BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

Just three local high school wrestling teams entered this week with state title aspirations, as the postseason officially kicks off.

Ocean Township, the top seed in the Central Jersey Group III bracket, Long Branch, seeded third in CJ Group II, and Christian Brothers Academy (CBA), the Non-Public A’s top seed, were all looking to survive Tuesday night’s action and advance to tonight’s final round.

After their tough loss in the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) finals to Jackson last week, the Ocean wrestling team is out for revenge.

With the bitter taste of the loss to Jackson still fresh in their mouths, the Spartans enter the state team tournament as the favorite to emerge with a group title, though they’re likely to meet a tough Wall Township squad in tonight’s final.

Ocean head coach Ken Hoff is confident that his team has regrouped and will be able to bounce back with a flourish this week.

“Going against Jackson, we knew it was going to be a tough match,” Hoff said. “We’re angry, but the loss is only going to help us. We have to learn from the loss.”

Hoff has been exceptionally happy with the consistency of his team this year, as he has received solid efforts throughout the season from wrestlers of all weight classes and ages.

The Spartans are a good mix of experienced and young grapplers, from the bottom of the lineup to the top.

At the 103- and 112-pound weight classes are Zach Coulas and Nick Menditto, who have consistently put points on the board for the team. In the middle of the lineup Hoff can also count on 130-pounder Danny Lopes, 135-pounder Maverick Nunez-Vais and 140-pounder Joey Falco to continue the momentum.

Hoff said that the team will also need sophomore 160-pounder Kyle Kiss and 170-pounder Jeff Siciliano to step up if the team is to get past Wall and make some noise in this coming weekend’s group semifinals and finals at the Ritacco Center in Toms River.

Last season, Ocean wiped away Wall’s dominance over them by beating them twice and breaking an eight-year drought against the Crimson Knights. On paper it appears as though Ocean once again has the edge, but Hoff and his team know that come the postseason, anything can happen.

In fact, while Wall was not expected to have trouble with either Colts Neck or Freehold on Tuesday (they were to face the winner of that match), Wall had the tougher task on Tuesday, having to beat either Hamilton East or Lawrence to advance to tonight’s final. Lawrence gave Wall a tough match last year, before falling.

But the Spartans fully expect to see the Crimson Knights in the final.

“We have to get past Wall,” Hoff said “We’ve been training hard, and are going in with a positive attitude. It’s time to put our pride on the table, because at this point, its winner takes all.”

As for Long Branch, they were to face an improved Matawan team on Tuesday, with the winner to take on second-seeded Raritan in the CJ Group II bracket. The Green Wave was being touted as a squad that matches up well with the Rockets, and entered Tuesday’s action hoping to pull off the upset and advance to tonight’s final.

Delaware Valley is the bracket’s top seed and the likely host for tonight’s match-up.

That leaves CBA, the top seed and host of the Non-Public A bracket. CBA has put together a brilliant 12-3 season, advancing to the semifinals of the SCT, and emerging as an up-and-coming program in the Shore.

However, all of that glamour doesn’t mean anything to the second-seeded team from Camden Catholic — the overwhelming favorite to emerge from this bracket. Camden Catholic is 19-1 on the year, having lost to Great Bridge, Va., (the second-ranked team in the nation) and ranked as the top team in the state.

Following this weekend’s team finals, grapplers throughout the area will prepare for their respective district tournaments next weekend — the first step on the path to the state individual tournament.