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Previews NJSIAA WRESTLING TOURNAMENT CJ GROUP IV NO. 2 HOWELL AT NO. 1 JACKSON Jackson has held the No. 1 ranking at the Jersey Shore since beating Southern in December. Howell was No. 2 most of the year before losing to the Rams in the Shore Conference Tournament. Keep an eye on: The 103-pound bout where Howell's Joey Langel will probably go against Derrik Russell, the freshman who is undefeated in New Jersey this year. At 125, Justin Morello of Howell and Cory Biscaha of Jackson have both won big matches this year. And if Jackson gets its way, you'll see Scott Winston against Billy Woodward at 152. The pick: The Jaguars have too much depth, but it will be close. CJ GROUP III NO. 2 WALL AT NO. 1 OCEAN The Spartans opened the season as the top-rated team in the Shore and among the top three teams in the state. But a series of injuries and some problems with making weight has caused them to battle for every win. Wall beat everyone in B North, but it struggled against Long Branch and Freehold. Wall has been sharp after being shut down for a week during the SCT because of impetigo. It rolled over Long Branch in the rematch Tuesday. Keep an eye on: Ryan Wilson against Ocean's Zac Coulas at 112, which
could be a regional preview. Wall's Blaine Wosczcak and Dan Lopes could
be a good one. Watch to see where Ocean sends out Andrew VanDyk and Nick
Menditto. A lineup shuffle last week seemed to give the Spartans more The pick: Ocean has too many guys who can get bonus points. This will make it three sectional titles in a row for Ocean. CJ GROUP II NO. 2 RARITAN AT NO. 1 DELAWARE VALLEY Two years ago the Rockets surprised the wrestling world with an upset against Del Val. Last year they came within one bout of beating the Terriers again. Now, Raritan must travel to the No. 7 Terriers (Rated No. 5 in the last Gannett N.J. Top 20 Poll) again. But Rockets' coach Rob Nucci thinks his team matches up well and could pull off another surprise. Keep an eye on: T.J. Mitchell beat Dan Kelly two years ago to get the
Rockets going. This time they will need him to stay with Kris Sigafoos
at 119. At 130, Bill Voutsinas has to battle Rich Gebert, and at 135, The pick: Neither team has standouts at upper weights. If Bryant is back, the Rockets win. Without him, it will be tough. SJ GROUP IV NO. 2 ABSEGAMI AT NO. 1 SOUTHERN The Rams have two straight wins against the Braves, including the SJ IV
final last year and a dual match victory this season. Southern has been
rolling since losing in the SCT finals. The Rams appear to be on a Keep on eye on: If Absegami has any hopes of making a run, it'll have to push Matt Weed to 145 and hope he can stay with Keith Dillard, not a likely scenario. That would push Kason Jamison to 152, Phil Black to 160 and Mike Isgro to 171. But Southern just has too much below those weights, and above them. The pick: Southern won the first match 50-10. Figure something near that score. SJ GROUP III NO. 2 CENTRAL AT NO. 1 KINGSWAY Central ended a five-year run by the Dragons last season, and might be able to upend them again this year. The Golden Eagles are battle-tested with recent matches against Bergen Catholic and Southern. They looked good in winning against Seneca when Nick Tenpenny returned to the lineup. But Kingsway's only losses this year came at the Virginia Duals against Nazareth (Pa.). The Dragons rolled to victory in their semifinal match. Keep an eye on: Mario Lynn may go at 130 for the Golden Eagles to face John Renard. Len Forsyth will have to come up big against Mark Gattuso at 140 and Central will need Jack Weaver at 145 against Mark Hague. After that, Nick Weaver (152) should handle Rob Whedon and Tenpenny or Ryan Lyons can handle Bill Widener. The pick: Kingsway is No. 3 in South Jersey and rated No. 8 in the Gannett N.J. Top 20 Poll. But a heathy Central matches up well with Kingsway. SJ NON-PUBLIC A NO. 2 CBA AT NO. 1 CAMDEN CATHOLIC You have to feel for the Colts, who face the Irish every year at this point in the season and can't quite get past them. CBA has only lost to Ocean and Howell on the mat and had a forfeit loss to Raritan in the SCT when it sat out because of skin problems. But the Colts looked good against St. Augustine, which beat Central two weeks ago, in the semifinals. Camden Catholic hasn't lost to anyone in New Jersey and is No. 2 in the Gannett N.J. Top 20 Poll. Keep an eye on: Camden's Tony Palmeri is a state-rated wrestler at 145.
He'll face Dave Chirichello or Chris Finley at 152. The Colts' Ollie
Ferraro will have to tangle with Matt Posch at 189. Mike Ragone, who The pick: Irish just have too much, but Colts will score some points. DESPO PREVIEW>>>> 2006 Shore Conference Tournament Semi-Finals 3:00 pm / Finals 5:00 pm #1 Jags vs. #4 Ocean A rematch of last year's SCT Final puts, the #1 team in the Shore Conference and New Jersey, Jackson against the 4th seeded Spartans of Ocean Twp. The Spartans are looking to avenge last season's 2 point loss to Jackson, but will need a lot to go their way against a very talented and deep Jaguar lineup that is looking for a Shore Conferecne Tournament 3Peat. Down Low (103-125): For the Spartans to beat Jackson, they must come away with 3 out of the 4 bouts between 103 and 125. Jackson meanwhile can really make things difficult for Ocean by taking 2 of these matches. In The Middle (130-160): Jackson has the depth to pull of a lot of maneuvering here to give Coach Goodale his desired matchups, while Ocean will most likely come straight forward. If Ocean can get the matchups they want and hang losses on Bradley, Byrnes, and Boothe, it will be a huge lift to the Spartan's chances. Scott Winston is undefeated in high school and will most likely match up with Ocean's Joey Falco or Gaetjens Lezin. The pressure will be on whichever one of them does not get Winston to take out Dave Concepcion. Up Top (171-275): Prior to losing Jeff Siciliano to injury, the Spartans had a decided advantage in the upperweights. With Siciliano still out the advantage swings in Jackson's favor. Kiss will be favored in his match and will try and get the Spartans as many bonus points as he can. Joe Pemberton's matchup at 215 will be huge. If Pemberton wins, and Kiss gets his bonus, it will be an enormous boost for Ocean. Outlook: Both teams have had brutal schedules and will not wilter under the
spotlight. Jackson's depth may have them coming in here a large favorite, but the
Spartans have been hot as of late and will definitely not roll over for the Jags.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 Howell vs. #3 Southern The A-North Champion Rebels shocked the Shore and the State with a victory over Ocean in December and have been on fire ever since. Howell brings a lineup void of studs, but loaded wth solid wrestlers and few holes and is looking to make a statement to all of their doubters that they are for real. The Rams meanwhile have been looking forward to this Saturday since about 9:30pm on December 21st. They seem to have their lineup back intact and are aiming for their program's 3rd Shore Conference Tournament championship. Down Low (103-125): If Howell has an advantage in the match, it will be in the lower weights. Joey Langel (103) and Cody Fobes (112) are both having very good seasons and will be favorites in whoever they match up against. Blaise Supczynski gives Howell Coach John Gagliano some flexibility with his lineup down low in case he wants to try and send Fobes up to 119 to face Frank Maugeri. Justin Morello can get crucial bonus points for Howell at 125. Southern's freshmen Jason Walters (103) and Brian Broderick (112) are both very solid wrestlers and could even steal wins for the Rams at their weights. If that happens, Howell will have their work cut out for them. In The Middle (130-160): 135 and 140 are going to Southern. The question will be how many bonus points can Luke Lanno and Frank Molinaro give them. If it's 12 points, then the Rebels will have a lot do at the other weights to try and make those points up. One way to do that is for Tom Tuminelli to pull off the upset against the Rams' Keith Dillard at 145. Keith Woodward must also do what he can to get his team bonus points at 152. Up Top (171-275): A decided advantage for the Rams. Freshman Glenn Carson has been unstoppable as of late. He is joined up top by junior Mike Thomas and senior Tim Pringle. All 3 wrestlers are capable of weighing in at 189, and could line up to shut out the Rebels in the final 3 bouts which will make Howell's Pat Sheehan's match all that more important for his team. Gagliano may try and match regular 215 pounder Mike Bonfig up with Thomas to try and get one of those bouts. Outlook: On paper, Southern seems to have the horses to beat Howell and get their
much desired shot at a potential rematch with Jackson, but Howell will probably have
a lot to say about that. The Rebels may not have the star power that the Rams do, but
they have been getting consistently solid efforts throughout their entire lineup all
season long. Even with a 14-0 record, the 2nd seed in the SCT, and a top 5 ranking in
NJ, Howell still has their doubters. They can answer them all with a win over the Southern looks like they may have the slight edge in this match, but all it will take is one bout to swing this match in the other direction. It's that close. Possible Matchups
T minus 1 Week SCT opens next Wednesday at the 4 highest seed sites..1-3 are set with Jackson, Southern and Howell (as long as Howell gets by a surging CBA Wednesday) all taking the Top 3 spots...Host site seed 4 is still open and tonights match Central Regional at Ocean could put that to bed with an Ocean win..if Central pulls the upset then the next few days of matches will all hold a lot more water...Brick Memorial vs Wall, Central vs Long Branch on Saturday, and the annual Toms River North Alumni Quad with CBA, Raritan, and Pinelands also on Saturday. One bubble team key head to head match to determine if they get in or not..Manalapan vs Manchester will knock one out. As it stands now we have 1. Jax 2. Southern 3. Howell (with a win over CBA) 4. Ocean ( if it beats Central Reg) 5. Brick Memorial (if it beats Wall) 6. Central (if it beats Long Branch) 7. CBA (if it beats Raritan) 8. TRE 9. Wall 10. Raritan (if it beats TRN) 11. Pt. Pleasant Boro 12. Long Branch 13. Freehold Boro 14. Toms River North 15. Keansburg 16 Manchester (if they beat Manalapan) CUTOFF TARGETS: 2 weeks to the SCT cutoff and 3 weeks to the NJ State Sectional
Cutoffs...the next 3 weeks are about TEAM..Mano on Mano...jockeying for
rankings and standings for seeds and power points is now the #1 focus of
any coach. Wrestlers need to realize any individual record is now on the
table for the benefit of the team goal to qualify, advance and win the
SCT and Sectional and possibly Groups. So far we have seen some
outstanding matchups and the frequency in the next 3 weeks will only
increase. Great for us fans. Teams won't have time to lick any wounds or
celebrate because the level and scheduling has everyone going strong
2x's a week for the next 3 weeks. Some teams up in the standings Saturday January 7th Preview: 6 Major matches... Southern Rams at Ocean, with MTN coming in wounded after the charge
Howell went through them with. The Spartans ship is now at even keel and
looking balanced...this is a huge match for both teams...for the Rams it
could be a booster shot and send them on a Course to get back at the
Jags in the Sectionals ..for Ocean its a major step to forget December
and start thinking about how good they really are and that the Howell
match will be a "mulligan" when all said and done. Phenomenal bouts with 2 Big "B" North battles with Long Branch going to Wall with the Bull Dawgs of Rumson being the undercard while Colts Neck battles Freehold Boro at Shore Regional making this Tri meet one of the best on Saturday's schedule. CN and FB are a dead even tossup with Shore being a slight underdog to both with Whelan and possibly Chirichella still out for Shore. CN and FB huge head to head bouts of Triozzi v Gaines at 125, Rock v Manney at 152, and Ostner v Parisi at 160 are all huge District seed matches and will carry either team to this important SC Top 16 match. The winner leans more to the 14-13 spot for the SC while the loser goes back on the bubble... Long Branch at Wall..the Knights are tough down low and the Wave needs to calm that storm with no bonus points and then take most of the tossups to have shot at the crown...LB is in great shape, but is it enough to offset the talent of the Wall light weights...Williams v Doyle at 275 is going to be a "huge" match... The Stangs come off a hard fought loss to Southern to take a ride to Gami..Gami is a Top 20 NJ team and the Southern loss won't hurt the stangs poll position as much if they take care of business at Gami...I think by season end, like last year, BM will play a big part in deciding CJGIV.... Barrett v Black at 152 is a headliner for sure The Jags need to stay in the day as history has shown the Rockets will be ready to brawl come Saturday morning...the outcome isn't the draw here but the Rockets have several AC contenders so some bouts should give the fans a treat... Mitchell v Swan 119, Voutsinas v bradley 135, Seidenberg at 140 or 145, Nice... and King v. Solomon at 275...King needs to start bringing his wrestling up.... he isn't where he was last year but it should just be a matter of time Central vs TRE....time for one of these guys to step closer to the SC
Top 4 and for the other its back in the 6-10 bin....Central has been
rolling quietly through its opponents while TRE has been getting on SC wrestling 2006 kicks off right where 2005 ended... BRAWLING:)...6 This Wednesday jan 4th... the Stangs, coming off a very strong December will Gallop into Southern and the home of the rams for a Huge Division and SCT seed match... up in Monmouth County a still questionable Colts team of CBA will trot
into Ocean's Gym to take on a very different Spartan Team..Sic is
out..Menditto is a ??? and this match is also huge for "A" North and SCT two tough teams that returned several wrestlers will square off to shine more light on their rebuliding...Monmouth Regional with their TRI-Stars of Christensen, Eggie, and Bongarzone are coming out of the Kittatiny Tournament very confident to take a step towrds the SC Top 16..Colts Neck with new Coach seidel is quietly balanced and nicley talented...the Cougars may have to much balance for the falcons.. Another new comer to the SC Top 16 and would make the tournament if held today, are the Colonials of Freehold Boro.. Coming off a great season opening quad at in South Brunswick and then taking the holmdel Xmas tournament from start to finish, the Colonials will try to pick up a huge win divisional against a very tough but young Green Wave team of long branch...the Wave is looking tough coming off a 1/2 point runner up finish at the Walter wood Tournament with using only 12 wrestlers...they'll be fully locked and loaded when the colonials come in on wednesday... raritan can go along way in locking up another Division crown when they travel to SJV...Raritan continues to look good while getting their new and young wrestlers valuable experience...they come in after successful tournaments in VA and down at the Hawk Classic...SJV came out of the gate good (3-1) out in South Brunswick but had a set back finishing 5th at the Holmdel Xmas tournament that they usually take or place Top 3....regardless, this annual "event" usually brings with it serious electricity and entertainment... these 6 plus any of the other ones near you could use your support...another great night of SC Wrestling.. |