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C4 Friday, March 1, 2013 THE DAI LY JO URN AL

A: I think Im definitely going towrestle in college. I haventpicked a school and havent

decided anything yet. Im kindof waiting it out until the end ofthe season to see my offers, seewhat schools Ill like.

Q: Is there a level yourelooking for?

A: Its (Division I) or Im notwrestling. Thats the only way Iwould go.

Q: What are you going tomiss most about high schoolwrestling?

A: The sentimental things,youre with your team most ofthe time. Districts and regions,Im gonna miss that. Thats whatyou look forward to all year. Itsnot the same in college. Youdont wrestle in anything likethis unless you qualify for likenationals.

Q: What will you miss theleast?

A: Id say cutting weight. I knowthats big in college too and Illprobably end up cutting a lot ofweight in college too, but forthe time, its nice not having toworry about that.

Q: How nice is it to knowcoach Doug Castellari (whowas removed as coach andreinstated a week later be-fore districts) is still in yourcorner for the final fewweeks?

A: Awesome. It made my monthwhen I got him back. It wasupsetting when all that hap-pened. It wasnt how I wantedit. Its just a little bit sweeternow to think about it.

Buena Regional High SchoolsBilly Ward is already a four-timedistrict champion, and hestrying to become a four-timeregion champion this weekend.The senior is also eying theschool record for wins andhopefully a spot on the podiumagain in Atlantic City afterplacing as a sophomore. Herecently spoke with The MatPack about his final tournamentand other wrestling topics.

QUESTION: What is it likegoing to this tournament forthe final time?

ANSWER: Its kind of like, lastchance, gotta go. Its do-or-dienow. And its a chance to be afour-time (winner). Three-timedoesnt sound the same. Beingyour senior year, its a little moresentimental. Its your last 10matches at most. You gotta tryto go all-out with it.

Q: Is there more pressurebecause its your senior year?

A: Its a little more I guess,because you dont want to goout your senior year on a badnote. But its not something thatconsumes you where you cantdeal with it. Its just in the backof your mind.

Q: How difficult is it to focuson each goal when there areso many things going on?

A: I just have to try to thinkabout it one match at a time,thats how I can get myself tofocus on that match. Like, Igotta do all that still, but I cantget there unless I do this. Thatshow I think about it.

Q: How tough is it to loseyour teammate and workoutpartner Dillan Berghof to ashoulder injury?

A: Its horrible now. Ive got(one) other guy left in thetournament with me. WhereDillan, he was that guy that Iknew he was going to be there, Iknew he was that caliber. It just(stinks), its horrible, thats notthe way anybody wants to goout.

Q: What are your plans forafter high school?

THE INSIDE STUFF

Kingways Brandon Becker (bottom) wrestles Absegamis Jordan Alcoba in the Region 8

finals at 145 pounds in 2003. Becker, a defending state champion, lost in overtime toAlcoba, 7-2, in a demonstration of just how tough Region 8 used to be.GANNETT NEW JERSEY PHOTO

Every year, before thestart of the finals, theannouncer at the Re-

gion 8 Tournament pro-claims the event to be,The toughest region in thestate of New Jersey.

With traditional power-

houses such as Paulsboro,Absegami and Delsea andeven more historicallystrong programs such asPennsville, Highland andMillville, there was a cer-tain respect that came withclawing your way out ofthe brackets at Region 8.The success at the nextlevel gave credence to thatclaim that Region 8 was, infact, the best in the state.

Between 1990 and 2007,Region 8 won 51 individualstate titles, including fivein 2002 and six in 2003, thehigh water mark for the re-gion. Only Delseas Antho-ny Baldosaro and Paulsbo-

ros Joe Duca and ZachGreenwald have won astate title out of Region 8since 2007. Baldosaro wonat 140 pounds in 2008 be-fore transferring to East-ern. Duca and Greenwaldwon at 125 and 215, respec-tively, in 2010.

Region 8 went from av-eraging three state cham-pions a year to just three infive years. And the changewas in place before thetournament moved fromAbsegami to Egg HarborTownship three years ago.

We used to dominate,probably five, six yearsago, Region 8 president

John Marinelli said.Theres nothing lacking,the competition through-out the state has gotten alot tougher, overall.

And although the proc-lamation of the regions su-periority continues, thefact that Region 8 is downis no secret.

Years ago, we were,hands down, probably thebest region in the state, andwe proved ourselves in thestate finals, Egg HarborTownship coach MikeCaiazza said. And rightnow, we are not that. Weare a long way from that.We have to really get back

to that.So what happened?

Those traditional powersare still part of the regionlineup.

The general consensusis not that something hasgone awry among the Re-gion 8 schools, but rather,the other seven regionshave caught up and nowleft Region 8 behind.

The tide has shifted alittle bit, but well be back,Caiazza said. Id say weredefinitely one of the weak-er regions in the state.

There are plenty of the-ories as to how it happenedand how Region 8 wasntable to stay in the driversseat when the others madea move out of its shadow.

I think its cyclical,first of all, St. Augustine

coach Bill Ward said. Foryears, Region 6 was a door-mat, but for like 10 yearsthere they were probablyclose to the best.

Elite individuals typi-cally have roots at the low-er levels. State champions,even region champions,are rarely created fromscratch in high schoolwrestling rooms, and thatcould be said for any partof the state. So much of theonus falls on the feeder

programs.It goes back to the

midget programs, Wardsaid. Right now, our midg-et programs, not all ofthem, but on the whole,theyre down a little bit.Theyre coming back, buttheyre not where theyonce were.

Ward added that middleschool wrestling is takenmore seriously in thenorthern parts of the statewhile programs are beingscaled back or cut com-pletely in the areas thatfeed into Region 8.

Also, the balance ofpower for club wrestling

within the state has shiftednorth.

Our clubs down here,theyre getting better, but(in North Jersey) theyreahead of us on the clubscene, Ward said.

But, like high schoolprograms, Ward thinks themini programs and clubsare cyclical as well.

Unfortunately for fansof local wrestling, thatmeans a fix doesnt happenin a flash with tougher

schedules and a few headcoaching changes.

Its not an overnightthing, were going to needfive or six more years be-fore were back, Caiazzasaid. And you know what,you go through cycles, andwere at the bottom of thatcycle right now.

And maybe five or sixyears from now, the decla-ration made before the fi-nals will have a little moretruth behind it.

Patrick Buganski covers high schoolwrestling for The Daily Journal. Hecan be reached at (856) 563-5255or pbuganski@thedailyjour-

nal.com.

Region 8 was the best inthe state, but no longer

PATRICKBUGANSKI

1061. Patrick DArcy, Holy Spirit 33-3

2. Zach Firestone, Clearview 33-1

3. Ferdinand Mase, Eastern 33-0

4. Louis Arensberg, Audubon 31-4

5. Griffin Bonner, West Deptford 24-4

1131. Tyler McBride, Camden Catholic 27-7

2. John Amato, Timber Creek 30-2

3. Jake Forsman, Eastern 31-4

4 . B il l H en ry , A ud ub on 3 3-3

5. Steven Bergamo, Vineland 14-2

1201. John Gentile, Paulsboro 30-4

2. Tom Gattinella, St. Augustine 32-3

3. Marcus Miraglia, Delran 28-1

4. Zach Valcarce, Lower Cape May 29-5

5. Tyler Kaminski, West Deptford 25-7

1261. B illy War d, B ue na 27- 3

2. Anthony Racobaldo, Williamstown 33-3

3. Sam Morina, Paulsboro 30-6

4. D. LaPalomento, Washington Twp. 32-3

5 . D. J. M el e, C hero kee 2 5-6

1321. Ron Genti le, Paulsboro 32-1

2. Steve Passarella, Washington Twp. 19-0

3. Connor Mul i, Shawnee 18-1

4. Joe Lemerise, Cherokee 30-2

5. Isiah DeGuzman, Timber Creek 27-6

1381. Brandon Keller, Timber Creek 23-1

2. Brennan Humphrey, Shawnee 31-3

3. Rian Lamanteer, Delsea 31-3

4. Juan Rivera, Paulsboro 29-7

5. Brandon Bower, Holy Spirit 20-1

1451. T.J. Miller, Camden Catholic 32-2

2. John VanBrill, Clearview 34-0

3. Maaziah Bethea, Trenton Central 27-1

4. Patrick McCurdy, Woodstown 35-1

5. Joe Rodano, Highland 27-3

1521. Chad Walsh, Camden Catholic 33-1

2. Wayne Stinson, No. Burlington 35-3

3. Ed Lenkowski, Clearview 34-0

4. Dom Ruggerio, Timber Creek 28-3

5. John Hennelly, Delsea 32-4

1601. Connor Donahue, Clearview 33-1

2. Bryce Shade, Timber Creek 29-2

3. Cesar Balmaceda, Atlantic City 31-1

4. Kellen Whitney, Hammonton 29-4

5. Sonnieboy Blanco, Burlington City 31-3

1701. Dylan Dobzanski, Delsea 34-0

2. Austin Wetterau, Shawnee 30-3

3. Nick Elmer, Penns Grove 36-2

4. Tyler Sentman, St. Augustine 32-3

5. Christian LaFragola, St. Joseph 20-2

1821. David Williams, Hammonton 35-0

2. Brad Schwarze, New Egypt 33-0

3 . A lex Fo ley, Shawn ee 3 0-3

4. Bil ly Leone, Kingsway 30-6

5. Phil Azzari, Haddon Heights 34-3

1951. Rory Bonner, West Deptford 29-0

2. Ed Shockley, Mil lv il le 29-2

3. Cory Damiana, Lower Cape May 29-5

4. Frank Juba, Allentown 26-5

5. River Ullrich, Hamilton East 27-2

2201. Bryan Dobzanski, Delsea 35-0

2. Mauro Correnti, Holy Cross 9-13. Nigel Tousssaint, Egg Harbor Twp. 29-2

4. Evan Wayns, Shawnee 28-4

5. Josh Johnson, Ocean City 27-6

HWT1 . Roy Lucas, S t. J os ep h 3 4-0

2. Alex Thompson, Haddon Heights 31-0

3. Jeff Miller, Camden Catholic 26-3

4. James Dever, Moorestown 32-3

5. Allan Westenberger, Gloucester 33-4

106

Josh P ineda, V ineland 22-3

Reid White, St. Augustine 15-7

Collin Donahue, St. Augustine 21-15

Hector Marrero, Cumberland 12-7

Ron Hawk, Buena 9-8

113

Steven Bergamo, Vineland 14-2

Andrew DiJoseph, Cumberland 18-11

L uis Ri ve ra, Bu en a 22- 10

Joham Garcia, Mil lv il le 16-10

To m C arney, D el sea 2 3-14

Leonard Leyva, Vineland 7-6

120

Tom Gattinella, St. Augustine 32-3

Sal Marandino, Buena 21-10Zach Goranson, Millville 16-6

Danny DeTetta, Vineland 20-15

126

Billy Ward, Buena 27-3

Zach Nealis, V ineland 17-3

Newt Richardson, Schalick 24-6

Ed Donahue, St. Augustine 23-13

132

Newt Richardson, Schalick 22-3

J oh n Gal lo, Sch al ick 2 5-6

Jarred Hodges, St. Augustine 26-10

C haz B ramb le, Buena 2 2-9

J oh n P ie rs on , D el sea 2 6-9

138

Rian Lamanteer, Delsea 31-3

Keith Mahoney, Millville 25-4

D eo n H en ry , Sch al ick 2 2-9

Jarett P ierotti, Buena 17-5

Tayron Davis , V ineland 19-15

Nick Clark, St. Augustine 16-15

145

Dil lan Berghof, Buena 19-3

R ico R iv era, M il lv il le 2 6-5

Dom DeMarco, Delsea 13-10

D yl an Rec in to, D el sea 8 -7

152

John Hennelly, Delsea 31-4

Dylan Manno, Schal ick 19-12

Jose Tabora, St. Augustine 16-15

160

D avi d G re sk, D else a 30- 6

J os e Soto, M il lv il le 1 6-11

Carl Hitzelberger, Schalick 13-9

170

Dylan Dobzanski, Delsea 34-0

Tyler Sentman, St. Augustine 32-3

Steffen Rodriguez, Vineland 26-8

J oe Py fe r, Sc halic k 18- 11

182

Tiawahn Cosby, Vineland 27-7

Victor DeFrance, Delsea 27-10

C od y Rup pert , D el sea 1 5-7

Javier Colon-Rivera, Millville 20-8

E rik Por ch, De ls ea 20- 7

James Bennett, St. Augustine 13-8

195

Ed Shockley, Mil lv il le 29-2

Ben jami n H en ders on 2 3-11

220

Bryan Dobzanski, Delsea 35-0

O bi Ka li, Mi llvi lle 28- 5

Ty Warren, Buena 21-7

Nick Caporale, Buena 15-11

Nick Crisafu ll i, Schal ick 11-8

Justin Welsh, St. Augustine 14-11

HWT

Tom Lynd, St. Augustine 28-6

Ryan Cartwright, Schalick 16-10

MaQuay Richmond, Cumberland 12-8

Fred DeMary, Mil lv il le 16-11

*Wrestlers must have a record of better than.500 and a minimum of 12 bouts.All the records and rankings are based on in-formation through Wednesday.

BILLYWARDBUENA

Senior126 pounds South Plainfield, the top-ranked team in the state, advanced

all 14 wrestlers to the Region 3 tournament and only four hadto wrestle in Wednesdays pre-quarterfinal round. One of thosewrestlers lost. Bergen Catholic duplicated the feat, sending allof its 14 wrestlers to the Region 2 Tournament. Even moreimpressive, 12 Crusaders had first-round byes.

Clayton/Glassboro was one of the big winners at Wednesdayspre-quarterfinal round at Region 8. The ClipDawgs went 6-for-8in the opening round, including a huge upset by Andrew Tol-bert at 106. Delsea advanced a Region 8-best 11 wrestlers to thetournament and only two didnt survive the pre-quarterfinalround. Highland advanced 10 to the tournament, but five wereeliminated on Wednesday.

Kingsways Rory Bushby was the lowest seed (13th) to earn avictory in either the Region 7 or 8 tournaments Wednesdaynight. Four No. 12 seeds Audubons Matt Brandon (126), NewEgypts Jake Klige (160), Delseas John Pierson (132) and William-stowns Tyler Nicolary (220) advanced.

Which district had the best night at Region 8 on Wednesday?District 29 went 17-11 in the pre-quarterfinal round while Dis-trict 32 went 16-10, District 31went 11-16 and District 30 had a9-16 mark.

Region 8 returned nine champions from last season, includingone that was seeded fourth to start this years tournament.

West Deptfords Tyler Kaminski was an upset winner at 113 andwon the Outstanding Wrestler award in 2012. He is a No. 4 seed.

The tournament also started with seven undefeated wrestlers,seven of which were top-seeds in their respective weight classes.The lone exception was Lower Cape Mays Frank Zeigler, whowas seeded fourth at 182.

Here are the Outstanding Wrestler and Coach of the Yearhonors from each of the South Jerseys eight districts:

OW: Northern Burlingtons Vincent Foggia (District 25); Borden-towns Justin McTamney (26), Shawnees Connor Muli (27),Haddon Townships Mike McCutcheon (28), Paulsboros JohnGentile (29), Timber Creeks Brandon Keller (30), Delseas JohnHennelly (31) and Buenas Billy Ward (32).

Coach: Northern Burlingtons Jule Dolci (25), Burlington CitysTony Bowker (26), Shawnees Tom Mann (27), CollingswoodsDechlin Moody (28), Gateways Jim Rutter (29), WashingtonTownships Ron Ippolite (30), Millvilles Scott Stay (31) and Bue-nas Doug Castellari (32).

NEWS AND NOTES

TOP TWEETS

FOUR TIME REGION CHAMPS

1. Chuck Trotman, Lenape 1984-19872. Matt Suter, Paulsboro 1990-1993

3. Bobby Hanson, Buena 1992-1995

4. Kevin Rucci, Eastern 1995-1998

5. Mike McGinley, Highland 1995-1998

6. Mike Booth, Camden Catholic 1997-2000

7. Labe Black, Absegami 1997-2000

8. Mark Manchio, Sterling 1998-2001

9. Bobby Ray Stinson, Camden Catholic 1999-2002

10. Tom Curl, Paulsboro 1999-2002

11. Ed Giosa, Camden Catholic 2000-2003

12. Adam Cooney,Holy Cross 2000-2003

13. C.J. Mays, Oakcrest 2000-2003

14. Joey Duca, Paulsboro 2007-2010

15. Anthony Baldosero, Delsea & Eastern 2007-2010

16. Preston Keiffer, Eastern 2007-2010

17. Rob Deutsch, Eastern 2008-2011

BLOGThe Mat Pack will blog live

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