Brick Memorial wrestling wins 17th sectional championship by taking calculated risks
MIDDLETOWN - The reason Ryan Smith came back and wrestled this season for Brick Memorial was for matches like Wednesday night.
Smith, who took last season's delayed and COVID-shortened season off due to injuries, was the final hero for the Mustangs on a night where they had several.
He bumped up to 157 pounds and defeated Middletown South's Alex Quintano 7-3 in the final bout to give Brick Memorial a 26-25 win in an NJSIAA Central Group 4 championship match that was a throwback to classic matches of yesteryear.
Brick Memorial (18-3), which won its Shore Conference-record 17th sectional championship, will wrestle at North Hunterdon Friday night in a Group 4 semifinal. Mount Olive will host Shawnee in the other semifinal. The Group 4 championship match is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Franklin.
"I'm so happy,'' Smith, who is a two-time state qualifier, said. "I just love celebrating with my team. I love doing it. It's all part of the sport. We work so hard, and this is what it's for.''
"This kid is a freak athlete,'' Brick Memorial coach Mike Kiley said. "To be able to take a year off and come back and wrestle the way he does, that's not normal. We're so lucky to have him back in the room.''
Pre-match flip and key wins
Brick Memorial was able to bump Smith up and away from Middletown South's two-time state qualifier David Hussey because it won the pre-match flip and because it won bouts it needed to win before that.
The calculated risks Kiley and his coaching staff took at 120 and 126 pounds paid off big time.
They bumped senior Evan Tallmadge, last year's 113-pound state champion, up to 126 pounds to take on Middletown South's two-time state top five finisher Jack Zaleski. Tallmadge recorded a 3-1 win on a takedown with 1:16 remaining in the third period after almost getting caught in a cradle while riding Zaleski in the second period.
Junior Lucas Torre, a 2020 state qualifier when he was at Point Pleasant Boro, had preceded the Tallmadge-Zaleski bout with a 6-2 win over Kaden King at 120 pounds.
It was not a move without danger. Tallmadge, when he was at Brick Township High School, had edged Zaleski 4-3 in a 2020 NJSIAA 106-pound wrestleback semifinal.
"I had to have faith in my hammer, state champ senior,'' Kiley said. "He's a gamer. He lives this lifestyle. How can you not have confidence in Evan Tallmadge on the mat?''
By weighing in Anthony Santaniello, last year's 120-pound state champion, at 132, Middletown South had no move to make with Zaleski.
"We had heard they were going to do that switch, and we welcomed it,'' Middletown South coach Anton Atterbury said. "I'll wrestle that match 10 times in a row, and I think the outcome might be different 10 times in a row.''
'I knew that's what I needed'
Tallmadge knew what he had to do Wednesday night was for his teammates
"I was so excited,'' Tallmadge said. "I knew that's what I needed to do for the team to win and I knew I could do it, too.''
The end of the second period was scary for Tallmadge and the Brick Memorial coaches, wrestlers and fans when Zaleski almost put Tallmadge to his back with a cradle. Zaleski ended up with only an escape.
"When we wrestled in states two years ago, he (Zaleski) cradled me,'' Tallmadge said. "I was making sure not to get cradled. I ended up getting cradled, but got right back out. I wasn't too worried, but it's definitely something I have to look out for when I'm wrestling.''
But, without Torre's heroics, the move with Tallmadge would have only resulted in a split at the two weights. Torres has been in and out of the lineup. When he has been in, he has wrestled at 126 pounds most of the time.
However, his workout partners both in the Brick Memorial wrestling room and at the ShoreThing club are Tallmadge and Santaniello.
"They help me with everything - practice, school, everything,'' Torre said. "My teammates work me hard, and it makes me better.''
"I watch these kids train and I watch how hard they push themselves,'' Kiley said. "I have nothing but confidence when I send them out.''
Santaniello feels Torre is capable of big things as the individual postseason approaches.
"He's starting to get over the hump, and he's really going to do well at the end of the year,'' Santaniello said. "He's training so hard. He works hard.''
The wins at 120 and 126 boxed Middletown South (15-5) in at 138 and prevented them from bumping Robert Generelli away from Santaniello, who was bumping up. If Middletown South had bumped Generelli to 144, it would have resulted in either Jason Desanctis or Quintano not wrestling.
Santaniello put Generelli to his back four times in recording 11 back points in a 15-0 technical fall win that made it 23-16 Brick Memorial headed into the final three bouts.
"I thought they were going to bump, but once I saw him (Generelli) run out on to the mat, I was psyched,'' Santaniello said. "When they didn't bump, I knew we were going to win.''
Middletown South, which was trying to win its first sectional championship, did a lot right itself.
It won tossup bouts at 165 and 190 with backup Harrison King and Jack Willi. It also got a one-point win at 132 from Alec Holland on a takedown with one second left and received a 5-3 win from DeSanctis over two-time region top six finisher Braden Scott on a takedown with 39.5 seconds left.
Hussey's pin at 150 gave the Eagles a 25-23 headed into the final bout and their first lead since it was 13-12 after 113.
"I'm extremely extremely proud of our guys, especially the fact that every single of them is from Middletown and it was developed in our program,'' Atterbury said. "We didn't assemble a team. We developed a team and I'm unbelievably proud of the Middletown kids, for sure.''
Meanwhile, Brick Memorial will now try and win its Shore-record 10th state group championship and first since 2015.
"It's continuing the tradition that I love so much,'' Kiley said. "I love this program. I've grown up in it. They've taught me so much and to give it back and keep on the winning tradition, I can't be happier. I'm blessed. We're excited about the opportunity we have in front of us.''
BRICK MEMORIAL 26, MIDDLETOWN SOUTH 25
165: Harrison King (MS) d. Mike Angrosina 11-10
175: Harvey Ludington (BM) tf. Jack Reiter 4:00 (15-0).
190: Jack Willi (MS) d. Cory Martin 3-2
215: Matt Cody (MS) d. Mike Owusu 3-1
HWT: Sam Azzaretti (BM) d. Dante Miranda 5-1
106: Gavin Martin (BM) md. Zach Veniskey 15-3
113: Ryan Madden (MS) md. Kenneth Melill0 13-0
120: Lucas Torre (BM) d. Kaden King 6-2
126: Evan Tallmadge (BM) d. Jack Zaleski 3-1
132: Alec Holland (MS) d. Jack Torre 5-4
138: Anthony Santaniello (BM) tf. Robert Generelli 5:04 (15-0)
144: Jason DeSanctis (MS) d. Braden Scott 5-3
150: David Hussey (MS) p. Brody Elk 1:38
157: Ryan Smith (BM) d. Alex Quintano 7-3
IN OTHER NJSIAA TOURNAMENT MATCHES
PUBLIC SCHOOL SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
CENTRAL GROUP 5
Howell 31, Hunterdon Central 26: A pin by returning state qualifier Giovanni Scafidi in the final bout at 138 pounds gave Howell (21-4) its fifth sectional championship and first since 2018 in a see-saw match.
Hunterdon Central (14-4) had grabbed a 26-25 lead on an 11-4 win by Evan Thompson at 132 pounds.
Howell's returning state fifth-place finisher Sebastian Ortega bumped up to 126 pounds and defeated William Cella 4-0 to give Howell a 25-23 lead with two bouts remaining.
Hunterdon Central won the first three bouts to grab an 11-0 lead before a pin by returning state champion Hunter Mays (165), a 7-2 win by returning state qualifier D.J. Henry (175) and a 6-3 decision by Ian Soutar (190) enabled Howell to grab a 12-11 lead.
Thomas Richards (heavyweight) had a key pin and Michael Edmundson (120) a major decision for Howell.
CENTRAL GROUP 2
Raritan 42, Rumson-Fair Haven 25: Braden Kmak pinned 2020 region champion Aidan Shaugnessy with a second remaining in a bout he was trailing 10-4 in the second bout of a five-bout, 24-point run from 126-150 as the Rockets (20-6) defeated the Bulldogs (11-10) and won their fourth sectional championship and first since 2018.
Ryan Mansueto began the run by bumping up to 126 pounds and recording a 7-2 win over Cole Pangborn.
Zach Reilly (138) followed with a pin and Alex Auletta's 7-5 win at 144 clinched the match with a bout remaining. Jack Devaney (150) finished the run with a pin.
Nicholas Burns (heavyweight) and Matt Erven (113) also had pins for Raritan.
CENTRAL GROUP 1
Delaware Valley 68, Point Pleasant Beach 6.
SOUTH GROUP 5
Southern 28, Kingsway 23
Related: Southern wins all the tossups and knocks off Kingsway
SOUTH GROUP 3
Delsea 59, Lacey 12
NONPUBLIC SECTIONAL SEMIFINALS
SOUTH A
CBA 59, St. Joseph (Metuchen) 12: Tyler Barrett (150), a region champion in 2020, two-time state qualifier Zander Silva (157) and two-time region qualifier Anthony Lawrence all pinned within the first four bouts and Nick Stump (165) had a major decision during that run as the Colts (17-2) defeated the Falcons and advanced to the South A championship match.
CBA's Alex Nini (120), last year's state eighth-place finisher, defeated Nico Calello, last year's state third-place finisher at 106 last year, 7-5, and the Colts' Garrett Totten (126), a two-time state seventh-place finisher, defeated two-time region sixth-place finisher Giovanni Alejandro 6-2.
Robert Canterino (215), Vincent Principe (113), Julian George (138), last year's state eighth-place finisher at 132, and Nicholas Punzi (144) all pinned for CBA.
St. Augustine 37, St. John Vianney 34: A pin by 2020 state qualifier Troy Mcleer in the next-to-last bout at 150 pounds clinched the Hermits' win over the Lancers (16-4).
St. Augustine then forfeited to two-time state qualifier Jasiah Queen in the final bout at 157 pounds.
A pin by returning state fifth-place finisher Richie Grungo (138) and a major decision by returning state qualifier Jake Slotnick (144) had given St. Augustine a 31-28 lead headed into the 150-pound bout.
St. Augustine jumped out to a 21-0 lead with pins in three of the first four bouts.
St. John Vianney then won six straight bouts from 106-138, capped by three-time state qualifier Nico Diaz's win by technical fall at 138, to grab a 28-21 lead with four bouts left.
SOUTH B
Red Bank Catholic 72, St. Rose 3: Isaiah Nash (132) Dan Conroy (144), Vincent Muscillo (157) and Chris Holt (190) all won by pin as the Caseys (11-5) advanced to a sectional final for what is believed to be the first time.
Holy Spirit 39, Donovan Catholic 33.
FRIDAY'S MATCHUPS
PUBLIC SCHOOL SEMIFINALS
GROUP 5
4. Livingston at 1. Howell
3. Phillipsburg at 2. Southern.
GROUP 4
4. Shawnee at 1. Mount Olive
3. Brick Memorial at 2. North Hunterdon
GROUP 2
4. Hanover Park at 1. Raritan
3. Collingswood at 2. High Point.
NON-PUBLIC SECTIONAL FINALS
SOUTH A
3. St. Augustine at 1. Christian Brothers Academy
SOUTH B
2. Holy Spirit at 1. Red Bank Catholic.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Wrestling: Brick Memorial wins 17th sectional title the hard way
