are freshman Christian Navarro at 106 pounds, freshman Chris Kwok at 113 pounds, senior Jacob Lucas at 138 pounds, junior Nate Green at 145 pounds, senior Joe Stern at 152 pounds, sophomore Joe Hronich at 160 pounds, sophomore Jeff Serratelli at 182 pounds, sophomore Anthony Maloney at 195 pounds, freshman Cam McPartlan at 220 pounds, and junior Tommy Gorman at 285 pounds.
“Our toughest opponents in the Blue Division will be Spotswood High School and Carteret High School, who are returning multiple athletes from last year’s roster,” Zaneto said. “We hope to compete for the division title and place multiple wrestlers in the district tournament at the end of the season.”
JP STEVENS
It’s hard to gauge how successful the J.P. Stevens High School wrestling team will be, considering the Hawks are in a major rebuilding mode with a new coach at the helm. In addition, J.P. Stevens has only competed in a pair of holiday tournaments — the crosstown rival Edison Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21 and the Holmdel Tournament on Dec. 27. In both events, J.P. Stevens finished near the bottom of the team standings.
Vinny Giofre is also trying to get his feet wet as head coach, having earned the nod in November.
“My familiarity with the team is somewhat limited and only based on what I’ve seen in matches,” Giofre said. “We’re working at a disadvantage because most of the wrestlers aren’t involved in a year-round regimen of training and conditioning, but I’m trying to change that.”
As a result, Giofre has spent his initial weeks on the job with conditioning, building strength and improving technique, which he said is a challenging task, especially since the team competes in the GMC Blue Division.
The Hawks are also limited by athletes, and they may have to forfeit in some weight classes. Giofre’s current lineup includes junior Tyler Troung or sophomore Michael Gelberg at 120 pounds, senior Tahir Gooding at 126 pounds, junior Sooraz Bylipudi at 132 pounds, sophomore Paul Vargas at 138 pounds, junior Miguel Velasquez at 145 pounds, junior Marco Santana at 152 or 160 pounds, and senior Daniel Huang at 195 or 220 pounds.
“Our approach this season will be to set goals as individuals,” Giofre said. “The plan is to go into each match this way because every opponent will present us with a challenge.”