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WRESTLING

Shore teams flex muscle
Central, Southern take out No. 3 Bergen Catholic

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/12/06BY JOE ADELIZZI
STAFF WRITER

BERKELEY They put up the "Welcome to the Jersey Shore" sign at Central Regional on Saturday, but neither the Golden Eagles nor Southern Regional were cordial hosts for Bergen Catholic, who came into the tri-meet as the No. 3 team in the latest Gannett N.J. Top 20 wrestling poll, and left with two black eyes and bloodied noses.

Central, ranked eighth in the Shore this week, knocked off the Crusaders, 34-33, in the first match and Southern, ranked second in the Shore, blasted Bergen, 45-15.

It was the kind of thumping that sent a message as to how good the wrestling has become down here.

"It's the toughest wrestling around," said Central's Ryan Lyons, who had one of the biggest wins for Central in its victory against Bergen. "I guess we gave them a little more than they expected."

In the final matchup Southern defeated Central, 40-29.

Lyons was trailing as the final seconds were ticking off in the 160-pound bout against the Crusaders' Jonathon Becker when he got a takedown for an 8-7 victory.

Lyons has been the Golden Eagles' top pinch-hitter all season, moving between 160 and 171 based on matchups when Nick Tenpenny is in the lineup. But Tenpenny, still undefeated, sat this one out with a hip injury and Central needed Lyons to come through.

"I got so pumped when Mario (Lynn) won his bout and then Jack (Weaver) beat his kid. I knew I had to win for us to have a chance," Lyons said.

Lynn was going against highly regarded Chris Battaglia, a region runner-up last year, at 125 pounds. He escaped in the second period and then rode him out the final two minutes. The victory gave Central an 18-12 lead, and allowed it to withstand back-to-back pins in the next two bouts.

Len Forsyth got six points back with a pin before Jack Weaver went out against Matt Morgenstern, a two-time region runner-up.

Weaver scored a reversal late in the third period for a 6-4 victory. Brother Nick followed with a major decision to give Central a 31-24 lead before Lyons got his win.

"It was a big day for us," Lyons said.

And it was an even more impressive day for the Rams who jumped out to an 18-0 lead against Bergen Catholic.

"It was a good match for us," Southern coach John Stout said. "We were very physical against them and we got the wins we wanted."

None was more enjoyable for the team and the staff than the final bout at 215 when freshman Glenn Carson took on Bergen Catholic's Larry Otsuka, who reached Atlantic City last year.

Otsuka had a 3-2 lead with about 10 seconds remaining when he was hit with a stalling point. Carson quickly followed with a takedown and back points to win the match.

"I just kept wrestling," Carson said. "You don't stop until the match is over."

Stout understood the significance of the bout.

"I'm hoping their kid wins his region and Glenn wins ours. This will help him in the seedings," Stout said.

The Rams had five pins including back-to-back six-pointers by Luke Lanno (135) and Frank Molinaro (140).

"We've had the loss to Kittatinny hanging around our neck," Stout said. "It seems like it's keeping us down in the rankings despite all the teams we've beaten. I think this should move us up."

MANCHESTER 57, KEANSBURG 11:

Hawks coach Alex George picked up his 100th career victory as Manchester rolled past Keansburg, 57-11, and Freehold Township, 42-27.

Manchester (15-7) will compete in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group II team tournament Tuesday while the Titans are in Central Jersey Group I competition.

CBA 51, MONMOUTH 18:

Dave Chirichello handed Anthony Bongarzone his first loss of the season when he took a 4-2 decision in overtime. Bongarzone, who usually wrestles at 140 and was 24-0, bumped up to 145 for the bout.

The Colts shut out Monsignor Donovan and beat Piscataway, 49-21, as they prepared for the Non-Public A South tournament that begins Tuesday.