Wrestling: All-Star Charity Classic features team scoring, new high school rules
Wrestlers tend to wrestle.
So, a handful of Sussex County boys have a lacrosse game Saturday morning and are hustling to the gym that afternoon, trading their shoulder pads for a singlet.
While a trio of Somerville girls are eager to show off their improvements after training all spring. Some baseball and softball players are going from hitting a single with a bat to one on the mat.
More: Wrestling index: Handy collection of All-Area links
Combine that with good causes, and the 11th annual All-Star Charity Classic presented by GardenStateHSWrestling.com on Saturday, May 11, promises to be a fun event with stellar competition. Action kicks off at 1 p.m. at Wayne Valley High School. Click here for ticket and streaming information.
It’s not just your typical all-star meet with one match for competitors. Boys and girls high school wrestlers from Somerset, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties are broken into four squads and team scores are kept with a semifinal round followed by first- and third-place bouts.
The winning team’s manager chooses which charity receives the proceeds from ticket sales and streaming passes. In play are the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Fans should expect plenty of offense in the folkstyle matches. For one, the event is using the new wrestling rules for the 2024-25 season recently passed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which include three-point takedowns.
The periods consist of 2-1-1 minutes and the event has other fun aspects. The wrestlers get custom singlets with their name and high school logo on the back, the winners receive a bracket and graduated wrestlers serve as honorary coaches. They include former Roxbury state champion and current Lehigh wrestler Luke Stanich and North Hunterdon star Jodi Holder.
The lineups have a mix of graduating seniors and younger wrestlers on the verge of breaking out.
Donald J. Brower, the website’s owner and founder, ran the first all-star meet as a fundraiser for Madison High School coach Steve Healey, whose daughter had an inoperable brain tumor. It featured stars from Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex against Morris County.
“It was a wrestling community coming together to help one of their own,” Brower said, “and it’s kind of expanded now to where the wrestling community’s coming together to help everybody. And that’s just kind of what we do.”
Brower, a former wrestling writer for NJ.com, started the site as a hobby covering Morris County. As his coverage area expanded, so did the all-star classic. He livestreamed this year’s girls Skyland Conference Tournament, thus the invite for the Somerville wrestlers of Sydnie Van Ness (Jr.), Abigail Centeno (Jr.) and Anshul Kumal (So.), the only Somerset County participants.
The Pioneers girls team has grown from two wrestlers with stars Valarie Maldonado and Emme Hoarle three years ago to six the next year and to 10 this past season. Over half of the team had a boys sibling who wrestled and that family-like culture carries over to practices.
Somerville coach Nick Accetta said the veterans encouraged the younger wrestlers to stick it out after the taxing first few days. Now, he noted the Classic is another way to showcase the wrestlers and it’s a good step for the program.
“I think it’s a mix of excitement and nervousness,” Accetta said. “They’re going to see how their two and a half months of training has gone. … I think it’s good. It’s fun. They get a new singlet. They get their name on it, it’s for charity and the spotlight’s on them. So I’m excited for it.”
Saturday, Centeno (23 wins last season) and Kumar (24 wins) are on the same team and Van Ness (23 wins) is an opponent on a different squad. That’s just one of the wrinkles of the event and the rooting for the teams brings another element into play.
“It’s a fun little thing and the kids get behind it,” Brower said. “We kind of were doing it just to try something different last year and the atmosphere in the gym at Morristown was amazing.”
Last year, Brower started the four-team format and the managers of himself, James Clarke (GardenStateHSWrestling.com), Nick Gantaifis (NorthJersey.com/Daily Record) and Brad Wilson (lehighvalleylive.com/The Express Times) selected their rosters in a draft.
Brower said the event raised roughly $3,100 from the spectators last year and local businesses made donations. The Brower’s Brawlers won the title and his charity of the American Cancer Society got the bulk of the proceeds (around $4,500), but he also noted that he allocated money to the other charities, which each got around $500.
This year, he hopes it fundraises more money, especially with having full girls teams for the first time. They also use volunteer officials after Vinnie Russo, a prominent official in the state, helped spread the word.
“This is all about celebrating all these kids and what they do,” said Brower, who credited his wife Amanda for support. “When I first started it, it was a nice way to kind of give back because wrestling’s always been really good to me and I know the heart behind wrestling. I kind of understand the heart and the community. It’s just a nice way to get everybody together.”
Full Rosters
(weights are by natural weights)
Browers Brawlers
Boys
106-Chace Severs, Lakeland
113-Jack Lorper, Hawthorne
120-Frankie Demary, Parsippany
125-Reid Buzby, North Hunterdon
130-Sowzrawca Tsay, Wayne Hills
134-Tyler Redfield, Warren Hills
138-Nico Gregory, Randolph
142-Connor Wysocki, Randolph
146-Roger Barrazueta, Morris Hills
150-Sean Walker, Lakeland Reg
157-James Dacunto. North Warren
165-Ashton Fava, Wayne Hills
175-Nico Gonzalez, Mount Olive
190-Frankie Martino, Passaic Valley
215-Wyatt Sisco, Kinnelon
285-Spencer Ribitzki, West Milford
Girls
100-Emelly Santos, Morris Hills
107-Laura Rojas, PCTI
114-Elizabeth Galladay, Voorhees
120-Emma White, North Hunterdon
126-Sophia Lentine, Depaul
132-Molly Smyth, Mount Olive
138-Sophia Massefski, Montville
145-Abigail Centeno, Somerville
152-Gelia Brutus, Par Hills
157-Anshul Kumar, Somerville
165-Carina Rivera, Nutley
185-Evette Colon, Morris Hills
235-Caroline Biegel, Depaul
Clarkes Dream Team
Boys
106-Conor Hallowich, North Warren
113-Jack Bergmann, Lakeland
120-Charlie Piccione, Warren Hills
125-Joseph Rizzuto, Depaul
130-Ryan Hrenenko, Sparta
134-Jake Taylor, Delaware Valley
138-Colin Menier, West Milford
142-Josh Lee, Warren Hills
146-Rafat Al-Kardali, Wayne Valley
150-Reece Smith, Kittatinny
157-Ethan Dalling, Kittatinny
165-Nick Barone, Wayne Valley
175-Jack McCaffrey, Madison
190-Anderson Olcott, Delaware Valley
215-Mason Brancato, Pompton Lakes
285-Tommy Borgia, West Morris
Girls
100-Olivia McCormack, Lakeland
107-Kameko Sibblies, Newton/Kittatinny
114-Lexi Cammarata, Wallkill Valley
120-Jenna Cammarata, Wallkill Valley
126-Cora Almendinger, Lenape Valley
132-Ava Hosonitz, Lenape Valley
138-Sydnie Van Ness, Somerville
145-Natalie Tucker, Vernon
152-Kaylyn Juarez, PCTI
157-Rowan Walte, Vernon
165-Mackenzie Champion, Hunterdon Central
185-Maria Perez, Passaic
235-Emmy Rea Hotz, Delaware Valley
Nicks Knights
Boys
106-Logan Forgatch, Parsippany Hills
113- Jayden Mendez, Dover
120-Delvan Rotte, Depaul
125-Anthony Piemonte, Mount Olive
130- Brandon Beres, Mount Olive
134-Mario Fornini, Par Hills
138-Ismael Vertedor, PCTI
142-Colin Smyth, Mount Olive
146-Logan Hreneko, Sparta
150-Luke Baitzel, Kinnelon
157-Ryan Flammer, Jefferson
165-Gavin Gomes, Morris Knolls
175-Dante Benvenuti, Passaic Valley
190-Adam Mashfej, Wayne Hills
215-Connor White, Sparta
285-Timothy Connolly, Jefferson
Girls
100-Leilani Piskunov, PCTI
107-Sophia Garcia, Morris Hills
114-Avery Hines, Madison
120-Kyara Oliviera, Morris Hills
126-Polina Shardakova-Scorzafava, Kinnelon
132-Carly Poggio, Hunterdon Central
138-Jacqueline Sloan, West Milford
145-Olivia Georges, Depaul
152-Charley De Kleine, Lenape Valley
157-Katelyn Sperry, PCTI
165-Solaris Paul, John F. Kennedy
185-Caitlin Hart, Vernon
235-Tyra Tagoe, Mount Olive
Wilsons Warriors
Boys
106-Frank Figel, Jefferson
113-Augie Szamreta, Warren Hills
120-Mark Montuore, West Morris
125-Aidan Webb, Warren Hills
130-Adam Janouk, Wayne Valley
134-Noah Zindaki, Wayne Valley
138-Matt Roche, Delaware Valley
142-Adam Suzay, Wayne Valley
146-Luke Shivas, Morris Knolls
150-Gage Graziano, Lenape Valley
157-Joseph Geleta, Clifton
165-True DiGuiseppe, Vernon
175-Kyle Blew, Belvidere
190-William Knapp, Roxbury
215-Brandon Veneziano, Passaic Valley
285-Gavin Mericle, High Point
Girls
100-Lexi Galvan, Warren Hills
107-Lily Henderson, Vernon
114-Kaelen Hague, Vernon
120-Marianna Malanga, Madison
126-Jaime Patino, Warren Hills
132-Natalya Severs, Phillipsburg
138-Ashley Coronel, Eastside
145-Charlotte Flatt, Wallkill Valley
152-Paige DeCaro, Newton/Kittatinny
157-Riley Dunn, North Hunterdon
165-Brianna Murray, Newton/Kittatinny
185-Grace Dangell, North Hunterdon
235-Tracy Najarro, Manchester
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Wrestling: All-Star Charity Classic has several fun elements
