Wall won the team title, freshman Rob Kanniard was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler and head coach Brian Fischer was selected as Coach of the Year at the NJSIAA District 23 Tournament on Saturday at Brick Memorial High School.

Wall won the District 23 team title while freshman Rob Kanniard was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler and head coach Brian Fischer was selected as Coach of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Wall wrestling).
Wall won the District 23 team title while freshman Rob Kanniard was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler and head coach Brian Fischer was selected as Coach of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Wall wrestling).
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The Crimson Knights had a Shore Conference-high six district champions, plus two second-place finishers, to finish with 202 team points and capture their eighth district championship and first since 2005. Point Boro was second with 170.5, Brick third with 161, Brick Memorial fourth with 129.5 and Point Beach fifth with 119.5. Brick Memorial had won six consecutive District 23 team titles.

Kanniard pinned Shore senior Alex Johnson in the semifinals before defeating Point Beach senior John Finnerty 10-8 in the 145-pound final. Kanniard is 29-3 on the season with his only losses coming to Pascack Hills' Ben Brisbane, St. Peter's Prep's Nick Santos and Howell's Anthony Gagliano.

Wall senior Brett Donner won by 18-5 major decision over Point Boro's Gene Franceschini in the 170-pound final to capture his fourth District 23 title. Donner (32-0) joins Blaine Woszczak and Dave Humeniuk as Wall's four-time district champions, and is the seventh wrestler to win four District 23 championships.

Senior Josh Glantzman won the 160-pound title with an 8-0 major decision over Brick's Danny Moreno, junior Matt McKenzie won by technical fall over Brick's Anthony Rusignuolo in the 195-pound final, senior Joe Demuner topped Point Boro freshman Spencer Robinson at 126 pounds and junior Nick Wagner pinned Brick's Dave Santiago at 132 as all but Donner captured their first district titles.

Brick senior Dean Helstowski remained undefeated at 29-0 by winning the 182-pound title, his first district crown. He beat Neptune's Nick Faber 10-4. Dragons sophomore Joe Ferigne won the 106-pound title with a 4-2 win over Point Boro sophomore Ben Sabo.

Point Boro senior Dom Infante captured his first district title with a 5-2 victory over Brick Memorial senior Chris Hayes.

Brick Memorial extended its Shore Conference-record streak to 36 consecutive years with a district champion. The Mustangs had four champions, all of whom were repeat winners.

Sophomore Matt Wardlaw won his second title with a 3-2 decision over Point Boro senior Blake Dale at 113 pounds. Junior Gianni Ghione, the state runner-up at 113 pounds last season, pinned Wall sophomore Jack Kelly in 1:02 to win the 120-pound title, which is also his second district title. Senior Luke Vescovi shut out Point Boro's Dylan Davies 7-0 at 138 pounds for his second championship, and junior Nick Rivera, the state runner-up at heavyweight last season, edged Point Beach's Forrest Gardner 3-2 for his third district title.

Point Beach senior Giancarlo Crivelli clipped Wall junior Chad McClelland 2-1 in double overtime to win the 152-pound title. Crivelli is the Garnet Gulls' first champion since 2013.

 

Wrestling editor Bob Badders can be reached at badders@allshoremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.

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