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WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/29/05

BY STEVEN FALK STAFF WRITER

MANCHESTER * The Central wrestling team has set some lofty goals for itself this
year.

"If we can make the top four of the Shore Conference (Shore Conference
Tournament), or even the final, that would be awesome," said Central senior
152-pounder Nick Weaver. "Our team, from my understanding, is willing to work as
hard as they can to get where we want to be."

The Golden Eagles accomplished their first major goal of the season Wednesday by
winning the team championship at the 28th Hawk Classic at Manchester High School.

Central, which had four champions, including Weaver, and eight finalists, finished
with 152 1/2 points, 28 points ahead of runner-up Christian Brothers Academy.
Raritan, the defending champion, was third with 106 points.

"We have the great potential to go as far as we possibly can," said Weaver,
the state's fourth-place finisher last year at 140. "It's about how bad we want
it and how tough we're willing to be to get there."

Weaver, who defeated CBA's Anthony Deleo, 11-1, in his championship bout and won by
pin and technical fall in his other two bouts Wednesday, was referring to some of the
problems, for various reasons, that the Golden Eagles have had from time to time
since the start of the 2004-2005 season in fielding their full lineup.

When Central has fielded its full lineup over the last two seasons, it has been tough
to deal with. It won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III championship last year, the
first sectional wrestling championship in school history.

For example, this year, junior John Mackie, who finished fourth in District 24 last
year at 119, quit the team for almost a week earlier this month. He returned to the
team last week. Wednesday he won the 135-pound championship with a hard-earned 4-2
win over Raritan's Bob Kolb.

"It (quitting) was a stupid decision and I shouldn't have made it," Mackie
said. "I was starting to get tired of it and then I realized how bad I missed
it.

"My team made me come back. We're a big family, and we do a lot for each other.
I just couldn't be without them."

The Golden Eagles, who are ranked No. 19 in the Gannett New Jersey Top 20, also
received championships from Nick Tenpenny (160) and Sean DeDeyn (heavyweight).
DeDeyn's pin of Raritan's Jeff King in the final wil help his seeding in the Region
VI Tournament.

Raritan, which is wrestling without junior 135-pounder Dave Seidenberg, the Region VI
125-pound third-place finisher last year, who is currently sidelined until late
January-early February because of a broken ankle, showed it has some underclassmen to
deal with.

Freshman 140-pounder Dan Seidenberg, Dave's younger brother, impressed in majoring
Central's Len Forsyth, 10-2, in the semifinals and then defeating CBA's Chris Finley,
9-2, in the final.

Sophomore Billy Voutsinas (130) rode Central's Mario Lynn out the entire second and
third periods and recorded two sets of back points in a 4-0 win in the finals. That
will be a big win for Voutsinas in the Region VI Tournament seeding.

Voutsinas had a reasonable chance to qualify for the state tournament last year until
he failed to make weight the first night of the regions.

CBA's champions were James Beshada (125) and Anthony Chirichello (171).