Local grapplers meet their matches in A.C.
Disqualification keeps Fallon from placing
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

At left, Spotswood's Drew MacKay battles with Morris Knolls' Zac Walsh during their heavyweight bout in Atlantic City on Saturday. Above, Old Bridge's Steve Fallon has a hold on Lakelands' Rick Bailey during their 119-pound wrestleback bout on Saturday, while below, Sayreville's Eric Tsang is helped off the mat after suffering an injury during his 125-pound wrestleback on Saturday.

Atlantic City was not very kind to our local wrestlers.While a number of local grapplers advanced to last weekend's NJSIAA State Tournament by placing in the top three in their respective weight classes at the Region V tournament, the competition in A.C. proved to be at another level.

Of the locals who made the trip, Old Bridge's Steve Fallon and South Brunswick's Derek Shelcusky had the most success on the mats.

Fallon took second in Region V at 119 pounds, which earned him the third seed in the top bracket in A.C. That meant a first-round matchup with Scotch Plains' Sal Gano, who Fallon eventually pinned in 2:34. From there, Fallon took on Camden Catholic's Dakota Moore in the second round, and again, Fallon won by pinfall, beating Moore in 1:50.

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It was certainly a strong start for Fallon on Friday; unfortunately, it didn't carry over to Saturday morning, as Fallon fell in the quarterfinals to Jefferon's Tyler Milonas, 11-5.

Fallon rebounded in a second-round wrestleback, beating Raritan's T.J. Mitchell, 8-2, then won his fourth match of the tournament in another wrestleback, beating Palmyra's Ricky Bailey, 9-0.

However, the wheels came off in Fallon's fourth-round wrestleback when he was disqualified from the tournament following a controversial loss to Hunterdon Central's Pat Strizki. The Old Bridge senior was winning the match, 4-3, with less than 10 seconds left when he was hit with a stalling call with three ticks left on the clock. The match then went to overtime, where Fallon was taken down and called for a flagrant misconduct, ending any chance he had of earning a medal on Sunday.

With the disappointing loss to Strizki, Fallon finished the year with a 35-6 mark.

Shelcusky, the Region V 189-pound champ, entered the tournament as the fifth seed in the top bracket, earning the senior a first-round bye. He opened up with a 6-4 win over Collingswood's Roy Dillberto on Friday, putting him in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

That meant a matchup with Winslow Township's Jamelle Jones, who beat Shelcusky, 11-5. Jones went on to lose in the semifinals, 5-4, to the eventual state champ, Keith Dobish of Lodi.

As for Shelcusky, he was later eliminated from the tournament when he was pinned by South Plainfield's Kevin Crilley in a wrestleback, finishing his season at 34-6.

Spotswood's Drew MacKay, the Region V heavyweight champ, dropped his second-round match on Friday to Rahway's Andre Neblett, 6-1, before coming back on Saturday morning to win his first wrestleback over Morris Knolls' Zac Walsh, 3-2. He was later pinned by Sterling's Wayne Berry in a second-round wrestleback, ending his season at 35-4.

North Brunswick's 112-pounder Billy Belfi beat Jose Vega of Hasbrouck Heights, 10-6, to open his tournament, before falling to Delbarton's Frank Perelli, 11-3, in the second round on Friday. He was then eliminated on Saturday morning with a 7-1 wrestleback loss to Timber Creek's Danny Stanley, to end his season at 33-5.

Sayreville's Eric Tsang won his 125-pound opener, beating Paramus' Nick Herrick, 12-5, but was later beaten by Mike Grey of Delbarton. Grey went on to win the state title, becoming the state's first four-time champ, while Tsang was eliminated in his first wrestleback by Kittatinny's Brian Bollette, 10-3. Tsang finished the year 31-8.

His teammates, Tom Danielsen and Mike Velardi, didn't fare any better, with Danielsen losing in the first round at 145 to Absegami's Kason Jameson via pinfall, and Velardi dropping his 171-pound first-round match to Williamstown's Mike Winkelspecht via pinfall.

Old Bridge's Andrew Goldman was also eliminated following a first-round loss, losing his 140-pound opener to Demarest's Dan Adamo by technical fall (16-1).