Shore Regional takes third at Holmdel tourney
Blue Devils collect
five medals

Chris Kelly Shore Regional’s Mike Szczurek tries to put Marlboro’s Jerry Sperling on his back in the 152-pound finals of the 29th annual Holmdel Invitational Christmas Wrestling Tournament last Friday. The Blue Devil ended up winning his final bout, 6-5.

One step at a time, that’s how Shore Regional wrestlers are taking both their matches and the season.

Their latest step was in the 29th annual Holmdel Christmas Invitational Wrestling Tournament on Friday, where they not only medaled five times, but also walked away with the third-place team trophy.

"When we first started practice, I sat the kids down and told them that after last year’s performance I wasn’t looking forward to coaching this season," said head coach Rich Santangelo. "Then, after three weeks of practice, before even wrestling one match, I had a drastic change of heart from how hard the kids worked and how dedicated they became.

"Even though this team is one of the smallest I’ve ever had, it may very well be one of the best. The kids know they’re not going to win every match, but they wrestle their hearts out every time. They took it to every kid they faced in this tournament, and it’s great that their efforts won them the third-place team title."

Of the 12 wrestlers Shore took to the home of the Hornets, six found themselves in position to win a medal.

Randy Green, Mike Szczurek, Justin Lugones and Chris Gornik worked their way into the finals, and left with a pair of silver and gold medals.

Gornik (heavyweight) was seeded first in his weight class, and received a bye straight into the semifinal round.

He first defeated Rumson-Fair Haven’s Kelan McElduff, 16-5, before recording a 15-6 major decision over Marlboro’s Evan Weiner in the finals.

The win in the finals also marked the heavyweight’s 50th career victory at Shore. He is one behind former wrestler Jay Webb, who won 51 matches in his tenure at Shore.

Shore’s other gold medal winner was Szczurek at 152 pounds. As the No. 2 seed, Szczurek had a first-round bye, then pinned Holmdel’s Paul Ploskonko 40 seconds into their quarterfinal matchup. In the semis, he decked St. John Vianney’s Mike Lombardi in 2:28, before winning in the finals against Marlboro’s Jerry Sperling, 6-5.

"Szczurek was a little worried about Sperling during the tournament, but he wrestled well and won himself the gold," said Santangelo.

Garnering the silver for the Blue Devils was Green, at 125 pounds, and Lugones, at 189 pounds.

Green had a bye, then recorded a technical fall (16-1) and a third-period pin before losing by pin-fall to Anthony Castro (SJV).

Perhaps the biggest surprise in Shore’s lineup was Lugones, who pinned Mike McCue (RFH) and second-seeded Chris Swensen to earn a shot at the gold.

He lost to top seed Rick Farrah (Monmouth Regional) by pin-fall.

Mike Mayer won the bronze at 171 pounds by defeating Monroe’s Bryan George, 10-4; while his brother Matt Mayer lost in the consolations, 13-9, to place fourth.

In the team race, Shore was able to grab third place with 88.5 points, only finishing behind St. John Vianney (129 points) and Marlboro (91.5 points).