Seidenbergs, Beshada part of Shore's dominance BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff Above, Dave Seidenberg tries to put Bishop Ahr's Joe McAuley on his back during their match in Atlantic City on Saturday. At right, CBA's James Beshada holds his position against St. Mary's Glen Cannici in a 130-pound semifinal bout on Saturday. Below, Dan Seidenberg celebrates his upset of Hillsborough's John Mangini in Saturday's 160-pound semifinal. For years now, fans of Shore Conference wrestling have been touting the overall depth and talent of the conference, with many claiming that the very best wrestling New Jersey has to offer is located right here in the center of the state. After this weekend's performance at the NJSIAA state wrestling championships in Atlantic City, it's a tough point to argue against. The Shore Conference had 12 wrestlers reach the finals, with five claiming gold, and a grand total of 28 conference grapplers medaled at Boardwalk Hall. Ocean's Nick Menditto (145), Toms River North's Matt Oliver (119), Southern's Frank Molinaro (140) and Jackson's Scott Winston (152) and Ken Carney (160) all captured the individual titles, while seven other wrestlers from Region VI claimed second-place trophies. Among them was CBA senior James Beshada, who breezed his way through the 130-pound bracket to reach the final, where he fell to Jefferson's Tyler Milonas, the top seed, 9-1. Beshada entered the tournament with a 37-1 mark on the season, and looked strong early on, beating Pascack Hills' Taylor Trumbetti, 12-4, and Walkill Valley's Brandon Prentice, 5-3 in overtime, on Friday night. He then came back on Saturday to post a 6-1 quarterfinal round win over Pequannock's Jude Tropona, before dominating St. Mary's Glenn Cannici, 11-1, to reach Sunday's final. Against Milonas, a third-place finisher last year who entered the bout 42-0 on the season, Beshada fell behind on an early takedown and nearfall for a 4-0 deficit. Beshada then scored a point on an escape to start the second before another Milonas takedown made it 6-1. Milonas then scored three backpoints on a double arm-bar, and the scoring ended there, with Milonas claiming the title with a 9-1 victory. "There were a couple of points in the match that were critical, and he got the better of me in them," said Beshada following the match. "But he's a great wrestler, so if I was going to lose to somebody, I'm glad it was Tyler." Beshada, who nearly scored a takedown on the opening whistle ("I just wanted to show him that I wasn't going to roll over and die," he said) added that Milonas caught him offguard with his aggressiveness early on. "That first arm drag he threw at me kind of surprised me," he said. While he fell a win shy of his ultimate goal, Beshada was quick to put his efforts in perspective. "After I lost in the Region VI semis [to Brick Memorial's Karon Reid] last week, coach and I went back to work, and I just took it one step at a time," he said. "Anything can happen in A.C." So Beshada, who finishes his career with a 109-23 mark and will continue wrestling for the Merchant Marine Academy next fall, left A.C. on Sunday with no regrets. JEFFGRANIT staff Raritan's T.J. Mitchell grapples with Howell's Cody Fobes during their 125-pound semifinal on Saturday in Atlantic City. "I had a heck of a weekend," he said. The Raritan High School wrestling program has made tremendous strides under head coach Rob Nucci, and this weekend the Rockets took another giant leap forward with three state place-winners. The Seidenberg brothers, Dan and Dave, made their presence felt in Atlantic City with second- and third-place showings, respectively, while senior T.J. Mitchell added a fifth-place showing at 125 pounds. "This is a lot of fun, to have a second- third- and fifth-place finisher in the state in one year. You kind of hope every year can be like this," said Nucci. "We've had three state placewinners in the program's history, so to have three in one year, I think it shows how hard the guys are working and how far our program has come. "Guys like T.J., and the Seidenburg brothers, they're showing what hard work can do for you." Dan Seidenberg beat Jackson's Ken Carney in the semifinals at Region VI in overtime, so he fully expected another battle when he squared up against him on Sunday in the 160-pound final in A.C. In that region semifinal, Seidenberg scored first, but it was Carney who struck first on Sunday, scoring a takedown with six seconds left in the first period. Seidenberg cut the lead to 2-1 with an escape in the second, but Carney padded his lead with a reversal in the third period to make it 4-1. Seidenberg managed another escape to get within 4-2, but Carney ended the bout with a final takedown in the waning seconds to claim the title. "I was more offensive today. I didn't shoot against him last time," said Carney. Seidenberg said he wasn't surprised by Carney's tactics, and was proud of the way he performed throughout the tournament. "I have no regrets. I wrestled my heart out, but he was ready for me. He wrestled really well," Seidenberg said. "My goal was to place down here, so I was definitely happy to get to the finals." "When he beat Carney in the three overtimes in regions, he got the first takedown," Nucci said. "Today, Carney got the takedown in the red zone time, and he's very hard to score on. He's an excellent defensive wrestler, and you can't take bad shots against him. Dan had to play catchup and that worked against him." Dan Seidenberg's path to the finals was an impressive one. After beating Northern Burlington's Geoff Bauma, 6-1 on Friday, he came back on Saturday to beat Paulsboro's Mike Cucinota, 8-4 in the quarterfinals, and shock Hillsborough's John Mangini, the top seed, in the semifinals, 6-4 in overtime. In that bout, Seidenberg suffered a shoulder injury early on, but wrestled through pain to get the match into overtime, tying the bout late in the third with a takedown near the edge of the mat. Once the extra session began, the sophomore took advantage of a sloppy shot from Mangini, and scored the winning takedown on what he called a "quick go-behind." His brother, Dave, looked equally strong early on, winning his first bout at 140, pinning Roselle Park's Mike Montgomery on Friday night. However, he then fell to Northern Highlands' Derek Steuben, 6-4, to fall into the wrestlebacks. From there, the sophomore was dominant, beating Livingston's Sean Robertson, 5-3, Camden Catholic's Dakota Moore, 4-1, and Bishop Ahr's Joe McAuley, 8-2, before getting a measure of revenge against Steuben with a 5-4 win in the wrestleback semifinal. That put Dave Seidenberg in the third-place bout, where he topped Pompton Lakes' Bob Matthews, 5-2. It was quite a weekend for the Seidenberg brothers, who have certainly bolstered their reputations with the way they performed. "We were feeding off each other, as we both kept winning matches," Dan Seidenberg said. "It was great to do so well together." But with their success comes added expectations next year. "I told them both 'you've got a big target on your back now and you will wherever you go,' " Nucci said. Mitchell's fifth-place finish puts an end to a very successful career as a Rocket. "T.J.'s hard work has really helped set the tone for this program," Nucci said. After winning his opening bout on Friday against Garfield's Glenn Uhrich with a pin at 4:34, Mitchell went on to beat Scotch Plains' Sal Gano, 9-3. He then came back on Saturday to beat Eastern's Hank Stinson, 6-4, setting up another matchup with Howell's Cody Fobes in the semifinals. Mitchell beat Fobes, 3-1, in Region VI a week earlier, but this time around Fobes captured the 5-3 victory, sending Mitchell to the wrestleback semifinals. Mitchell then dropped a 3-1 bout to Anthony Luma in the wrestleback semifinals, before knocking off Stinson for a second time, 9-4, in the fifth-place bout. Throughout the weekend's action, local fans were buzzing about the success enjoyed by the Region VI grapplers. While the region's dominance came as a surprise to those outside of the Shore, many of the conference's elite wrestlers and coaches viewed the results as an affirmation of what they already knew. "It doesn't surprise me," said Scott Goodale, the head coach of the state's No. 1 team from Jackson. "There were five weight classes where all of our kids placed. Shore Conference wrestling has had a strong tradition, but it's really flourishing now." Howell head coach John Gagliano pointed out that all of the Region VI wrestlers and coaches were pulling for one another. "We [Region VI] dominated the state tournament," he said. "At this point, everyone roots for each other." Beshada echoed that sentiment. "It's kind of like we had our own little team down here," he said. "I think there were 42 of us, and we all kind of stuck together. It got to the point where we were knocking each other off in the later rounds here. "The depth in the Shore is outstanding. It's always a war down there." And facing such quality wrestling throughout the year has obviously paid dividends this year. "It helps a lot to have that many tough matches throughout the year," said the newly crowned 145-pound champ, Menditto. It's true what they say - you've got to compete against good competition to become the best. At this point, local wrestlers don't have to travel very far to do that. The best wrestling in the state is right here in the Shore Conference. And we've got the medals to prove it. shoot against him last time," said Carney. Seidenberg said he wasn't surprised by Carney's tactics, and was proud of the way he performed throughout the tournament. "I have no regrets. I wrestled my heart out, but he was ready for me. He wrestled really well," Seidenberg said. "My goal was to place down here, so I was definitely happy to get to the finals." "When he beat Carney in the three overtimes in regions, he got the first takedown," Nucci said. "Today, Carney got the takedown in the red zone time, and he's very hard to score on. He's an excellent defensive wrestler, and you can't take bad shots against him. Dan had to play catchup and that worked against him." Dan Seidenberg's path to the finals was an impressive one. After beating Northern Burlington's Geoff Bauma, 6-1 on Friday, he came back on Saturday to beat Paulsboro's Mike Cucinota, 8-4 in the quarterfinals, and shock Hillsborough's John Mangini, the top seed, in the semifinals, 6-4 in overtime. In that bout, Seidenberg suffered a shoulder injury early on, but wrestled through pain to get the match into overtime, tying the bout late in the third with a takedown near the edge of the mat. Once the extra session began, the sophomore took advantage of a sloppy shot from Mangini, and scored the winning takedown on what he called a "quick go-behind." His brother, Dave, looked equally strong early on, winning his first bout at 140, pinning Roselle Park's Mike Montgomery on Friday night. However, he then fell to Northern Highlands' Derek Steuben, 6-4, to fall into the wrestlebacks. From there, the sophomore was dominant, beating Livingston's Sean Robertson, 5-3, Camden Catholic's Dakota Moore, 4-1, and Bishop Ahr's Joe McAuley, 8-2, before getting a measure of revenge against Steuben with a 5-4 win in the wrestleback semifinal. That put Dave Seidenberg in the third-place bout, where he topped Pompton Lakes' Bob Matthews, 5-2. It was quite a weekend for the Seidenberg brothers, who have certainly bolstered their reputations with the way they performed. "We were feeding off each other, as we both kept winning matches," Dan Seidenberg said. "It was great to do so well together." But with their success comes added expectations next year. "I told them both 'you've got a big target on your back now and you will wherever you go,' " Nucci said. Mitchell's fifth-place finish puts an end to a very successful career as a Rocket. "T.J.'s hard work has really helped set the tone for this program," Nucci said. After winning his opening bout on Friday against Garfield's Glenn Uhrich with a pin at 4:34, Mitchell went on to beat Scotch Plains' Sal Gano, 9-3. He then came back on Saturday to beat Eastern's Hank Stinson, 6-4, setting up another matchup with Howell's Cody Fobes in the semifinals. Mitchell beat Fobes, 3-1, in Region VI a week earlier, but this time around Fobes captured the 5-3 victory, sending Mitchell to the wrestleback semifinals. Mitchell then dropped a 3-1 bout to Anthony Luma in the wrestleback semifinals, before knocking off Stinson for a second time, 9-4, in the fifth-place bout. Throughout the weekend's action, local fans were buzzing about the success enjoyed by the Region VI grapplers. While the region's dominance came as a surprise to those outside of the Shore, many of the conference's elite wrestlers and coaches viewed the results as an affirmation of what they already knew. "It doesn't surprise me," said Scott Goodale, the head coach of the state's No. 1 team from Jackson. "There were five weight classes where all of our kids placed. Shore Conference wrestling has had a strong tradition, but it's really flourishing now." Howell head coach John Gagliano pointed out that all of the Region VI wrestlers and coaches were pulling for one another. "We [Region VI] dominated the state tournament," he said. "At this point, everyone roots for each other." Beshada echoed that sentiment. "It's kind of like we had our own little team down here," he said. "I think there were 42 of us, and we all kind of stuck together. It got to the point where we were knocking each other off in the later rounds here. "The depth in the Shore is outstanding. It's always a war down there." And facing such quality wrestling throughout the year has obviously paid dividends this year. "It helps a lot to have that many tough matches throughout the year," said the newly crowned 145-pound champ, Menditto. It's true what they say - you've got to compete against good competition to become the best. At this point, local wrestlers don't have to travel very far to do that. The best wrestling in the state is right here in the Shore Conference. And we've got the medals to prove it.