Shore Conference wrestling scoreboard for Jan. 2-4
Thursday, January 4
Class A South
No. 1 Southern 56, No. 10 Jackson Memorial 7
Consecutive pins by Bradford Birch (190), returning region champion Collin French (215) Caleb Counts (heavyweight) and returning region champion Anthony Mason (106) sparked a 33-0 surge over the first seven bouts as the Rams (4-0, 4-0), ranked No. 1 in the Asbury Park Press Top 15 and No. 6 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 15, rolled to the win over the Jaguars (4-2, 3-1).
Southern's fifth consecutive win over Jackson Memorial gave it a stranglehold on its fourth straight Shore Conference Class A South championship. The Rams have already defeated Brick Memorial - the other main challenger in the division.
Southern won 12 of the 14 bouts abd collected bonus points in eight bouts. Returning state champion Matt Henrich (157) also pinned.
The most intriguing bout result came at 113, where Southern freshman Cash McVey rallied from a four-point deficit after the first period and defeated returning state qualifier Joseph Weikel 8-7. McVey had two takedowns in both the second and third periods.
Also, The Rams' Bryce Manera (138), who was one win shy of a state medal in 2022 when he was at Holy Spirit won by technical fall over 2022 state qualifier Jonathan Espinosa and Jackson Memorial's two-time state qualifier Cael Huxford defeated Noah Fontana, who was a state qualifier last year at Mainland 5-2.
175: Mitch Bivona (S) d. William Kovacs 4-1.
190: Bradford Birch (S) p. Logan Schlenk 3:55.
215: Collin French (S) p. Joseph Piazza 1:17.
HWT: Caleb Counts (S) p. Jason Angeles 4:18
106: Anthony Mason (S) p. Michael Krieck :26.
113: Cash McVey (S) d. Joseph Weikel 8-7.
120: Jacob Chambers (S) d. Ahmed Raheel 5-4.
126: Jason Seda (JM) md. Sam Pari 9-1.
132: Scottie Sari (S) tf. Rocco Gaudious 15-0
138: Bryce Manera (S) tf. Jonathan Espinosa 17-1.
144: Wyatt Stout (S) d. Christopher Collins 7-2.
150: Cael Huxford (JM) d. Noah Fontana 5-2.
157: Matt Henrich (S) p. Jimil Elbayer 3:22.
165: Hayden Hochstrasser (S) md. Ryan Wolf 12-2.
Nonconference
Shore 49, New Egypt 27
Wednesday, January 3
Class A North
No. 6 Howell 65, Freehold Township 12
No. 7 Middletown North 69, Freehold 11.
No. 2. Christian Brothers Academy 56, Middletown South 12:
A 5-4 win by two-time state qualifier Tyler Venet over returning region fifth place finisher Alec Holland at 150 highlighted the Colts' win over the Eagles.
Class A Central
No. 3 St. John Vianney 40, No. 8 Red Bank Catholic 34:
A win by Luca Minardo (215) enabled the short-handed Lancers (2-0, 2-0), ranked No. 3 in the Asbury Park Press Top 15 and No. 11 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, to hang on for the win over Caseys (3-1, 1-1).
Minardo's 5-1 win over Mamoun Chater gave St. John Vianney a 34-22 lead with three bouts remaining and curtailed a Red Bank Catholic rally that had cut a 31-6 deficit to 31-22.
The teams then exchanged forfeits at forfeit and 106, with the Caseys forfeit at 106 officially clinching the match.
Red Bank Catholic, ranked No. 8 in the APP Top 15, had closed to within 31-22 by sweeping 165-190 with pins at 175 and 190.
St. John Vianney wrestled without two-time state qualifiers Jake Zaltsman (138) and Cole Stangle (165). Neither weighed in. Stangle is expected to wrestle in the Shore Conference Tournament this weekend. Stangle is seeded No. 1 at 165. The SCT will take place Friday night and Saturday at Middletown South
Zaltsman, who was seeded No. 2 at 138, withdrew from the SCT Thursday.
Because of the absence of Zaltsman, St. John Vianney had to bump 2022 106 pound runner-up and two-time state medalist Patrick O'Keefe from 132 to 138 to ensure it got a split at those two weights. It also got majored at 165 in a weight it would have been heavily favored in.
St. John Vianney did receive a boost from the season debut of junior Dezmond Lenaghan. Lenaghan was a state qualifier the last two seasons when he was at Donovan Catholic. Lenaghan pinned returning region sixth-place finisher Marco Conroy.
The teams could well meet again in the NJSIAA Non Public B Tournament semifinal. Both will have different lineups, if that matchup takes place.
St. John Vianney will, obviously, hope to have its full lineup.
Red Bank Catholic will likely have two-time state qualifier Michael DiBiase at 106 and returning state qualifier Noah Michaels at 120.
DiBiase weighed in at 113 and was not eligible to weigh in at 106 Wednesday night under the NJSIAA's descent plan. He will be able to wrestle at 106 in the SCT due to the one pound weight allowance every wrestler will get due to Jackson Memorial and Shore Regional wrestling Thursday night. An additional one pound allowance will given Saturday.
DiBiase is the No. 1 seed at 106 in the SCT.
Michaels weighed in at 126 Wednesday and was not eligible to weigh in at 106 Wednesday under the descent plan. Michaels was able to bump up to 132 Wednesday night and away from two-time state champion Anthony Knox. Michaels was not entered in the SCT.
120: Matthew Gould (SJV) p. Arthur Torrone :49.
126: Anthony Knox (SJV) p. Joseph Gallagher Jr. 1:30
132: Noah Michaels (RBC) p. Michael Russo :54.
138: Patrick O'Keefe (SJV) p. Michael Milke 1:11.
144: Dezmond Lenaghan (SJV) p. Marco Conroy 3:47.
150: Ryan Gavrish (SJV) md. Robert Connelley 21-7.
157: John Saraiva (SJV) d. Christian Rodriguez 14-8.
165: Vincent Muscillo (RBC) md. Michael Scagnelli 10-0.
175: Frank Romeo (RBC) p. Daniel Breen 5:41.
190: Jamie Gutridge (RBC) p. Jacob Feinstein 1:51.
215: Luca Minardo (SJV) d. Mamoun Chater 5-1.
HWT: Lorenzo Portella (RBC) by forfeit.
106: Riley Correal (SJV) by forfeit.
113: Michael DiBiase (RBC) p. Zachary Zaltsman 2:55.
No. 9 Raritan 61, Monmouth 13
No. 5. Rumson-Fair Haven 51, No. 12 Holmdel 13:
In what could be a preview of the Shore Conference Tournament 190-pound final, Rumson-Fair Haven junior Connor Delaney defeated Holmdel's Alex Reyes 8-5 as the Bulldogs (3-0, 3-0), ranked No. 5 in the APP Top 15 and No. 20 in the NJWWA Top 20, defeated the Hornets (6-1, 0-1). Holmdel is ranked No. 12 in the APP Top 15.
Both Delaney and Reyes are returning state qualifiers. Reyes was one win shy of being a state medalist last season at 175. Delaney qualified for last season's state tournament at 190.
Reyes is the No. 1 seed at 190 in the SCT. Delaney is seeded No. 2 in the SCT.
Brick Memorial's 2022 175 pound state champion and 2023 175 pound state runner up Harvey Ludington would have been the No. 1 seed at 190 and heavy favorite in the SCT if he was entered. He was not entered due to bout number concerns due to the fact he will wrestle next weekend in the Escape The Rock Tournament at Council Rock South (Pa.) High School, Brick Memorial coach Mike Kiley said. Ludington did wrestle and pinned Wednesday night in Brick Memorial's win over Brick.
Class A South
No. 4 Brick Memorial 62, Brick 10
Central 39, Toms River North 29
No. 1. Southern 65, Toms River South 12
Class B North
No. 13 Colts Neck 42, Long Branch 24:
A 27-point run over the first five bouts sent the Cougars (5-1, 3-0), ranked No. 13 in the APP Top 15, on their way to the win over the Green Wave (3-2, 1-1) and gave them the inside track for the Class B North championship.
Colts Neck has wins over both Ocean and Long Branch - the two teams that figured to be the other main contenders in Class B North. Colts Neck has two previous divisional titles - 2019, when it shared Class B North with Ocean and Middletown North and 2021.
Pins by region fifth place finisher Amir Shakhnavazov (heavyweight) and returning region sixth-place finisher Ethan Michaels (106) and Michael Borao (126) highlighted the early run.
A 6-5 win by 2022 state qualifier Tyler Russ over returning region qualifier Daniel Ramirez on a late takedown at 150 highlighted a `15-point, four bout run from 144-165 that made it 42-9 with three bouts remaining.
HWT: Amir Shakhnavazov (CN) p. Justin Sunnerville 1:04.
106: Ethan Michaels (CN) p. Danielle Silva DeJesus 1:40.
113: Nicholas Zecchino (CN) md. Jordan Viera 12-3.
120: Colin Barone (CN) tf. Dominic Lugo 16-0.
126: Michael Borao (CN) p. Aiden McVey 1:18
132: Matthew Munson (LB) p. Blake Robinovitz 1:07.
138: Javier Guzman (LB) d. Matthew Anderson 5-3.
144: Mykhailo Shvets (CN) p. Pedro DeSouza 1:46.
150: Tyler Russ (CN) d. Daniel Ramirez 6-5.
157: Nicholas Fischer (CN) d. Nick Miller 10-3.
165: Brody Kaplan (CN) d. Devon Smith 4-2.
175: Cristan Cunalata (LB) p. Dean Natale 1:04.
190: Tornick Kajaia (LB) p. Landon Roth 1:38.
215: Tyler Taylor (LB) d. Anthony Moriano 6-2.
No. 14 Ocean 46, Manasquan 24.
Red Bank 48, Neptune 28
Class B Central/Nonconference
Point Pleasant Beach 56, Asbury Park 21
Point Pleasant Beach 60, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 17
Class B South
No. 15, Jackson Liberty 52, Barnegat 18
No. 11 Point Pleasant Borough 41, Donovan Catholic 23:
A 4-2 win by junior Brayden Clark over two-time district placewinner Riley Gutierrez in the next to last bout at 144 pounds clinched the win for the Panthers (2-0, 2-0), ranked No. 11 in the APP Top 15, over the Griffins (2-1, 2-1).
Clark's win gave Point Pleasant Borough a 35-23 lead with one bout left.
The Panthers took control of the match by winning four of the first bouts to built a 20-3 lead.
Freshman Jake Clayton (157) started the match with a win by technical fall over two-time district medalist Brody Kountouris.
Tanner Hynes (215) concluded the opening run with a pin.
The featured bout of the match saw Donovan Catholic's two-time state medalist Kurt Wehner defeat two-time state qualifier Frankie Burgio 3-0 at 126
Wehner is the No. 1 seed in the SCT at 120.. Burgio is the No. 5 seed in the SCT at 126.
157: Jake Clayton (PBo) tf. Brody Kountouris 4:42 (22-7).
165: Brian Garcia (DC) d. James Bradley 4-2 (sudden victory).
175: Ryan Acquisto (PBo) d. Michael Colon 5-0.
190: Aiden Wilson (PBo) by forfeit.
215: Tanner Hynes (PBo) p. Jonathan Kales 3:30.
HWT: Sam Rock III (DC) d. George Walsh 7-2.
106: Joseph Vezzosi (DC) d. Michael DeAngelo 7-6.
113: Joseph DeAngelo (PBo) by forfeit.
120: West Matta (PBo) p. Hank Mulligan 5:52.
126: Kurt Wehner (DC) d. Frankie Burgio 3-0.
132: Sawyer Ostroff (DC) tf. Jared Drewes 5:02 (18-3).
138: Anthony Russo (DC) p. Jack Barger 3:55.
144: Brayden Clark (PBo) d. Riley Gutierrez 8-4.
150: Garrett Weiland (PBo) p. Anthony DeCaro 2:26.
Lacey at Lakewood
Nonconference
Wall 58, Notre Dame 10
Cinnaminson 49, Manchester 19
Tuesday January 2
Class A South
No. 10 Jackson Memorial 39, Toms River East 27
Class B Central
Shore 39, Asbury Park 36
Nondivisional
No. 9 Raritan 52, Keansburg 21
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Wrestling scoreboard: Jan. 2-4
