Huskies head for state championships
Short, Antista to represent Matawan at state event
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The Matawan High School wrestling team will be sending two competitors to the state championships in Atlantic City this weekend following an outstanding campaign that saw the Huskies go 18-7.

Johnny Short and Cesare Antista will represent Matawan at the state event.

On Saturday, Short became the Huskies' first Region VI champion since Justin Hawkins in 1997. The 130-pound junior was seeded fourth, and he proceeded to pin top-seeded B.J. Young of Jackson Memorial before edging Scott Festejo of Long Branch, 6-3, in the final.

Short's record now stands at a glittering 32-3, and his triumph against Young was satisfying, since Young defeated Short in the District 21 semifinal match.

Antista, meanwhile, took third place at 135 pounds to earn a trip to Atlantic City. The senior has 30 wins on the year and is Matawan's career victory leader with 120 successes. Hawkins still holds the second spot with 97 wins, but Short is just two shy of that mark.

"I'm very proud of our entire team," said coach Andy Lasko, who picked up his 100th win as the Huskies' mentor when his team defeated Freehold Township.

"They've worked very hard to turn this program around, and they're starting to see results."

A year ago, the youthful Matawan contingent battled its way to a 15-14 mark and it became clear that the program was headed in the right direction.

This time around, the Huskies finished third in District 21, were competitive in the Shore Conference's tough Class A Central division, and took second place at both the Icebreaker and Brearley invitational tournaments. Along the way, Lasko's team recorded wins over St. John Vianney and Marlboro.

And the future continues to look bright, since the Huskies will lose just four seniors to graduation: Antista, Chris Howley, Rob Rivera and Billy Gregory.

Howley is quite a story. After missing all of last season with a knee injury, he bounced back to go 24-8 as the team's heavyweight. Rivera finished third in District 21 and posted a 22-12 mark at 189

pounds. He concludes his high school career with 54 wins. The versatile Gregory moved throughout the lineup filling in for injured competitors and compiled a respectable 8-8 mark. In addition to Short, key returnees include Jordan Long. The 145-pound junior took third in the district and finished up with a

Fellow juniors Chris Carrillo and Charlie Cook will also be back to give Matawan a solid presence in the upper weights. Carrillo is coming off an 18-7 showing despite an injured shoulder, at 160 pounds, while Cook was 17-10 at 171 pounds.

Five sophomores posted 14 or more wins for the Huskies, led by Andre Hodge, who recovered from a 3-6 freshman season to go 19-10 at 215 pounds.

Patrick O'Donnell was 18-14 at 112 pounds; Tom Dillon and Zeke Vega have 16 victories apiece at 119 pounds and 125 pounds, respectively; and McArthur Underwood III went 14-7 at 140 pounds.

Freshman Tim Birch showed plenty of promise at 103 pounds, where he was 6-21, including a preliminary-round win in District 21 competition.

Lasko, who improved his career mark to 111-105, credited his assistants, Jess Monzo and Joe DiMario, for helping the Huskies improve. Monzo is a former Brearley assistant, and DiMario won a state title during his wrestling days at Matawan.

"We've had a lot of things go our way, from having dedicated kids to having excellent coaches and great administration and parental support," Lasko said. "We can't rest on what we've done, and our guys know that. They have to continue putting in the time and work to keep getting better."