The Magnificent 7: Four Shore Conference boys, three girls win NJSIAA Wrestling State Titles
This is a breaking new story. Shore Sports Network will have in-depth stories on each state champion plus a story on the medalists posted throughout Sunday and Monday.
ATLANTIC CITY -- It was another banner year for the Shore Conference at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall.
Four boys, Saint John Vianney junior Anthony Knox, Rumson-Fair Haven freshman Sonny Amato, Southern Regional senior Matt Henrich, and Brick Memorial junior Harvey Ludington won state championships while three girls, Howell's Kylie Gudewitz, Middletown South's Thea Rowland, and Central Regional's Liliana Alicea secured state championships to give the Shore seven champions at one of the most prestigious and challenging high school state championship tournaments in the country.
Knox continued his march toward history when he defeated Donovan Catholic senior Kurt Wehner, 15-8, to win the 120-pound NJSIAA title for his third consecutive state championship. Knox is the 32nd boys wrestler in state history to win three state championships and the eighth in Shore Conference history to win three boys state crowns. He was dominant from start to finish, the only blemish being a takedown he surrendered to Wehner in the state final when he was already up 14-6. He had three wins by technical fall and an 18-second pin in his other four wins.
Knox joins Shore Conference legends Luke Skove (Long Branch), Glenn Pritzlaff (Middletown South) Mark Worthy (Central), Damion Hahn (Lakewood), Frank Molinaro (Southern), Scott Winston (Jackson Memorial), and Jimmy Lawson (Manchester) as three-time state champions. The Shore has never had a four-time state champion and only four wrestlers in state history have accomplished that feat. Next season, the Cornell recruit will try to join Mark Grey, Andrew Campolattano, Anthony Ashnault, and Nik Suriano on the Mount Rushmore of New Jersey high school wrestling.
Henrich and Ludington both secured their second state titles. Ludington bulldozed the field at 190 pounds and secured bonus points in all five of his state tournament bouts, winning by fall in the first round, by technical fall in the second round and quarterfinals, and by major decision in the semifinals and final. He finished off his second state title with an 11-3 major decision over Hanover Park junior Vincenzo LaValle in the championship bout. Ludington, who is committed to Arizona State, is now a two-time state champion and three-time state finalist and is on pace to become Brick Memorial's first three-time state champion.
Henrich became just the second two-time state champion in Southern Regional wrestling history when he edged Camden Catholic sophomore Kage Jones, 2-1, to claim the 157-pound NJSIAA state title. A reversal in the second period was all Henrich needed to close out his career as a two-time state champion and three-time state medalist. The Virginia Tech signee joins Molinaro as Southern's two-time state champions.
Amato began the finals with an electric 11-5 win over Christian Brothers Academy senior Alex Nini to become the second state champion in program history. He was voted as the NJSIAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Amato came out aggressive with a takedown early in the first period and then hit a five-point move with a Jonesy Tilt out of a scramble to take a 7-1 lead into the second period. Nini tried to battle back with a takedown in the second period and closed the gap to 8-4 heading to the third, but Amato secured the final takedown of the bout in the third period to win by six and secure his spot atop the podium.
The Shore Conference had eight boys finalists in total with Nini and Wehner falling to Amato and Knox, respectively, while Rumson-Fair Haven senior Hudson Skove lost 3-1 in sudden victory to Delbarton senior Vinny Lee in the 215-pound final and Southern Regional sophomore Anthony Mason lost 9-1 to Delbarton freshman Cameron Sontz in the 106-pound state final.
The girls had the first crack at championship on the center mat and the Shore Conference went a perfect 3-for-3 in the state finals.
Rowland was the first to claim gold when she started fast and never relented on her way to an 8-4 win over Boonton's Julia Fongaro to win the 145-pound state title. Rowland took a 2-0 lead when she slipped a headlock attempt by Fongaro and secured a takedown with 38 seconds left in the first period. She added a takedown in the second period and two more in the third period to become Middletown South's first girls state champion and the school's first since Pritzlaff won his third state title in 1994. Rowland, a junior, was also fourth in the state at 145 last season.
Three weights later, Alicea completed an incredible postseason run by pinning North Plainfield's Naylani Delvalle in 2:29 to win the 185-pound NJSIAA championship. Alicea did not start wrestling until last season and was starting to find her way when he broke out in the South Region Tournament with two wins over returning state finalists to win the region title. In the championship bout, Alicea bounced back from a first-period takedown by Delvalle to escape and then scored an immediate takedown to lead 3-2 after the first period. In the second, Alicea hit a reversal to go up 5-2 and then put Delvalle to her back where she finished off the fall to win the state championship. She is the Golden Eagles' first girls state champion and the school's first since Worthy won his third state title in 1999.
Closing out the girls finals was Gudewitz, who won the 114-pound NJSIAA crown with a dominant 9-1 major decision over Ramsey's Paige Kirk to become Howell's first girls state champion and the sixth state champion in school history. Gudewitz won by major decision in the quarterfinals and defeated Colts Neck senior Alexandra Tchekounova, 4-0, in the semifinals. Gudewitz was third in the state at 107 pounds last season.
The Shore Conference had a total of 48 state medalists, 30 for the boys and 18 for the girls.
Placing third for the boys were CBA freshman Killian Coluccio at 106, CBA freshman Paul Kenny at 113, Southern junior Hayden Hochstrasser, and Southern senior Collin French. The highest-placing girls wrestlers from the consolation bracket were Jackson Memorial sophomore Ava Bonilla with a fourth-place finish at 100 pounds and Southern freshman Leila Gearl finishing fourth at 132.
Other highlights from the boys state medalists include Red Bank junior Kevin Ruland, who finished eighth at 120 pounds as the No. 24 seed. He is Red Bank's first state medalist since Lamar Brown took fourth at 189 in 2005 and just the third in program history, joining Brown and Ashon Lovick (2nd at 215 in 1996).
Holmdel sophomore Alex Reyes finished seventh at 190 pounds to become the program's second state medalist and first since Scott DuPont finished sixth at 152 in 2018.
Point Boro snapped a 14-year medal drought when freshman Jake Clayton finished eighth at 157 pounds. He is the Panthers' first state medalist since Jordan Beverly placed third at 140 and Sean Brand placed seventh at 119 in 2010.
Raritan senior Zach Reilley finished seventh in the state at 144 pounds to become the second two-time state medalist in program history (Dan Seidenberg was a three-time medalist). His victory gave head coach Rob Nucci one final state medalist in his final season.
This is a breaking new story. Shore Sports Network will have in-depth stories on each state champion plus a story on the medalists posted throughout Sunday and Monday.
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