3 Shore Conference girls wrestlers win NJSIAA championships

ATLANTIC CITY - A state championship was not in Liliana Alicea's thought process a week ago.

"When regions started (Alicea was in the NJSIAA South Region on Feb. 25), I thought I would give it my all and maybe I would make it to states. I wasn't sure I was going to make it to states,'' Alicea, a sophomore 185-pounder for Central Regional, said. "Just making it to states was a big accomplishment for me.''

Saturday, Alicea became Central's first state champion - boy or girl - since Mark Worthy won his third title in 1999. She scored a second period pin of North Plainfield's Naylani DelValle.

Alicea was one of three Shore Conference wrestlers to win girls state titles Saturday at Boardwalk Hall.

More: Full list of girls, boys medalists for the Shore

The others were Middletown South junior 145-pounder Thea Rowland and Howell sophomore 114-pounder Kylie Gudewitz. Rowland, who defeated Boonton's Julia Fongaro 8-4, is Middletown South's first state champion - boy or girl - since Glenn Pritzlaff won his third title in 1994. Gudewitz, who majored Ramsey's Paige Kirk, 9-0, is Howell's first girls state champion.

Alicea overcame a difficult road

On her way to winning the South Region championship, Alicea defeated last year's state 185-pound runner-up Jade Hahn of Donovan Catholic, Gateway's Shaelie Young, a 2022 state runner-up, and Pennsauken's Macenzie Hunter, a state fifth-place finisher last year.

Then, in this tournament, Alicea defeated Hunter and Young again before she overcame an early deficit in the final.

When she pinned DelValle, Alicea said she did not even know how to react.

"When I won, I didn't realize I was a state champion. I just thought I won a match,'' Alicea said. "The adrenaline made me stop for a second.''

But, she soon realized she had as she hugged Central coach Kyle Watson and then her mother and father.

"My dad picked me up. It was awesome,'' Alicea said. "My dad lives for wrestling. Seeing my dad finally get to see me be a state champion was one of the best feelings and my mom was crying."

Alicea has sure made a lot of progress for someone who just started wrestling last season.

"In the beginning, I was a slow learner. My shots were terrible,'' Alicea said. "Then, I started going to club, that made me a whole world better. I guess it was in midseason is when I began to pick up skills and stuff like that.''

Alicea is a member of the ShoreThing Wrestling Club, run by former Brick Memorial High School standout Vinnie Santaniello.

And now Alicea's name will be on the wall in Central wrestling room, alongside Mark Worthy, his older brother Maurice Worthy - a two-time state champion - and the late Darnell Myres, who won his second state title at Central after winning his first at Toms River High School South.

"That's awesome,'' Alicea said.

Rowland almost quit wrestling

Middletown South first-year head coach Matt Rosner said there was a time where Rowland was thinking about giving up wrestling

"I coached her in sixth, seventh and eighth grade, she actually was not going to do this in high school,'' Rosner said. "She was leaving eighth grade and was like, 'I'm not wrestling'. I was like, 'You've got something going on. You've got to keep going with this'. ''

Rowland is not only good at wrestling. She is good at learning how to wrestle an opponent after she was defeated by that opponent the first time.

After getting majored 10-1 by Fongaro, who is the sister of Indiana University 141-pounder Dan Fongaro and Joe Fongaro of Rutgers, the 2022 NJSIAA 144-pound boys state champion, on Jan. 28, Rowland dominated on her feet Saturday.

She recorded a takedown in the first and second periods and two in the third.

"Again, it's all about mindset,'' Rowland said. "I knew all I had to do was wrestle smart and I knew I was going to win. In that first match, I wasn't wrestling with the same mentality I'm wrestling with now.''

"She was locked in all angles from everybody,'' Rosner said. "That match was clean from beginning to end. She was very focused.''

Rowland, who was fourth in the state at 145 last season, said she began to realize she could win a state championship when she won the Central Region title on Feb. 25.

Now, she can have her name alongside Pritzlaff, John Fagan and Rick Lovato as Middletown South wrestlers who have won state championships.

"Hopefully, I get on the announcements (Monday at school),'' Rowland said.

Gudewitz puts on a power half clinic

Gudewitz was dominant on the mat in her final as she put on a clinic in how to run power half nelsons.

The championship made up for the disappointment Gudewitz felt last season when she finished third at 107 pounds after being defeated in her first bout by Lodi's now two-time state champion Leeana Mercado in her first bout.

"I've been putting in the work for years now, the whole season, even the offseason,'' Gudewitz said. "It's so good that it finally has paid off. I'm so happy that I finally achieved my goals and finally got the reward that I was working for.

Gudewitz said wrestling in Boardwalk Hall did not faze her because she has wrestled in big arenas before.

She could have a realistic chance at becoming the Shore's second three-time girls champion after Manalapan's Jesse Johnson.

"I'm so excited for the future. It can only get better from here,'' Gudewitz said.

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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ wrestling: 3 Shore Conference girls wrestlers win state championships