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HIGHLIGHT: Molinaro, Winston square off at Invitational

Fans will see exciting matches
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/21/06

Call it hitting the jackpot. For wrestling fans, the New Jersey Coaches Wrestling Invitational hit a home run Friday when Southern's Frank Molinaro agreed to wrestle in the event Sunday, Jan. 29, at Brick
Memorial High School. It's not just that Molinaro, the only defending state champion from the
Shore Conference, will be on hand, but it is who he will wrestle.

Scott Winston has yet to lose a match in New Jersey. He's a sophomore at Jackson who missed his opportunity for an Atlantic City visit last year when he was injured in a non-wrestling accident.

Winston (16-0) and Molinaro (14-0), perhaps the best wrestlers the Shore has to offer (OK, mix Kyle Kiss of Ocean, Nick Parisi of Marlboro and Nick Weaver of Central into the equation) will go head-to-head in
the 145-pound bout at Brick Memorial High School. That's one weight class up for Molinaro, but the weight shouldn't matter much, not the way Molinaro is put together these days.

A 125-pounder last year when he won his state title, he has picked up a solid 15 pounds of muscle. He says it hasn't slowed him down.

His record indicates he's right.

Winston is a flashier wrestler, using blazing speed and an abundance of skillful moves to pile up points.

The fifth annual Invitational switches homes after a four-year run at Rider University. Twenty-eight of the top wrestlers in the state will be at Brick Memorial with wrestling scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Ticket revenue ($5) goes to the Dan Galorenzo scholarship fund.

Kiss, and Dan Lopes of Ocean, Matt Oliver of Toms River North and Matt Rega of Point Beach will also be in action to represent the Shore Conference.

Riding high

Jackson has been riding high this year and the biggest reason may be how well they ride.

Wrestling from the top has become a real strength for the Jaguars, a style they showed off last week against Paulsboro in their 37-19 victory.

"We work on turning guys over all the time," said Sean Byrnes, who is quickly moving up the ladder among area wrestlers. "And a lot of that comes from working with Vinnie Santaniello at the Shore Thing."

Santaniello, a former star wrestler at Brick Memorial, seems to have his imprint on many of the top wrestlers where his school has become a second home.

Jackson wrestlers mix with the guys from Southern or Wall or Memorial at the school. Many face off on a regular basis while drilling.

But at Jackson, learning to work while on top is part of the gospel, according to Scott Goodale.

"We work on top, bottom and neutral," said the Jackson coach. They get an equal amount of time.

"But you have to be able to ride people out if you want to advance later in the year," he said. "The great wrestlers, guys like Winston, can be takedown artists. But if you are good, you better know how to turn people over and get points."

Southern and Memorial all wrestle with that same offensive philosophy. And now it is spreading.

Howell has become a powerhouse, a status it held in the 1970s and nearly duplicated in the late 80s.

Take a look at the wrestling records and you will notice a Rebels wrestler having success at each weight class.

"Things have been going well," said John Gagliano, Howell's coach."The
key is to keep getting better."

The Rebels' season-opening victory against Ocean quickly moved them to the No. 2 spot in the Asbury Park Press poll. Southern Regional, which has taken on all comers this year, is keeping the presure on.

The Rams go to Kittatinny today, ending a stretch that included matches with Ocean, Absegami and Phillipsburg.

Brick Memorial goes on a similar march now.

The Mustangs will face Jackson today at 3 p.m. and then host Gannett N.J. Top 20 poll leader South Plainfield.

They will be the only Shore team to battle South Plainfield unless Ocean or Central Regional can make its way to the NJSIAA Group III semifinals.

Central, fresh off a win against Wall, will be at Ocean on Tuesday. The results there should go a long way toward deciding the Shore Conference Tournament seedings.

Right now Jackson would be No. 1 with either Southern or Howell at the No. 2 or 3 spots.

Memorial, Ocean and Central will all be looking for the four seed as will CBA which had an impressive victory against previously unbeaten Morris Knolls.

Note to coaches

Please remember to call in your match results when you are wrestling at a non-Shore Conference school or you are involved in a quad meet. The home team will call in only its matches, other matches must be called in by you.