5 takeaways from Day 1 of the Bergen County wrestling tournament
GARFIELD - Gabe Jang blames his brother Luke. And thanks him too.
Jang, the Leonia/Pal Park sophomore heavyweight, advanced to the Bergen County semifinals with an overtime win over Luke LaPira of Demarest Saturday.
After the match, he talked about how he never would have gone out for wrestling if Luke hadn’t encouraged him.
“He’s coming back from college today and that’s kind of why I won,” Gabe said. “I don’t have to stay for wrestlebacks. I can go home now and eat with him…rice and chicken.”
Jang is one of three Leonia/Pal Park wrestlers to make the semifinals this morning, August Hibler (150) and Stav Fronimos (157). That’s the most of any public-school program.
You never quite know how a heavyweight match might go, and you don’t know what a heavyweight might say. Gabe talked about how much fun wrestling is, how he doesn’t have to do any of ‘that nonsense’ like cutting weight.
“Wrestling is all mental. I am pretty fat,” Jang said smiling. “This is one sport where I can be athletic enough.”
All kidding aside, the sixth-seeded Jang showed determination against LaPira. The bout was tied at 1 going to overtime. LaPira nearly got a late takedown, but Jang fought him off and was able to get control for the winning two.
Jang said he weighs 270 on a good day, 285 on a bad day. His younger sister is a runner and he joked that she’s 70 pounds and he’s four times her size.
Jang gets St. Joe’s star Rocco Dellagatta in Sunday’s semifinals, and well, he knows he’s the underdog.
“I get Rocco, so fun….” Jang said sarcastically. “I can’t wait to sit next to him in the medal picture. Fourth place. Can’t wait.”
Hello Garfield
The BCCA Wrestling/George Jockish Wrestling Tournament is one of the best events of the year in North Jersey, but it has struggled to find a home big enough to handle it. The tournament has bounced around the last two decades, and this was the first year at Garfield Middle School.
The good news is, the venue is big. There were four mats in the main gym, two mats in the cafeteria, and the entire first day took a little more than seven hours. The bleachers were full in the main gym. The sound system was good.
Parking limited to nearby streets, but there is plenty to find.
The truth is no one spot in North Jersey has everything this event needs. Tournament organizers have thought outside the box and looked at American Dream as one possible spot to hold the event, but then it becomes a cost issue. For now, GMS is about as good as it can get.
Low man wins
The lowest remaining seed in the championship bracket is 21st seed Joseph Eboli of Don Bosco at 106 pounds. Eboli will face top seed Oumar Tounkara of Teaneck in the semis.
“I saw my seed and that only fueled me,” Eboli said. “It made me drive more and prove everybody wrong. I am just trying to put my name on the map.”
In the semifinals, Eboli edged Joe Celenza (Westwood) 2-0 thanks to an early takedown and great defense. He said he knows Tounkara, but not that well.
“He’s very good,” Eboli said. “He’s been to my gym. I really respect him.”
The Shaddow knows
Ridgewood junior Charles Shaddow showed real emotion after punching his ticket to the semifinals.
The 132-pounder held off New Milford’s Jerzey Ryan in one of the better matches of the day winning 2-0.
“I think this really establishes myself in one of the hardest counties in the country,” said Shaddow. “Being in the top four, I am just looking to keep climbing and tomorrow I make my mark.”
Shaddow placed sixth as a freshman in counties, but said he struggled last year in the event and was disappointed. He’s spent a lot of time working on neutral position and trying to improve.
“I am not the strongest guy, so its hard for me to hold people down, and I have just been working on neutral all summer long and it showed on the mat and now I’m ready to go.”
The numbers
27: The number of semifinalists from non-public schools.
14: All 14 top seeds advanced to the semifinals.
11: St. Joseph Regional leads all schools with 11 semifinalists.
9: The number of semifinalists from Paramus Catholic, second most of any school.
8 seconds: the fastest pin of day one was in eight seconds by Joey Monticello of Don Bosco at 150 pounds.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County wrestling tournament: 5 takeaways from Day 1
