Matawan impresses at Ice Breaker Tourney
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Middletown North’s Travis Torchia tries to pin Hugh Nawn of Lenape HighSchool during a bout on Saturday at the Neptune Classic. Torchia went on to take second in the 119-pound weight class.

Five competitors with 19 wins or more return to lead the Matawan High School wrestling team this winter and the Huskies started well, taking second place in their own Ice Breaker Invitational.

Matawan finished the tourney behind only Old Bridge, and 10 Huskies placed, including Ed Terry, who won the 125-pound title, and Andy DeNardo, who brought home the crown at 152 pounds. Both are also coming off solid campaigns and serve as co-captains. Terry was 19-6 a year ago, while DeNardo went 22-9.

Other key returnees include sophomore Cesare Antista (119 pounds), who led the team with 23 wins last season; Stephen Turner (215), 22-9; Robert Sousa (160), 19-8; Conor MacDermott (140), 15-13; Craig DeLisi, 12-17, and Nikko Montecillo (112), 12-15. Turner was third in his weight class at the Icebreaker and Antista was third in his weight class. In addition, heavyweight Ryan Ballard took second in his division and freshman John Short (125) was a surprising third.

“We have a lot of experienced, talented wrestlers back, and there’s some talented newcomers as well,” coach Andy Lasko said. “Our seniors are much more mature and they really understand now that they have to be prepared for every match. We had a winning season the year before last and I think our guys just expected that to happen again last year.”

Preparation certainly will be a key ingredient this year as the Huskies move into the Shore Conference’s strong B North Division after residing in A Central the past several seasons. Matawan’s divisional foes now include Ocean, Wall and Freehold Borough.

“We’ll have a lot of our tough matches early on, and that will help us,” Lasko said. “Our team has talent, but the only way to get better is to compete against better teams. That’s why we have Jackson on our schedule. I think the early part of the year may serve as a learning experience for our guys, but they’ll do all right. They’re great kids and their work ethic has been solid this year.”

The remainder of Matawan’s roster includes Mark Stuart (145) and Joseph Cima (171); junior Jason Mandradomy (103); sophomores Ed McCarthy (135), Rob Rivera (171) and Chris Howley (HW); and freshman Jordan Long (130).

“The guys have been focused and I’ve asked them to concentrate on our goals, which are a winning season and constant improvement,” the coach said. “They’re a great bunch of kids and they’ve responded very well.”

A year ago the Huskies had their fair share of injuries and illnesses, so keeping the team as healthy as possible is another goal as Matawan heads into its regular season opener at home this afternoon against Freehold Borough.

On Saturday the Huskies travel to Ocean for a quad match that also includes Neptune and Point Pleasant Beach. Lasko’s team will compete in the East Brunswick Tournament during the holiday break from school, and will also compete in the Minuteman Classic on Jan. 6.

Tournaments offer

early tests for locals

While Matawan was impressive in taking second in its Ice Breaker Tournament, the wrestling team from Christian Brothers Academy was putting forth a strong effort in its own Colt Classic over the weekend.

CBA finished fourth in a very strong field with 142.5 points. High Point won the team title with 276 points, followed by Northern Burlington (202) and A.P. Schalick (201).

The Colts got a win from senior James Beshada, who beat High Point’s Gavin Tarsa, 10-8, to win the 135-pound title and earn the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler award. He also became the event’s first four-time winner.

Also wrestling well was CBA’s Sal Musto, who took second at 171, falling to Northern Burlington’s Geoff Bauma at 3:25 in the final. Reaching the finals was quite a feat for the 10th-seeded Musto, who knocked off second seed Kyle Harper, of Spotswood, 9-7, in the quarterfinals.

CBA’s Joe Favia also took home a silver medal, finishing second at 152.

The state’s top-ranked team from Jackson flexed its muscles at the Neptune Classic over the weekend, running away with the team title with 219.5 points. The top local team in Neptune was Middletown North with 39 points, led by Travis Torchia’s second-place finish at 119. Torchia lost to Jackson’s Kyle Kinchen, 8-3, in the final.