Shore Sports Network Wrestling Top 10, 1/12/15
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Heading into mid-January there are clear No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Shore Conference, and after that it gets a little dicey.
The past seven days were the most action-packed of the dual-meet portion of the season with six matches between top-10 teams, and while a couple of those helped sort out the rankings, the others only blurred the landscape.
Top-ranked Howell made it easy to select the No. 1 team in this week’s Shore Sports Network Top 10 with wins over previously-ranked No. 4 Christian Brothers Academy and former No. 3 Southern. The Rebels are wrestling about as well as any team in New Jersey right now.
At No. 2 is Brick Memorial, which has only lost to state No. 1 and national No. 11 Bergen Catholic. The Mustangs beat another of the state’s top teams, Hanover Park, 35-31 on Sunday morning.
Who to put at No. 3 is the biggest question of the week. CBA has only lost to Howell within the conference and owns a convincing win over Brick, which beat Jackson Memorial on criteria. If using the straight-up, head-to-head rationale, it would be CBA-Brick-Jackson, but I don’t believe that works in this scenario. After losing to Howell 42-14, the Colts struggled in a loss to Cranford and then had to cross their fingers when their match with Morris Knolls went to criteria. CBA ended up winning, but also raised plenty of question marks.
Brick, meanwhile, rolled along with wins over Toms River North, St. John Vianney, Lacey, Central and Manalapan. Jackson Memorial easily has the most impressive week of the three with a huge 32-23 win over Southern and wins over Toms River North and Passaic Valley.
The Jaguars also nearly upended St. Peter’s Prep, the No. 3 team in New Jersey, before falling 28-26. Brick has the win over Jackson, and you can’t take that away from the Dragons, but it can’t be the be-all, end-all for where to place each team. The saving grace is that these teams all have big matches against top teams remaining, so no team is going to skate through in a high spot because of an easy schedule.
After a 32-28 win over Wall and a 9-0 start, Long Branch moves up one spot to No. 7. The Green Wave are very deep and balanced, and to defeat them you better be strong up and down the lineup. They also have an impressive nonconference win over Pennridge (Pa.), a team that was ranked 48th in InterMat’s Fab 50 at the time.
Toms River South stays at No. 9 after a solid win over St. Joseph (Montvale).
There is a new team in the rankings for the first time this season as Middletown North enters at No. 10.
This week’s slate has more top-10 battles, including A-South matches between Toms River South and Southern and a meeting between rivals Brick and Brick Memorial with first place in the division on the line. Middletown North has an immediate chance to prove it belongs with matches against CBA and Brick.
1. Howell (10-0). Last week: No. 1
What a week for the Rebels. They took a major step toward their 10th straight Class A North division title with a 42-14 victory over CBA on Friday, then turned right around to win a grueling battle with Southern, 29-21. Coming into the season everyone knew how good the Rebels were in the lower weights, but it’s been the top of the lineup that has set Howell apart with crucial wins night after night. As it stands right now, Howell is the favorite to win the NJSIAA Group V title. The Rebels are wrestling as well as any team in New Jersey. A less-hectic schedule awaits them this week with matches against Manalapan, Ocean, Freehold Township, Monroe and West Essex.
2. Brick Memorial (5-1). Last week: No. 2
The Mustangs picked up a 45-22 win over No. 9 Toms River South and edged Hanover Park, 35-31, despite wining just six of the 14 bouts. Obviously the coaches would have liked to have earned at least a 7-7 split in bouts, but the Mustangs' scoring prowess was on display as all six wins resulted in bonus points, including five pins. Hanover Park was also at full strength with state champion Anthony Cefolo and region champion Lou Raimo back in the lineup, so that is a very solid nonconference win for Brick Memorial. The Mustangs take on Toms River East on Wednesday, then host a quad meet with Brick, Collingswood and St. Joseph (Montvale). The match with Brick will be for first place in the division.
3. Jackson Memorial (7-2). Last week: No. 6
As I explained in the intro, this section of the rankings is a nightmare. The logic here is going with the hot hand and taking recent results into account more than head-to-head matches. The Jaguars lost to Brick on criteria back on Dec. 31, but have responded in a big way. They beat Southern 32-23 on Wednesday behind a huge win from senior Fred Terranova, then topped Toms River North and Passaic Valley as part of a quad meet. Their only setback was a 28-26 loss to St. Peter’s Prep, which is the No. 3 team in New Jersey. Jackson hosts Lacey on Wednesday and Jackson Liberty on Thursday, then welcomes Paramus and South Plainfield to Joe Perry Gymnasium for a triangular meet on Saturday.
4. Southern (5-2). Last week: No. 3
The Rams’ two losses have come to Howell and Jackson Memorial, both this past week, but the reality right now is that Southern’s best conference win is over a 2-4 Lacey team. The Rams fell to No. 4 Jackson Memorial 32-23 on Wednesday and lost to No. 1 Howell 29-21 on Saturday while picking up victories over Lacey and Robbinsville. Southern is right there, though, and certainly could have won both matches if a few things went the other way. They host No. 9 Toms River South on Wednesday and have a quad meet with Bishop Ahr, Hunterdon Central and host Ocean on Saturday.
5. Christian Brothers Academy (8-2). Last week: No. 4
It was an odd week for the Colts. CBA lost big to Howell (42-14), then fell to Cranford 31-30 and squeaked by Morris Knolls, 33-32, on the ninth criteria. What is keeping CBA this high in the rankings is its win over Brick, but only because it was convincing (34-20, nine bouts won) and Brick has a win over Jackson Memorial. The Colts were state-ranked to begin last week, but will almost certainly drop out since Cranford and Morris Knolls are not top-20 teams. But maybe their win over Brick will keep them there, too. In any event, CBA will look to get back into gear with a dual against Marlboro on Wednesday and a triangular meet with Bridgewater-Raritan and No. 10 Middletown North on Saturday.
6. Brick (9-1). Last week: No. 5
The Dragons enjoyed a 5-0 week with wins over Toms River North, St. John Vianney, Lacey, Central and Manalapan and have won six in a row since losing to CBA on Jan. 3. Senior 170 Kyle Wojtaszek picked up his 100th career win during the victory over Manalapan and is undefeated at 16-0. Fellow seniors Dean Sherry and Will Scott are also undefeated as part of Brick’s formidable group of upperweights, and the group got a boost from the season debut of senior 220 Ray Fattaruso, who returned in the win over St. John Vianney. He lost 6-5 to the Lancers’ Calvin Beaty in his first bout, but picked up two pins and a technical fall on Saturday.
The question regarding the Dragons is can they win with six standouts if they don’t get anything down low? That’s what happened in the loss to CBA, whereas in the win over Jackson the lowerweights came through with clutch wins. We’ll find out more about Brick this week as they travel to No. 10 Middletown North on Wednesday and take on No. 2 Brick Memorial on Saturday with first place in A South on the line. They’ll also face Collingswood and St. Joseph (Montvale) as part of a stellar quad meet.
7. Long Branch (9-0). Last week: No. 8
The Green Wave jump one spot to No. 7 after wins over Neptune and then-No. 7 Wall to remain undefeated and continue a great start. Long Branch exacted a bit of revenge on the Crimson Knights after last season’s defeat in the Central Jersey Group II final, and showed off its deep and balanced lineup. Junior Joey Jasio was down to 220 for the first time this season in wins over Wall, Red Bank Catholic and River Dell, giving Long Branch its most formidable lineup of the season. The Green Wave travel to Hazlet to take on rival Raritan on Wednesday and will participate in the Garden State Duals on Saturday at Rutgers University.
8. Wall (4-2). Last week: No. 7
The Crimson Knights fall one spot after a 2-2 week that included wins over Manasquan and River Dell and losses to No. 3 Long Branch (No. 8 at the time) and St. Peter’s Prep. The Crimson Knights’ lineup is still not whole, with the big missing piece being star junior Brett Donner. The returning third-place state medalist is still rehabbing from a high ankle sprain. He’s close, but still isn’t quite ready to take the mat. He’ll provide an obvious boost when he returns as a potential 12-point swing in dual matches. That’s huge.
Junior Chad McClelland just returned from a shoulder injury, senior Jack Wishart made his season debut during the week coming off an ankle injury and Jake Sabo debuted to give Wall its first 106-pound wrestler of the season. Junior Max von Suskill will make his debut soon, as well, after sitting out 30 days after transferring from Red Bank Catholic, so Wall’s lineup should be much different in the coming weeks. Wall will try to keep pace with Long Branch in B North when it takes on Ocean on Wednesday and wrestles in a quad meet with Red Bank, Shore and host Colts Neck on Saturday.
9. Toms River South (3-2). Last week: No. 9
After a rough 0-2 start and a lineup that was in constant flux because of injuries and a team-wide flu outbreak, the Indians got into the win column with a 3-0 week that included a 45-28 nonconference win over a solid St. Joseph (Montvale) team. Seniors Antrez Clagon, Joe Salvato and Quentin DeCarlo came through with huge wins in that victory as Clagon and Salvato pinned Bergen County Tournament finalists Dom and Vin Maniero at 170 and 182 pounds, respectively, and DeCarlo beat Bergen County champ Michael Carfagno, 7-4, at 195. The Indians have some holes, but where they’re good they are exceptional. An interesting team to watch going forward. They travel to No. 7 Southern on Wednesday and host rival Toms River North on Saturday.
10. Middletown North (5-1). Last week: not ranked
The Lions make their debut in the top 10 after a nice weekend that included the program’s first win over Ocean (43-25) in 10 years. They went 2-1 at a quad hosted by Roxbury, losing only to the red-hot Gaels while defeating the Spartans and Hopewell Valley. The Lions have managed to stay afloat despite not having standout junior Chad Freshnock, who is out with a knee injury but should be returning by the end of the month. Seniors Paul Capaldo (12-1 at 145) and Fred Svenson (10-3 at 170), and junior Anthony Vetrano (11-2 at 182) have led the way so far. The Lions have an important week ahead of them with the opportunity to really make a splash. They host No. 6 Brick on Wednesday and take on No. 5 CBA on Saturday as part of a triangular meet with Bridgewater-Raritan.
Dropped out: Toms River North (1-4)
Teams to watch:
Raritan (5-2): The Rockets went 4-0 last week including a 31-30 win over Jackson Liberty. They travel to face Holmdel on Monday and host No. 7 Long Branch on Wednesday.
Jackson Liberty (8-1): The Lions went 4-1 during the week with their only loss coming to Raritan, 31-30. Senior Mike Russo became the program’s all-time wins leader with 130 and counting, and twin brother Matt recorded his 100th career victory. The program also won its 100th dual meet, so it was a milestone week for Liberty. They will host Point Boro on Wednesday in a match that will likely decide the Class B South division title.
Ocean (7-2): The Spartans picked up wins over Red Bank and Hopewell Valley while dropping matches to No. 10 Middletown North and Roxbury. Senior two-time state medalist Zach Hertling wrestled in the win over Red Bank, but was not in the lineup for Saturday’s quad. His presence or lack thereof obviously changes things for Ocean. The Spartans have a very tough slate this week with matches against No. 8 Wall, No. 4 Southern, Bishop Ahr, Hunterdon Central and No. 1 Howell.
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