March 4, 2014 Volume-VI Issue-5

The first thing fans, players, coaches & parentswant to know after the big game is always,

”Is this going to be on ”

Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Oceancounties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature stories and

regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.

Shore Sports NetworkWeb S i te Features

n Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about.

n Catch up on the action you might have missed

n Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews

with various athletes.

n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore Conference during the scholastic year

n Follow us on Twitter (over 12,000 followers) and Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news

n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

S t e v e M e y e rDirector High School Divisions m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

S c o t t S t u m pMan a g i n g E d i t o rs t u m p @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

S e n i o r C o n t e n t P r o v i d e r sM a t t M a n l e y / / M m a n l e y 2 1 @ g m a i l . c o mB o b B a d d e r s / / b a d d e r s @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

S h o r e S p o r t s N e t w o r ki s pub l i shed by: A l l S h o r e M e d i a L L C26 Oxford Drive Wayside NJ, 07712

Copyright 2014 All Shore Media LLC All rights reserved Reproductionin whole or in part without the permission of Shore Sports Network & All Shore Media LLC is prohibited

Featuredin This Issue

3Catania, Farrell Realize Their Vision

4Region VI Finals: Expectthe Unexpected

6Ending the Drought: Region VI Consolation Story

8-10THE SHORE’SBEST BOYS SCT CHAMPS

9-13THE SHORE’SBEST GIRLS SCT CHAMPS

14 Iwama Put RFH Wrestling Back on the Map

15Stumpy’s Corner

2 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

The first golden era of PointPleasant Beach boys basketball endedin the mid-1960’s, and the last severalyears have seen the resurrection ofBeach Ball, culminated by a 49-41win over Christian Brothers Academyin the Shore Conference Tournamentfinal Saturday at the MultipurposeActivities Center on the campus ofMonmouth University.Where the new era of Garnet Gulls basketball began is

as fascinating as where it has ended up – with a first everSCT championship to go with the program’s firstNJSIAA championship last season.

There are any number of potential moments when thespark became the fire that is this roll the Garnet Gullshave been on over the last five years. If you are a skepticor the naysaying type, the transfers from bordering townsand the German imports taking advantage of PointBeach’s status as a tuition school district might come tomind. A more positive spin is that head coach NickCatania has created a basketball attraction for anyonewith high aspirations whose bedrock has been four-yearleaders like senior Matt Farrell.

Regardless of who or what started this era of PointBeach basketball, the moment it all became real is fairlywell-defined as far as Catania and some of his currentand former players are concerned.

A year after coming up just short of knocking off apowerhouse CBA team in the Shore ConferenceTournament quarterfinals in 2010, the Garnet Gulls got asecond chance to take down the two-time defendingchampion the following season. This time, they landedthe knockout blow: a 56-55 win over CBA that put PointBeach in the SCT semifinals for the first time in nearlyhalf a century.

“I still tell people I got the game-winning rebound inthat game,” said Farrell, who was once again brilliantwith 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the championship

game. “That was maybe the biggest game in the historyof the program, certainly at the time, and being afreshman who got to play in that game, it kind of set thefoundation for what was to come.”

That’s where the Point Beach story becomes unique.The Garnet Gulls spent only a matter of moments as the“little team that could” following a huge SCT win beforereality and newfound expectations set in. Over theensuing weeks and subsequent seasons, Point Beachtransformed into a Shore Conference favorite, and whilethat word has two meanings within the context ofsports, it has only one in this instance.

“We know people don’t like us, and we’refine with that,” Farrell said. “We like that.We’re very stubborn. We knew it was usagainst the world today. We knew CBA wascoming with a crap-load of fans. We knewpeople from other schools were going tocome here hoping to see us lose, and we likethat.”

Despite the win over CBA in theSCT quarters, the Gulls lost to a13th-seeded Rumson-FairHave team in the SCTsemifinals, did not wintheir division outrightand lost to AsburyPark in the sectionalplayoffs. After aso-so year withFarrell as asophomore,Point Beachreloaded lastyear only tocome up shortagainstLakewood after taking the next stepby reaching the championship game.

Some of his team’s shortcomingsmight have prompted other coachesto change, but Catania had nosuch designs. Not after coming

from where he started the program nine years ago. Evena life-threatening heart arrhythmia suffered two monthsbefore the start of the season did not change anythingabout Catania.

“I think there is some perception that I’ve changed,but I think I’m pretty much the same as I’ve alwaysbeen,” Catania said. “Nothing I’ve done this year is anydifferent than I’ve done it in other years. I’m the sameguy with the same level of intensity, especially inpractice.”

“He’s the same guy,” Farrell said. “A couplepractices ago, he ripped into us, and he jokedwith us, ‘Don’t you guys know my heart can’ttake this?’ That’s coach. He’s been the sameguy no matter what, and that’s why we lovehim.”

The recent history of Point Beach alsoincludes the reputation as a team of transfers.Four of the seven players to play on Saturday –

Uhl (Germany), Noah Yates (NorthCarolina), Jeff Bryant(Monsignor Donovan) andMike Frauenheim(Immaculata) – cameto the program afterattending otherhigh schools.Although one oflast year’s topseniors wasa four-yearvarsityplayer (P.J.Kineavy),the other

(RileyCalzonetti) was a CBA transferwho started his Point Beachcareer as a sophomore. The2010 team had JordanWejnert, a transfer fromNorth Jersey, and MikeRotando, a transfer fromSt. John Vianney.

While this should surely be a testament to thebasketball environment Catania has created, it has alsocreated a predictable stigma of which Catania and hisplayers are aware.

If love and admiration have been slow to trickle in, thechampionships have finally come. Last season the GarnetGulls finished off the program’s first NJSIAA Group Ichampionship and played a competitive Tournament ofChampions game against Group IV champion AtlanticCity. Last year was also the first time Point Beach wonan outright division championship after finishing tiedwith Asbury Park in the previous season.

“We accomplished a lot of the goals we set out toaccomplish, but this was the last box we had to check,”Catania said of the SCT title.

It all culminated, fittingly enough, against CBA, theteam it had seen in three straight SCTs from 2010 to2012, and the team the Garnet Gulls beat to announcethat they had arrived on the Shore Conference scene.Here were the Colts – a non-public, tuition school with16 SCT championships under their belt – drawing thebacking of the neutral fans at the MAC against a Group Ischool that had never won a conference championship,because they were the underdog. That, in and of itself,could be considered an accomplishment for Point Beach.

So forgive Farrell, Catania and the rest of the GarnetGulls if they choose to ignore the outcry and the jokesabout how many different buses it takes to transport theteam to school in the morning and how many German-to-English dictionaries in the high school library had to bedusted off since 2009. This journey was one that carriedwith it colossal expectations from the outside over thelast four years and even greater expectations fromCatania beginning nine years ago.

Admiration was not on Catania’s to-do list, but he hasearned it as much as anyone can. Maybe that part comesnow that everything else on the list is checked off.

3V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

Be part of a tradition at the Jersey Shore that reaches a largeand enthusiastic Basketball audience from Monmouth andOcean counties by having your business featured in this year's2014 Open MRI of Wall Shore Basketball Coaches Senior All-Star Game official game day program. The detailed gameprogram put together by the Shore Sports Network staff notonly recounts the past season and highlights this year's groupof All-Stars, it also serves as a keepsake for all the players,coaches and fans involved. Not only is the program a chancefor your business to reach a wide and passionate audience, itis a chance to become a permanent part of a lasting memoryfor many members of the Shore Conference Basketballcommunity.

CALL TODAY 732-233-4460

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIESFOR THE 2014 ALL-STAR

GAME DAY PROGRAM

CATANIA, FARRELL REALIZE THEIR VISIONBy Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

File Photo by:B i l l N o r m i l e

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

After an unpredictable quarterfinalround, seven wrestlers seeded sixth orlower had found their way into theNJSIAA Region VI semifinals. Whenthe finals were set Saturday afternoon,however, just one wrestler seededoutside of the top four remained: BrickMemorial freshman Gianni Ghione.As the No. 6 seed at 106 pounds, Ghione had made a great

run to the final with a pin of third-seeded Jeff DeLuise ofBarnegat before avenging a loss to Brick’s Dan Rackliffe inthe semifinals. His opponent in the championship bout wasseeded fourth, but may as well have been the top seed.Christian Brothers Academy sophomore Sebastian Riveraentered the final with an undefeated record and a growingaura that looked untouchable.Instead it was Ghione who wrestled as if he were the

favorite, scoring the only two takedowns of the bout,including the winning takedown in sudden victory, to defeatRivera, 5-3, and capture the 2014 NJSIAA Region VI 106-pound championship. Ghione was subsequently selected asthe tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler as voted upon by thecoaches.After a scoreless first period, Ghione escaped early in the

second and scored seconds later to open a 3-0 lead. Riveraescaped to make it 3-1 heading to the third period. A secondstalling call on Ghione brought Rivera to within 3-2, andGhione was later forced to cut him loose and leave the bouttied 3-3, eventually forcing overtime.In sudden victory, Ghione threw Rivera down to his back

near the edge of the circle for the winning takedown,capturing his first region title and giving Rivera his first lossthis season.Ghione’s region title was the 52nd in Brick Memorial

history. The Mustangs would win three region titles in totalon Saturday for the first time since 1994 (Dan Santaniello,Todd Palmisano, Jim Hogan) to bring their ShoreConference-best total to 53. Ghione was also part of an earlystring of championship bouts that electrified Pine Belt Arena.One bout before Ghione’s victory, Howell senior

heavyweight Kyle Cocozza defeated Raritan senior Pat Toal,4-3 with a takedown at the buzzer. Toal led 3-0 in the secondperiod with an escape and a takedown, but two escapes byCocozza cut Toal’s lead to one point late in the third period.Cocozza lunged in for a single-leg takedown and was able toget a hold of Toal’s leg, but the Raritan senior sprawled andclamped down on Cocozza’s head as the clock ticked down.In a desperate attempt to score, Cocozza kept his head down

and churned his feet, and it wasenough to knock Toal flat on his backjust before the buzzer sounded for a 4-3 win.“I looked at the clock with 13.3

seconds left and thought to myselfthat it was over,” Cocozza said. “Butthen I rethought it’s more than enoughtime to get a takedown.“I was in on a shot and noticed he

just sat there. I didn’t know how muchtime was on the clock, just that I hadto keep going. I ran my feet andplowed him over. I heard the two andthe buzzer, and was like ‘Holy crap, Ijust did it.’”Brothers Matt and Zach Wilhelm, a

junior and senior, respectively, each captured region titles forSouthern on Saturday, becoming the first brothers to winRegion VI titles since Andy and Nick Roy won for Wall in2000. Matt defeated two-time champion Joe Ghione of BrickMemorial, 3-1 in sudden victory at 138 pounds, while Zachstopped previously undefeated Brick Memorial junior AlecDonovan, 3-2 at 145 pounds.Zach Wilhelm qualified for the state tournament as a

freshman and went on to finish eighth at 112 pounds. Hehasn’t been back since. And while he locked up a trip toAtlantic City with a semifinal victory over Brick’s WillScott, he wasn’t about to settle for second place, not againsta wrestler who had defeated him in their past two meetings.Tied 1-1 in the third period, Wilhelm secured the onlytakedown of the bout to win 3-2 and capture his first regiontitle.“It was extremely frustrating these last two years,” Zach

Wilhelm said. “I lost in wrestleback quarters my sophomoreyear, was winning in the third-place match and got pinnedlast year. The lessons I took from that are you have to keeppushing and learning from your mistakes. I came back thisyear and became a region champ.”Matt Wilhelm won in similar fashion, taking Ghione down

in sudden victory for the only offensive points in the boutand a 3-1 victory. Wilhelm didn’t wrestler last year afterwinning a district title and finishing 22-11 as a freshman.The plan was to cut to 120 pounds, but when he couldn’t getthere and lost his wrestle-off at 126, he decided to train at hisnormal weight with an eye on this season.In the second period Ghione appeared to throw Wilhelm

to his back for a five-point move, but the officials deemed henever had control and was only awarded one point for anescape. Wilhelm knew he had dodged a bullet.

“I got back up and was expecting it to be 5-1, and when Isaw it was 1-1 I thought if I was going to catch a lucky breakit might as well be now,” Wilhelm said.“Going into this tournament I wanted more than anything

for Zach to get out,” Matt Wilhelm said. “It was real hard onhim the last two years. I knew how hard he trained, sowatching that was awesome.”“It was incredible,” Zach Wilhelm said. “He didn’t wrestle

last year, so for him to come back and beat a two-time stateplace-winner and two-time region champ like that, and forme to win next, is incredible. You couldn’t ask for anythingelse.”Following the Wilhelm brothers, Southern senior Nick

Racanelli defeated St. John Vianney senior Terrence Davis,5-1, to win the 152-pound title. It is the first region title forRacanelli and was the third title for Southern in thetournament, matching Brick Memorial for the high mark.The Mustangs also received titles from seniors Tyler

Poling (220) and Nick Costa (182). Poling, the top seed,pinned Southern’s Jesse Bauta with one second left in a bouthe was leading 7-3 for his first title. Middletown Northsophomore Chad Freshnock stunned Raritan’s Kyle Lynchwith a pin in the 182-pound semifinals, but Costa turned thetables on him with a cradle and pin in the second period. It isthe first region title and second medal for Costa, who wasseventh in the state last season at 182.Rumson-Fair Haven junior Marcus Iwama, a state

qualifier last season, came from the No. 4 seed to win the132-pound title with a 9-4 decision over Howellsophomore Kris Lindemann. Iwama is Rumson’s firstregion champion since current first-year head coach BryanHeller (130) and Patrick Berger (119) won titles in 2003.

Jackson Liberty junior Mike Russo,Point Boro senior Ryan Budzek andCBA senior Mike Oxley each capturedtheir second region titles. Russodominated the field at 120 pounds with a9-1 major decision over Ocean seniorMax Rallo. Budzek defended his 126-pound title with a 7-3 win over ColtsNeck’s Nick Ottaviano.Oxley outlasted Jackson Memorial

senior Ken Bradley, 3-2 in the ultimatetiebreaker, to win the 195-pound title forthe second straight season. Oxley wasable to escape in the final 30-secondrideout period to defeat Bradley for thesecond time this year.Wall sophomore Brett Donner won a

battle of one-loss wrestlers when hebested Howell senior Joey Schultz, 5-1, to win the 160-pound title. He is Wall’s first region champ since AndrewMarr (215) in 2010.Brick senior Dean Sherry remained undefeated (35-0) by

defeating Toms River South junior Antrez Clagon, 3-2, at170 pounds. Sherry’s third-period takedown that snapped a1-1 tie was the difference.Toms River South sophomore Owen McClave won his

first title with a 2-1 victory over Freehold Township seniorNick DePierro at 113 pounds. McClave was the region’ssecond-place finisher at 106 pounds last season. It is his thirdvictory over DePierro this season.At 152 pounds, Davis represented St. John Vianney’s first

state qualifier and region finalist since champion AnthonyCastro (130) and runners-up Kyle Pardun (135) and MikeBrogan (140) in 2004.At 182, Freshnock is Middletown North’s first state

qualifier since Brandon Vorrius in 2010.Howell head coach John Gagliano was selected as the

Region VI Coach of the Year. The Rebels won the ShoreConference Tournament and Central Jersey Group IV titlesfor the first time in program history this season.

by:

B o b B a d d e r swww.shoresportsnetwork.com

4 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

Region VI Finals: Expect the UnexpectedB y B o b B a d d e r s - S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

Ryan Budzek, Sr., Point Boro, 126

5V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

6 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

Apair of extended statetournament droughts came toan end on Saturday at PineBelt Arena.Red Bank Catholic senior Shawn McCord and

Pinelands junior Tom Poklikuha each won their third-place bouts during the NJSIAA Region VI Tournamentto advance to next weekend’s state tournament inAtlantic City. McCord pinned Toms River North’sMike Siwiec at 220 pounds and Poklikuha defeatedCBA’s Erik Beshada, 6-3 at 138 pounds.

McCord, who was the District 22 champion andseeded third in the region tournament, is the Caseys’first state qualifier since Mike Conte won the RegionVI heavyweight title 31 years ago in 1983.

“Making it to Atlantic City is such a dream thateverybody wants,” McCord said. “It feels awesome.”

McCord lost to Southern senior Jesse Bauta, 3-1, inthe semifinals to be bounced into the consolationbracket. In the wrestleback semifinals he pinnedManalapan’s Ben Aquilina (34-4, District 21 champ) in3:15 to reach the third-place match. McCord hadSiwiec (32-5) on his back in the second period to helphim open a 9-5 lead. He turned Siwiec again in the

third period, this time finishingthe fall in 5:25 to seal his trip toBoardwalk Hall.

“Region VI is one of thetoughest and I’m really excited Imade it through,” McCord said. “Iknew in my mind I could get thejob done.”

Poklikuha had to defeatBeshada for a second time toreach Atlantic City for the firsttime. As the No. 10 seed, theWildcats junior stunned Beshadain the quarterfinals before losingto eventual champ Matt Wilhelmin the semifinals, 12-5. He knewhis dream of reaching AtlanticCity couldn’t end there.

“I tried to think about all the offseason work I didand remind myself these kids can’t keep up with me,”Poklikuha said.

In the wrestleback semifinals, he defeated Howellsenior Jack Rada, 9-4. Waiting for him in the third-place bout was Beshada, a four-time District 22champion and a former state qualifier. Scoreless in thethird period with Poklikuha on defense, he hit a 5-point move with a reversal and bow-and-arrow type

move that exposed Beshada’s back for a three count.He held on to win, 6-3.

“I don’t even know what I did,” Poklikuha said. “Itried to get my hips high and just pull and hopesomething happened. I threw in a boot and he sat. Ijust tried to get him over and it worked.”

Poklikuha is Pinelands’ first state qualifier sincetwo-time region champ and three-time state medalistMike Molosky in 2002.

“It’s overwhelming excitement,” hesaid. “Me and my dad put so much workinto this. Pinelands isn’t really knownfor wrestling or athletics, so to be oneof the good guys is unreal. I’m going towalk back into school on Monday like aHollywood star.”

Keansburg junior Tyree Suttonqualified for the state tournament via athird-place finish at 195 pounds. Suttonhas widely been recognized as one ofthe top eight wrestlers at 195 pounds allseason, and the weight looks to beamong the deepest in the statetournament. Sutton lost to JacksonMemorial’s Ken Bradley in thesemifinals, but had no problemadvancing. He defeated Barnegat seniorGreg Moran 6-1 in the wrestleback

semifinals and won by 10-1 major decision over Wall’sTyler Romanelli for third.

Sutton is just the second Keansburg wrestler to everqualify for the state tournament. Anthony Consentinofinished second at heavyweight in 2005 and stands asthe only other state qualifier for the Titans. They havenever had a state medalist. Sutton believes he’llchange that.

“It feels amazing to get down there, and there have

Ending the Drought: Region VIConsolation StoryB y B o b B a d d e r s - S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

Tom Poklikuha, Jr., 138, Pinelands

A S A M P L I N G O F C U R R E N T A N D F O R M E R M AC A L L - S TA R Sn Sehmonyeh Allen—Neptunen Sean Armand—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

HS (NY)n Delvon Arrington—St. Anthony’sn Brian Baker—Colts Neck n Mustafa Barksdale—RBR n Robert Barksdale—Asbury Parkn Billy Beggans—Ocean Township n Kate Beriont—St. John Vianney n Steve Bridgemohan—E Brunswick n Josh Brody—RBR n Brandon Brown—Freehold Boro n Yesenia Burgos—St. John Vianney n Rashon Bruno—St. Anthony’s n Courtney Calderon—St. John Vianney n Isaias Calderon—Neptune n Quarran Calhoun—Raritan n Shilique Calhoun – Middletown North n Richard Calia—Holmdel n Cooper Calzonetti—Neptune n Chasen Campbell—Oak Hill Academy (VA)n Cleveland Cannon—Long Branch n Raheem Carter—Long Branch n Corey Chandler—East Side n Markens Charles —St. Patrickn Robert Cheeks—St. Anthony’s

n Rahmir Cottman—RBR n Vincent Council—Lincoln (NY)n Don Coven—Long Branch n Jared Craddox—Lakewood n Sumit Dalal—Marlboron Charles Davis—Neptunen Syessence Davis—Neptunen Taquan Dean—Neptunen Paul De Salvo—CBA n Allen Dean—Neptunen Dana Jean DeGennaro—RBC n Chris Delaney—CBA n Pat Delaney—CBAn Jose Diaz—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Mark Donnelly—RBR n Sean Dunne—CBA n Kristian Duravcevic—Fordham Preparatory

School (NY) n Mike Faherty—Brooklyn Polytech n Matt Farrell—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Crissie Fisher—Rumson-Fair Haven n Sarah Fisher—RBR n Adam Fleischner—Holmdel n Colin Ford—Manasquan n Glen Ford—RBC n Greg Ford—Trenton Central

n Avery Gardner—Long Branch n Billy Gilligan—RBR n Tyler Glass—Mater Dei Prep n Erica Gomez—St. John Vianney n Dana Graziano—Holmdel n Kevin Grier—CBAn Paul Halas—St. Rose n Felicia Harris—RBR n Michael Harris—Randolph n Mykel Harris—Great Mills (MD)n Ashley Hart—The Peddie Schooln Eugene “Nu Nu” Harvey—St. Benedict’s Prepn Corey Haskins—RBR n JR Hobbie—Manasquan n Kasey Hobbie—RBC n Darien Hutton—Ewing n Nolan Ivers—Holmdel n Jasmine Jackson—Old Bridgen Rosie Jackson—St. John Vianney n Melvin Johnson—St. Benedict’s Prep n Tyson Johnson—St. Mary’s (NY) n Michael Kelly—St. Anthony’s (NY)n Billy Kiss—Long Branch n Nick La Morte—Mater Dei Prep n Herve Lamizana—St. Patrick’s n Erin Leahy—Rumson-Fair Haven

n Carl Little—Asbury Park n Maggie Loundy—Pt. Pleasant Beachn Mike Mavrinac—Middletown South n Jasmine McCall—Manalapan n Billy McCue—CBAn Roshown McLeod—St. Anthony’s n Christian Morris—S. Kent School (CT)n Darius Morris—Long Branch n Valerie Morris—Freehold Boron Michael Murphy—Howelln Sachin Nagpal—Ranney School n Brian O’Reilly—Middletown Southn Karen Otrupchak—RBRn Kevin Owens—Neptunen Toni Panza—St. John Vianneyn Evan Pastorelle—RBCn Shinece Perry—RBR n Anthony Perry—St. Anthony’sn Earl Pettis—Saints John Neumann &

Maria Goretti Catholic (PA) n Simon Press—Asbury Parkn Joey Raines—Asbury Parkn Alifiya Rangwala— The Ranney Schooln David Reeves—RBCn Jarelle Reischel—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Anne Richards—The Lawrenceville School

n Charlie Rogers—Matawann Amanda Rosato—St. John Vianney n Will Sanborn—RBRn Shira Schect—Hadassim HS (ISRAEL)n Keyron Sheard—RBRn Brian Snodgrass—Holmdel n Lauren Sokol—The Peddie Schooln Stephen Spinella—Colts Neckn Matt Stahl—Middletown Southn Missy Stavola—Rumson-Fair Haven n Jenna Strich—RBCn Scott Stump—RBC n Kim Talbot—RBC n Aaron Tarver—RBR n Terrance Todd—Neptune n Maurice Turpin— Long Branch n John Weldon—Freehold Boro n Dawn Werner—St John Vianneyn John Werner—St John Vianneyn Kayshanna Wesley—Asbury Park n Kade Weston—RBR n Eric Yarborough—Asbury Park n Tomora Young—RBR n Terry Zinn—RBC n Lynne Zoltowski—RBC

V i s i t o u r web s i t e , www.mac t e s t i n g . c om

7V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

been state champs who didn’t win regions, so I’m hoping I can be one ofthose,” Sutton said. “I feel like I can win it.”

Sutton has just three losses this season, falling by two points to Oxley,3-1, in the District 22 final, by one to Bradley and by one to Franklin’sRalph Normandia, who was third in the state at 220 pounds last season.

“You learn a lot when you don’t win,” Sutton said. “I know what I haveto do to beat Oxley or Bradley and be a state champ.”

Eleven of the 14 third-place finishers are, in fact, first-time statequalifiers.

Jackson Memorial junior Fred Terranova defeated Howell sophomorePeter Dee, 3-0, at 106 pounds. Terranova was the No. 1 seed, but lost torunner-up Sebastian Rivera, 4-0, in the semifinals. He won by majordecision over Toms River South freshman Zack Martin in the wrestlebacksemifinals.

Toms River South senior Brandon Murray defeated Southern seniorAndrew Tonneson 6-0 to finish third at 126 pounds. After losing toeventual champion Ryan Budzek of Point Boro, 4-2 in the semifinals,Murray defeated Howell sophomore Anthony Gagliano 3-0 before toppingTonneson to advance.

Southern’s duo of Bryan Brown and Gerardo Jorge also punched theirtickets to Atlantic City in the consolation finals. Brown, a senior who wasthe No. 1 seed at 132 pounds, edged Matawan sophomore Khalil Haskins,2-1 in tiebreaker, to move on. Brown was defeated by eventual championMarcus Iwama, 9-2, in the semifinals. He beat two-time state qualifier

Matt Russo of Jackson Liberty, 3-2, to reach the third-place bout. Jorgefell to eventual champion and still undefeated senior Dean Sherry ofBrick, 8-1 in the semifinals, but clawed back for third with a 7-3 win overMiddletown North’s Anthony Fabiano and a 3-2 decision over Wallfreshman Matt McKenzie.

Neptune senior Romello Union used a takedown late in the third periodto defeat Brick junior Will Scott, 4-3, at 145 pounds. Union, a two-timeregion qualifier entering the tournament, was the No. 10 seed. After losingto Scott 3-0 in the quarterfinals, he won three straight bouts to finish third.He defeated Middletown South’s Garrett Rumsby, 9-5, before clippingManalapan’s Jake Kaminsky, 4-3, to reach the consolation final.

Jackson Liberty senior T.J. Liquori held off Toms River South juniorJoe Salvato 1-0 in the 160-pound third-place bout. Liquori reached thesecond round of wrestlebacks last season. After losing to Howell’s JoeySchultz, 2-1, in the semifinals, he defeated Raritan’s Connor Sheehan, 8-1, and then Salvato to reach Atlantic City.

Raritan senior Kyle Lynch was undefeated heading into the 182-poundsemifinals but was head-locked and pinned by Middletown Northsophomore Chad Freshnock. Lynch was able to rebound and eventuallyhold off Jackson Memorial junior Connor Bohringer, 5-3, to place third.

At heavyweight, Brick Memorial freshman Nick Rivera lost to finalistPat Toal of Raritan in ultimate tiebreaker in the semifinals. He respondedwith a 3-1 victory over Barnegat senior Zach Andrews and a first-periodpin of Central senior Atanacio Carrillo to finish third.

Three wrestlers reached the state tournament for the second time. Wallsenior Denzel Tovar, a state qualifier last season, defeated Southern’sJames Knoeller, 6-4, to place third at 113 pounds.

At 120 pounds, Point Boro junior Dan Nobbs scored a last-secondreversal to defeat Howell senior Jimmy Slendorn, 2-1, in the third-placebout. Nobbs was a state qualifier as a freshman and was seeded No. 2 inthis season’s tournament. He was picked off in the quarterfinals by LongBranch’s Andy Hernandez, but pinned Point Beach’s John Finnerty andmajored Southern’s Chris Crane to reach the consolation finals.

Brick junior Kyle Wojtaszek placed third at 152 for his second straightstate tournament berth. Wojtaszek was the top seed before losing to BrickMemorial junior Rob Ruggiero in the quarterfinals. Wojtaszek beatMiddletown South’s Matt Best 7-5, pinned Long Branch’s Brandon Perez,then edged Ruggiero 3-2 for third place.

by:

B o b B a d d e r swww.shoresportsnetwork.com

8 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

rom the minutebasketball practices

began in early December,Point Beach was expected toaccomplish a feat that it hadnever achieved in the 77-yearhistory of the ShoreConference Tournament.The top-seeded Garnet Gulls fulfilled expectations on

Saturday by knocking off second-seeded Christian BrothersAcademy, 49-41, at Monmouth University for their firstSCT title behind a game-high 25 points by senior pointguard Matt Farrell on 8-for-14 shooting and 10 points and5 rebounds by senior forward Dom Uhl. While adding anSCT title to the program’s first NJSIAA Group Ichampionship from a year ago may have seemedpre-ordained for Point Beach (25-1), which hasbeen the top-ranked team in the Shore since thepreseason, it took numerous twists and turns toadd another chapter in school history.

It took the leadership of a veteran coachwhose heart had to be shocked back tolife in a harrowing health scare barelyover a month before practice began.It took a determined senior pointguard who made 500 shots a day inthe offseason and could be founddoing Pete Maravich ball-handlingdrills at all hours. It took the silkyathleticism of a player who didn’teven live in the United Statestwo years ago. It took thestroke of luck of a three-sportstar who was raised in PointBeach returning home afterhis father had moved thefamily to North Carolinafollowing a job change.

All of thosecircumstances and moreadded up to a memorableday for Ocean County’ssmallest public schoolon Saturday. TheGarnet Gulls becamethe first Group I teamto win the SCT sinceAsbury Park in 1986.

“This was one of ourmain goals,’’ said seniorNoah Yates, who had eightpoints. “It was last year,and we couldn’t get itdone (in a loss to

Lakewood). Getting here, we played well,and we played together. This was one of ourbest games of the season.

“Coming in as the No. 1 team inthe Shore as a small school kindof puts a little target on yourback. A lot of people don’t really likeyou because they think you’re arrogant.We’ve kind of accepted that title that wehad in the preseason, and then we backedit up this year.”“It feels great,’’ said Point Beach head coach Nick

Catania. “The kids put a lot of hard work into that, so I’mreally proud of them.”

The pressure has been on them from Day One, and theyhave embraced the role of Goliath that CBA has inhabitedso many times during its history.

“We know people don’t like us,’’ Farrell said.“We’re fine with that. We like that. We’re verystubborn. We knew it was us against the world today.We like having the targets on our back. That addsmore fuel to the fire.”

The Garnet Gulls made their decisive movemidway through the third quarter to take a four-point lead going into the final period and thenclosed out the win with the pressure defense andhigh-percentage foul shooting that have been theirhallmarks during the championship run. AfterCBA (17-5) took a six-point lead early in the thirdquarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomorestar Pat Andree, whofinished with ateam-high 23points, PointBeach outscored

the Colts 28-14 the restof the way.

The comeback began with a 3-pointer by Yates, athree-sport standout who moved back from NorthCarolina two years ago and also starred on the PointBeach football team that made history this past fall with

the program’s first state sectional title. His triplejumpstarted a 12-2 run to end the quarter with a 33-29 lead.

Farrell capped the period with a pull-up 3-pointer off thedribble after Uhl floated a pass to him over CBA’s run-and-jump defense.

“That was a big part of the game because they were tryingto hold for one and we got the stop, and we got the shot atthe end of the quarter,’’ Farrell said. “That was definitely amomentum-changer.”

“I felt good about the momentum going into the fourth,’’Catania said. “The kids were fired up, and thenwe came out and got stops. We created some

turnoversin the end of the third and thebeginning of the fourth. Our defensestepped it up a notch.”

Point Beach’s defense,which did not allowmore than 41 pointsin regulation in anyof its final threegames of thetournament, forced sixfourth-quarter turnovers.CBA missed its first fourshots of the fourthquarter, and the GarnetGulls pushed the leadto 37-31 on a pull-up by Farrell and abackdoor layupby Farrell off adish by Uhl.The GarnetG u l l st h e n

b r o u g h thome the bigplaque byshooting 12-for-14 from the foulline in the final2:45.

“We knowif we have alead by eventhree or fourpoints, it’sm o r ecomfortablethan mostp e o p l e ’ sthree- or four-point leads

B y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

Senior Matt Farrell

S e eSCT Boys Champs

pag e 1 0

9V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

rior to their ShoreConference Tournament

championship game againstSt. Rose on March 2nd,junior Marina Mabreyhad waited two years to getback to the SCT final and theManasquan girls basketballprogram had not brought homean SCT championship trophy in 31

years.What was another month ofwaiting?

The fifth-seeded Warriors ended their 31-year SCT dryspell Saturday at the Multipurpose Activities Center on thecampus of Monmouth University by beating No. 2 St.Rose, 61-41, for their first SCT championship since 1983and third overall.

Junior guard Courtney Hagaman scored 15 of hergame-high 20 points in the second half while Mabreyposted a line of 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists andthree steals to lead Manasquan. Senior and three-yearstarter Sam Sullivan also added 11 points and five assistswhile anchoring the inside of a Manasquan defense thatallowed St. Rose to shoot just 5-for-20 on two-point fieldgoal attempts.

“We had the right mindset this time,” Mabrey said. “Wedid the work that needed to be put in. We stressed defenseover offense. We wanted to set the tone with ourdefense, and we knew the offense would come lateron. That’s what happened, and I just think this wasall from being more prepared and having the rightmindset.”

Mabrey was a freshman starter on the 2011-12Manasquan team that won the NJSIAATournament of Champions, but lost to St. Rose inthe SCT final. Mabrey transferred to PointPleasant Beach for her sophomore season,led the Garnet Gulls to the Group I

championship and the T of Csemifinals, only to transfer backto Manasquan on Jan. 4.

Although she had to sit out ofgame action for a month andManasquan coach Lisa Kukoda, herstaff and the players had toacclimate to everything that comeswith adding a player of Mabrey’scaliber, the working and the waitingpaid off on Saturday.

“I knew this was going to happenwhen I came here,” Mabrey said. “Ihad faith in my team, I had faith inmy coach, that she was going to be

able to handle itthe right way.

“Iknow alot ofpeoplewerewaiting for

me to spoilthe chemistryby comingin in themiddle oftheseason,but Iknewthat’snot theway I

operate,and I knew(Kukoda)doesn’t letanybodyoperatelike that.”

Mabreyand Sullivanboth were

starters on the2012 team that

lost to St. Rose,when the Warriorsand Purple Roseswere the top twoseeds. Hagaman andsenior Eva Hart alsoplayed sparingly on thatManasquan team, whichbeat St. Rose during thatregular season and laterin the T of C semifinals.

Mabrey and Hagamanalso had older sisters whostarted on that team and whohave since graduated.

“It definitely hit us thatwe had older girls on the

team who missed a chance to win, and we felt like wedidn’t want to miss the opportunity,” Hagaman said. “A lotof us saw that game and some of us played in it, so yeah,we wanted to make the most of our chance this time.”

Manasquan jumped out to a 11-2 lead after the firstquarter and once Mabrey hit one of two free throws on thefirst possession of the second quarter to make the score12-2, the Warriors led by double-digits the rest of the way.

A 15-0 run built Manasquan’s lead to 18-2 and the leadswelled to 22-3 late in the second quarter. St. Rose did notscore its first field goal until 2:33 left in the secondquarter when senior Sarah Kurtz hit a 22-foot 3-pointerfrom the top of the key to make it 22-8.

The Manasquan defense not only held St. Rose to 2-for-15 shooting in the first half, but the Warriors also forcednine St. Rose turnovers. Manasquan forced 19 turnovers inthe game, which helped offset 18 giveaways of their own.

“I told the girls it wasgoing to be ourdefense that eitherwon or lost this gamefor us,” said Kukoda,a former assistantand standoutplayer atRed Bank

Catholic.“They areobviously avery goodoffensive team,and we had tostep updefensively. Theyrun a lot of screensand a lot of dribble-handoffs and it was goingto be our communicationand intensity, and as long aswe showed that every defensive possession,it was going to work in our favor.”

While Manasquan’s defense carried it to a24-12 halftime lead, the Warriors finally caughtfire from the field in the third quarter to pull

Junior Marina Mabrey

S e eSCT Girls Champs

pag e 1 3

10 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

because we knock down free throws,’’ Yates said.

Up to that point in the third quarter, the game had beenneck-and-neck, as the Garnet Gulls led by a point after thefirst quarter and the teams were tied at 21 at the half. Bothteams entered the game having not lost to a ShoreConference opponent all season. While Andree had a biggame, Point Beach smothered the rest of the Colts, with noother player reaching double figures. Andree shot 10-for-16from the field, but the rest of the Colts shot a combined 6-for-26.

“In a big game, Andree is going to be a big-time player,’’Catania said. “He is going to get some points. You don’twant to let the other guys beat you. We’re not going todouble, and now all of a sudden everybody has got an (open)three.”

“We knew they had a lot of weapons on the floor,’’ Yatessaid. “They have five guys that could score the ball at prettymuch any point. We were just trying to limit their openshots, and our main two things are always to defend andrebound.”

The 6-foot-8 Uhl, who is committed to Iowa, sloweddown Navy-bound CBA guard Louie Pillari (7 points) andalso helped on Andree by switching with Yates on highscreens. He has become a key cog in the Point Beachmachine since coming over from Frankfurt, Germany,before last season. He has followed in the footsteps of PointBeach’s all-time leading scorer, current Rhode Island guardJarelle Reischel, who came from Frankfurt to Point Pleasantand became a star.

“I never would’ve thought of thistwo years ago,’’ Uhl said beforesmiling. “It means a lot, especiallybecause when Jarelle was here theynever won it.”The engine that drove the run to history was clearly

Farrell, a four-year starter who has made himself into aDivision I player through tireless offseason work. Hisperformance on Saturday was so impressive that newRutgers head coach Eddie Jordan, who was in the crowd atMonmouth, offered him a scholarship on the spot after thegame. Farrell, who initially was committed to BostonCollege before re-opening his recruitment, listed Fordham,St. Joseph’s, Monmouth, Providence, Creighton and Iona asother schools in the hunt for his commitment.

“Matt’s a special kid,’’ Cataniasaid. “He’s a throwback kid. Theonly thing he cares about iswinning.”Along with Uhl, Yates and the supporting cast of forward

Chris Schifano, center Jeff Bryant and guards MikeFrauenheim and Matt VanNostrand, Farrell also helped give

a special gift to Catania. Reaching the pinnacle of ShoreConference basketball had been his plan since he took over10 years ago at his alma mater, and he nearly didn’t live tosee it. On Oct. 14, Catania collapsed at work due to heartarrhythmia and nearly died.

“Honestly, I don’t really try to think about it that muchbecause I just try to move forward with my life,’’ Cataniasaid. “Just thinking about it today, three months ago therewas a chance I wasn’t going to even be here at all. The lastthing on my mind was winning the Shore Conference

Tournament. I’ve been so fortunate for the peoplewho helped me that day and just the people that havehelped me and supported me through it and allowedme to come back and be here.”

With the one gap in the resume now filled, PointBeach will look to defend its Group I title from a yearago in the upcoming state playoffs, where it is the No.1 seed in Central Jersey Group I. The Garnet Gulls’only loss this season is a two-point nonconferencesetback against perennial state power Patrick School,which beat Linden to win the Union CountyTournament on Saturday.

“I think we had kindof a lull at thebeginning of the ShoreConference Tournament,and now we have ouredge back,’’ Uhl said.

SCT Boys ChampsCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 8

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION & COLOR RE-PRINTS OF ANY PAGESContact : Steven Meyer 732-233 -4460 smeyer@al lshoremedia .com

by:S c o t t S t u m p

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

Photos by:B i l l N o r m i l e

w w w . b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c o m

Senior forward Dom Uhl

1 1V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

12 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

away. After turning the ball over on its firsttwo possessions of the third quarter,Manasquan scored on five straightpossessions as part of a 12-2 run thatstretched its lead to 36-14. Hagaman andsenior Bridget Ford both hit threes during theruns, which ignited a 4-for-7 showing by theWarriors from behindthe three-point line inthe second half aftershooting 1-for-5 inthe first half.

“In the thirdquarter, we madesure we came outstrong because if wedidn’t, theydefinitely had achance to comeback,” Hagamansaid. “We didn’t wantto let that happen sowe made sure wecame out in the thirdquarter and gave itour all.”

“We talked aboutcoming out in thethird quarter andguarding them on theperimeter because ifthey were able to hita few shots to startout, then suddenlythey would havesome momentum to get them back in thegame,” Kukoda said. “We talked a lot aboutwhat we needed to do defensively to stopthem, and it turned out we were the ones thathit some threes to start the half.”

Hart was a defensive standout for theWarriors Saturday with nine rebounds andthree steals to go with her defense on St. Rosejunior guards Kat Phipps and JessLouro.Kurtz led St. Rose with 13 points on 3-

for-11 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. She was the lone Purple Rosesplayer in double figures.

“We didn’t help ourselves by missing someshots early,” St. Rose coach Joe Whalen said.“We missed some open shots, some foul shotsand that wore on us. They did a great jobtaking away the lane and contracting on thelane, which didn’t allow us to kick it out toour shooters.”

This version of Manasquan has only beenplaying together sinceFeb. 4, when Mabreyfirst became eligible toplay in games, but therewas plenty offamiliarity betweenMabrey and many of herformer teammates. Theonly variable in theequation was Kukoda,who took over theprogram after atumultuous offseasonthat saw Mabrey andt h e n - s o p h o m o r estandout KatelynnFlaherty leave for PointBeach and head coachFelix Romero stepdown.

The Warriors couldhave potentiallyreturned four startersfrom a Tournament ofChampions team, butinstead lost their topthree scorers – Flaherty,Mabrey and Mabrey’ssister Michaela, a senior

Notre Dame recruit and McDonald’s All-American.

“We thought we would be a good teambefore the season started,” Hagaman said.“Nothing really changed when Marina cameexcept now we had Marina.”

Kukoda took the job to build the Warriorsback up step by step and had already led theWarriors to an 18-7 record in her first season.

The team got off to a fast start to this year,winning the WOBM Christmas Classic bybeating Red Bank Catholic, which had justdefeated Manasquan days early in the seasonopener.

Then news of Mabrey’s transfer surfacedprior to the New Year and the step-by-stepprocess took a giant leap forward.

“I would say not much has changed,”Kukoda said. “That was the big conversationwhen she came in: we’re still the same team,we’re still the same program. We’re notlooking to change anything. We’re going tokeep our fundamentals, and we’re going tokeep doing what we’ve been doing well,andthe reason it’s worked so well is becauseMarina came in with that same mentality, tobe a part of what we’re doing.”

Manasquan went 5-3 during the month ofJanuary with two losses to Rumson-FairHaven and one to St. John Vianney. TheWarriors lost Mabrey’s first game back onFeb. 4 to St. John Vianney, a game in whichshe played less than half of the game and didnot start, and have since won 10 straight onthe way to an SCT title.

Next up for Manasquan is a run at theNJSIAA Group II title, which will go throughRumson-Fair Haven, the No. 1 seed inCentral Jersey Group I. The Warriors are the

No. 4 seed and are lined up for a potentialthird meeting with the Bulldogs – who lost toSt. Rose in the SCT semifinals on Tuesday –in the sectional semifinals.

“I was really familiar with thegirls on the team, so that wasn’ta problem,” Mabrey said. “The key forus was going to be learning our newroles and accepting those new roles. Ithought that as long as everyoneaccepted their roles, there was nobodyin the Shore Conference that wasgoing to be able to stop us.”

13V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

by:M a t t M a n l e y

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

SCT Girls ChampsCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 9

Photos by:B i l l N o r m i l e

w w w . b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c o m

Junior Courtney Hagaman

There are only two wrestlers inRumson-Fair Haven history whoknow the feeling that junior 132-pounder Marcus Iwama experiencedon Saturday, and one of them wasright there to congratulate him afterhe ascended to the top of the podiumat Pine Belt Arena.When Iwama won the 132-pound title at the NJSIAA

Region VI Tournament, he became just the third regionchampion in school history and the first since 2003. While hebeamed with pride following an 8-4 decision over Howell’sKris Lindemann in the final, the first region champion inBulldogs history was right there grinning along with him.

Bryan Heller, who won Region VI titles in 2002 and 2003 at130 pounds, has returned to his alma mater as a first-year headcoach of the Bulldogs this season. He and former teammatePatrick Berger, who won the Region VI title at 119 in 2003,were the only ones in Rumson history to accomplish the featuntil Iwama cemented his place in history on Saturday.

I’m happy to be back in the program,’’ Heller said. “We areunder the radar, and he is under the radar. I like where we’re atgoing to AC (Atlantic City) next weekend. He’s kind of stillunder the radar there, and I think he is going to surprise somepeople.”

Heller wrestled at NCAA power Penn State following his

decorated career at Rumson. In his first year back, he can nowsay he is the only one in school history to win a region titleand also train a region champion.

“Coach Heller can drill with me one-on-one in the room,’’Iwama said. “Since he wrestled at Penn State, it’s nice to havesomeone on that level who can pretty much destroy me everyday.”

Iwama (30-2) finished third in Region VI at 126 as asophomore, and his tireless work with Heller and at TriumphWrestling Club in Ocean Township ensured he would reachrarefied air for a Rumson wrestler this season despite beingthe No. 4 seed in the bracket. He also has continued a proudfamily tradition, as his father was a two-time district place-winner at Rumson during his career.

“It feels amazing,’’ Iwama said. “We have a lot of peoplewho work hard in our room, so it’s nice to come out and showthat even though we don’t have the most competitive team, wecan represent Rumson by winning a region title.”

“He’s a super-coachable kid,’’ Heller said. “His work ethicimproved drastically. That really helped his offense. Last year,I don’t want to say he was limited, but he was really heavy onthe sweep single. Now he’s got a lot of good offense. Hishand-fighting picked up, he feels comfortable riding on top,and on bottom he gets out. Being able to dominate – that’swhat we’ve been working on.”

Iwama dominated the No. 1 seed, Southern’s Bryan Brown,with a 9-2 win in the semifinals after registering a pin in thequarterfinals. In the championship bout, he took Lindemanndown four times en route to the victory.

“He has a lot ofdangerous moves,’’Iwama said aboutLindemann. “Ifyou’re in badposition, he can reallyscore a lot of fastpoints on you, so Iwas mainly just tryingto control the pace ofthe match, take theshots when necessary,wrestle him tough andwrestle for sixminutes.”

Iwama’s emergencecould be the tip of theiceberg for the Bulldogs, as Rumson’s numbers are boomingat the youth level with around 90 boys participating. A placethat has been a wrestling afterthought could soon become acontender in the Shore Conference scene.

While talent and coaching have certainly been crucial to therise of the Bulldogs’ football program into the ShoreConference elite, huge participation numbers and depth havealso been key factors, so the wrestling program is hoping tofollow that formula. Iwama is a product of that youth program,having begun his wrestling career as a fourth-grader. Many ofhis teammates were at Pine Belt Arena to watch him takehome the crown.

“We had no seniors this season and were mainly freshmen

and sophomores,’’Heller said. “This wasgreat for them and forme to see Marcussucceed.”

The next frontier forIwama is to earn astate medal at nextweekend’s NJSIAAIndividualChampionships atBoardwalk Hall inAtlantic City. Iwamawent down there lastseason but did notplace in the top eight.

“Last year, I was a little overwhelmed by everything,’’ hesaid. “This year I think I can just go out there, wrestle toughand try to bring home a medal.”

Berger and Heller are the only wrestlers in Rumson historyto place in the state, with Berger’s fourth-place finish at 119 in2003 serving as the highest finish of any wrestler in Bulldogs’history. Iwama looks to add his name to that short list. Aftersurviving an overtime match with Ocean’s Andrew MacNeillein the District 22 final, he has been locked in and wrestling thebest he has wrestled all season.

“I just give him all positive encouragement,’’ Heller said.“He knows what to do already, so I just have to make sure heis confident in himself. He’s got the tools.”

14 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

Iwama Helps Put RFH WrestlingBack on the MapB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

Rumson junior 132-pounder Marcus Iwama

Brick Memorial freshman106-pounder Gianni Ghionegrinned widely as he held upthe plaque as the MostOutstanding Wrestler ofSaturday’s NJSIAA Region VITournament at Pine Belt Arena.While his parents, friends and teammates snapped pictures,

Gianni’s older brother, Brick Memorial senior 138-pounderJoe Ghione, was nowhere in sight. He was still boiling overan overtime loss to Southern’s Matt Wilhelm in the final thatcost him a chance to become a rare three-time Region VIchampion and had him whipping his second-place medal tothe floor in disgust.

It was that kind of day forthe Ghione family.

“It was a really toughthing to handle,” Giannisaid. “I was so happy Iwon, and then I saw mybrother lost. I was kind ofconfused with how I felt aboutit. I like to win, but I hatewhen my brother loses.”

“If the roles werereversed, Gianniwould be fine by thetime we got home,but Joseph is veryserious about what hedoes,” said their mother,Amy Ghione. “He gives 110percent and Gianni is morerelaxed and not all thatintense, so for Joseph to lose,it makes it harder. If it was thereverse, it would be no problem.”

It surely meant for a strange dinneratmosphere on Saturday night, with onebrother jubilant that his first trip to the Region

VI Tournament could not have gone any better,and another stewing over a loss that is the latestfrustration in a senior season full of them. Joeentered as the No. 1 seed, hoping to become justthe fourth wrestler in Brick Memorial’s storiedhistory to win three region titles, but lost 3-1 insudden victory to Wilhelm. The Wilhelm brothershad the day the Ghione brothers hoped to have, asZach Wilhelm followed Matt’s victory by beatingpreviously undefeated Alec Donovan of BrickMemorial 3-2 to win the title at 145.

Joe’s loss came after Gianni wowed thecapacity crowd at Pine Belt Arena by stunningChristian Brothers Academy sophomore SebastianRivera, who was 35-0 entering the match. Gianniwon 5-3 with a takedown in sudden victory to

grab the title as the sixth seed.

Witnessing it all in the stands were their parents, who sawthe dramatic highs and lows while watching through thecracks between their fingers most of the time.

“She was just kind of sitting there not watching us,” Giannisaid about his mom. “She’s always in the stands, but she’salways squeezing someone’s arm or not watching us wrestleand stuff like that because she’s all nervous.”

“We’ve been doing this for such a long time,” Amy said.“We really banked on this being the year because we onlyhave them together (on the same team) for one year. Sincethey were in second grade, I’ve looked forward to this year.Having Joseph blow out his elbow the first weekend took allof that away.”

Joe suffered an elbow injury in the semifinals of the early-season Pride Tournament at The College of New Jersey inDecember, forcing him to miss a significant chunk of BrickMemorial’s dual meet season. That’s why even though he hada tough day on Saturday in Toms River, his mother views itas a positive that he was out there in the first place.

“The fact that I have them on the mat together at all, to me,is such a blessing and a gift,” she said. “Yeah, it stinks thatJoseph didn’t win, but we live to wrestle another day next

weekend (at the NJSIAAIndividual

Championships in Atlantic City), and honestly we thought theseason was lost. So having that, what more could I ask for?”

Saturday was the latest ride on the roller coaster for theGhione family. Amy is the athletic trainer at Howell, whichenjoyed its best season ever this winter. The Rebels won theirfirst Shore Conference Tournament title and their firstCentral Jersey Group IV championship. Their opponent inboth of those matches? Brick Memorial, of course.

Howell won the SCT final 28-27 over the top-seededMustangs, with Gianni dropping a 1-0 decision and Joe tryingto gut it out after returning from the elbow injury and losinga major decision to Howell’s Kris Lindemann that clinchedthe victory for the Rebels. Joe avenged the loss toLindemann, who reached the Region VI 132-pound final onSaturday, with a 7-3 win in the sectional championshipmatch, while Gianni dropped another 1-0 decision to PeterDee at 106 in a 27-25 win for Howell.

Amy was caught in the middle of the exhilaration of herschool winning two historic thrillers and the devastation ofher sons being on the other end of it.

“Being the trainer at Howell and having Brick Memorialwrestle Howell in Joseph’s senior year coming back from aninjury was probably the most stressful of my career as theirmother in wrestling,” she said. “It was probably the worstday ever in stress level.”

At the sectional final, Amy had another athletic trainercover for her.

“I wasn’t questioning my ability as a trainer,” she said. “Ididn’t want anyone else questioning my ability as a trainer.(Brick Memorial’s) Sue Penrod is a phenomenal trainer, andI’ve always trusted her opinion. As their mom, I don’t alwaysmake good choices where their health is concerned because Idon’t want them to be hurt, so I don’t look at thingsobjectively. I found that I go to her to give me her opinion onhow they are doing first.”

Despite all the ups and downs, the brothers have one lastchance to finish on a high note together. Joe has finishedsixth in the state in each of the past two seasons down inAtlantic City and can make all the frustration of this season

go away with one last inspiring run thiscoming weekend. His youngerbrother looks to just keep the ridegoing at Boardwalk Hall after hisbrilliant performance on Saturday.

“My brother and I didn’t get thatmuch time to spend together because of his injury, but

finally we get to do what we need to do in Atlantic City,”Gianni said. “I’m always looking forward, so I can’t wait tosee what will happen next.”

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATIONContact : Steven Meyer 732-233-4460 smeyer@al lshoremed ia .com

15V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4

File Photo by:B i l l N o r m i l e

w w w . b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c o m

12 /2 1 / 13 / VOLUME-V / ISSUE-21 / SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM16 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 5 / 3 / 4 / 1 4