Wrestling season kicks off with tournaments

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Long Branch’s Nick Groeger tries to escape the grasps of Middletown North’s Frank Molinaro during the 119-pound final at the Neptune Classic Saturday night.

The high school wrestling season kicked off last weekend with a number of tournaments throughout the Shore Conference.

Local teams participated in three of those local tournaments, with CBA faring the best in taking second at their own Colt Classic, held at the Middletown campus.

The Colts used four first-place finishes in the lower weights to propel themselves to a second-place team finish (215) behind Watchung Hills (248).

John Menafra got the first Colts’ championship when he beat Watchung Hill’s Ryan Stuart in the 103-pound final, 6-3. James Beshada then followed with a title at 112, major decisioning Watchung Hills’ Tyler Riccio, 15-6, in the final.

Anthony Chirichelo was the next Colt to take home a first-place trophy, beating St. Augustine’s Pat McMillan, 9-4, in the 130-pound final.

At 140, CBA’s Anthony DeLeo major decisioned St. Mary’s Bob Canicci, 13-3, to win that weight division.

The Colts also got a second-place finish from Charles Favia at 135, and third-place finishes from Mitch Clemente (119) and Dave Chirichelo (125) to help lock up second place in the team standings.

Red Bank Regional finished fourth at the Colt Classic with 164 points, led by a trio of second-place finishes.

Lamar Brown dropped a hard-fought 171-pound final to Watchung Hills’ Mark Kearsing, 5-4, before teammate Charlie Russell was topped in the 189-pound final by Gloucester Catholic’s Nick D’Alessandro, 15-6. Anthony Lawrence took second at 275, losing the final by pinfall to St. Augustine’s Frank McGrath.

Red Bank Catholic finished in ninth place (46) at the Colt Classic, led by Todd Henrich’s fourth-place finish at 103 pounds.

Both Long Branch and Monmouth Regional participated in the Neptune Classic, and finished in 11th and 13th place, respectively.

The Green Wave was led by Nick Groager, who took second at 119, losing in the final to Middletown North’s Frank Molinaro, 12-0. Molinaro was the story of the tournament as the freshman dominated the weight class, beating the top seed, East Brunswick’s Corey Ritchings, and Toms River East’s Mike Kinder, before knocking off Groeger, who is coming off a 23-win season.

Manny Navarro also had a strong tournament for the Green Wave, taking second place in the heavyweight class. Navarro pinned his way to the final, including wins over Bridgewater-Raritan’s Devin DiBlasio (1:52) and Howell’s Mike Savoye (3:50), before losing a hard-fought match to Toms River East’s Kevin Davis, 5-4, in the finals.

Monmouth Regional was led by Joe Silva’s second-place finish at 125 pounds. Silva wrestled well throughout the weekend before dropping the final to Don Bosco Prep’s Dale Fava by pinfall at the 3:12 mark.

Monmouth’s Kyle Christiansen bounced back from a tough 7-6 loss in the semifinals to Bridgewater-Raritan’s Dan Boemio, to win third place at 112. He topped Middletown North’s A.J. Maresca in the consolation match, 4-3, to secure third place.

While Lenape was the team champion at the Neptune Classic, Middletown North impressed with a strong fourth-place showing, finishing ahead of Manalapan, who was thought to be the top representative of the Shore Conference in that tournament.

The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs participated in the Matawan Icebreaker Tournament over the weekend. Their top performers were Dave Ruthenbeck, who took second at 103, losing the final to JP Stevens’ Rob Landicho, 5-2, and J.C. Clark, who took third at 135, winning his consolation match over Matawan’s Rocco Bucco, 8-3.

Notes... Middletown North’s showing at the Neptune Classic allowed the first glimpse of a team that is ready to challenge for what should be difficult A North Division title to come by.

With the Lions proving that they have the depth to compete with the division’s top teams, they join the likes of Manalapan (still considered the team to beat in the division), along with Ocean Township and Howell (both perennial contenders for the crown), as a team with a legitimate shot at claiming the top spot.

Throw into the mix what looks to be a talented CBA team, and you have the recipe for an extremely entertaining division race this season.