While Tigers roll, locals enjoy strong showings
At GMC Wrestling Tournament in Piscataway
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

JEFFGRANIT staff Above, Old Bridge's Brenton Mack has control of Sayreville's Mike DeLuco during their 145-pound match at the GMC Tournament in Piscataway on Saturday. Below, East Brunswick's Jordan Braun looks to escape from underneath Middlesex's Mike Dessino during a 152-pound bout.

South Plainfield is the top team in the Greater Middlesex Conference.We didn't need the GMC Tournament to tell us that, even though it did, with the Tigers winning their fourth straight team title, and ninth in the last 10 years.

What we didn't know going into the GMCT last weekend at Piscataway High School was where the rest of the conference's elite teams would finish, as well as who among the local area's top grapplers would emerge as individual champions.

While South Plainfield saw six wrestlers earn titles, Old Bridge reaffirmed its status as the conference's next best team with 183 teams points and a trio of individual champions.

Eddie Ebewo took home the first gold medal for the Knights when he won what many in attendance called the match of the tournament over JFK's Pete Simon, 9-8, in the 171-pound final. The top-seeded and undefeated Ebewo, who cruised to the final via a pin and a pair of technical falls (19-3 and 20-3), knew he was in for a battle, having already faced Simon (and pinned him) earlier in the season at the Hunterdon Central Tournament.

The match went into the third period this time, when Simon tied the score with a stalling point and a takedown late. He then allowed Ebewo to escape with 57 seconds left, giving the Old Bridge senior the one-point lead. Simon tried frantically to score another takedown to steal the win, but Ebewo (21-0) was able to hold him off and earn the title.

Old Bridge quickly got its second first-place finish at 189, where Chris Orzechowski also remained unbeaten (25-0) with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Middlesex's Joe Bozzomo. Orzechowski, who reached the final with a pin and a 6-2 win, scored the match's only takedown right before the buzzer to end the first period, then held on from there, allowing only an escape the rest of the way.

At 215, Old Bridge's Travis Gerdon rolled to the title, dominating JFK's Vin Maglione in the final, 11-0. For Gerdon (23-1), now a two-time GMCT champion, it was a strong showing throughout, as he recorded a 16-3 major decision, a pin and a 6-2 win over South Plainfield's Preston Johnson in the semis to reach the final.

Old Bridge's Troy DeCuester tried to make it four in a row at heavyweight, but dropped a tough 9-5 contest to Perth Amboy's Argenis Minaya in the heavyweight final. DeCuester, who shocked top seeded and previously unbeaten Drew Mackay of Spotswood, 4-3, in the semifinals, was tied with Minaya 5-5 late in the bout, before Minaya scored a reversal and two nearfall points to take home the title. Nonetheless, it was a strong tournament for DeCuester (18-7), who will look to build off his performance the rest of the way.

Old Bridge also got solid fourth-place finishes from John Giusti (125), Trevor Haughney (135) and Brenton Mack (145), and fifth-place finishes from Matt Valentino (119) and Chris Suozzo (160).

While JFK took third place in the team competition with 158 points, the Sayreville Bombers enjoyed a strong showing as well, finishing fourth with 132 points. Sayreville was led by second-place finishers Eric Tsang (125), Ramon Santiago (135) and Mike Knight.

Tsang, who became the school's all-time victory leader earlier in the tournament, was upset by second-seeded Dan Keiser of J.P. Stevens in the final, 11-4. The gritty senior (25-2) would love to get another shot at Keiser down the road.

Santiago ran into a determined Billy Ashnault of South Plainfield in the 135 final, and was pinned by the Tiger at the 2:50 mark. It was the first GMCT title for Ashnault, who pinned everyone he faced this year, after losing in the finals the previous three years. Santiago fell to 25-3 with the loss.

Knight was upset in the 160 final by South Plainfield's Mark Wagner, 7-2. While Knight wrestled well throughout the tournament, Wagner was a man on a mission, having beaten Woodbridge's Craig Batista, last year's 151-pound champ, in the semifinals.

After losing to eventual 152-pound champion Mike Dessino on Middlesex in the semifinals, Sayreville's Scott Poore came back to take third place when South Plainfield's Sam Martin had to retire with an injury during their consolation bout. Also taking third for Sayreville was Mike DeLuco, who beat Old Bridge's Mack, 7-6, in their 145-pound consolation bout. DeLuco lost to Mack earlier in the quarterfinals, 8-4.

Monroe took home 11th-place in the team scoring with 56 points, led by Frank Olexson's third-place finish at heavyweight. Olexson, who fell to eventual champion Minaya in the quarterfinals, 3-1, came back to win three straight bouts, including a 4-3 win over Mackay in the consolation semis and a 7-2 win over Piscataway's Jeramie Powell in the third-place match.

Monroe also got a fifth-place finish from Sam Emburgia at 103.

East Brunswick, 12th in the team standings with 52.5 points, was led by fourth-place finishes from Matt Ackerman (119) and Sergio Garcia (189), while South River's Adam Mongelli led his team to a 13th-place finish with a third-place at 112. Mongelli, who fell to Edison freshman Mike FrancoBandiero in the semifinals, came back to win his next two bouts, including a 9-5 victory over Perth Amboy's Jairo Bernal in the third-place bout.

Bryan Fodor also took home a third-place finish at 189 for the Rams, bouncing back from a pinfall loss to Garcia in the quarterfinals to win three straight bouts, including a rematch with Garcia in the third-place bout. In that match, Fodor pinned Garcia at the 3:15 mark.

Mat notes....When the NJSIAA's state wrestling pairings came out on Tuesday, there was only one happy local team, while a pair of other squads were left disappointed to be on the outside looking in.

Old Bridge got the fifth seed in the absolutely loaded Central Jersey Group IV bracket, which includes two of the very best teams in the state.

With an upset win over fourth-seeded Hunterdon Central in the first round (Tuesday in Jackson), the Knights would have the daunting task of facing the host Jaguars, the top team in the state, and a nationally ranked program. Jackson has been simply brilliant this year, and with no weaknesses throughout its lineup, is the

prohibitive favorite to claim the sectional crown.

At the other end of the CJ Group IV bracket, Howell is the likely pick to reach the sectional finals, although they are seeded behind Brick Memorial, the host school for Tuesday's first round. Howell will face Freehold Township in the first round on Tuesday, with the winner to get Brick Memorial.

Freehold Township (12-8) reaching the tournament is a sore subject for the Sayreville wrestling team, who failed to qualify despite a far better record (19-3) and a better showing in its conference tournament. Sayreville head coach John Denuto and his team feel they are getting the short end of the stick here, and Denuto plans on sharing his disappointment with the NJSIAA over the selection process.

Another local team that felt it should be in action on Tuesday night is the Monroe Falcons. With Monroe finishing sixth in the final power point standings in CJ Group III, the Falcons thought they were in. However, once the NJSIAA recalculated the points on Tuesday, they realized there was a discrepancy regarding Freehold Borough. As a result, Lawrence jumped ahead of Monroe, taking the final spot.

The Falcons are left to concentrate on Saturday's dual meet with Woodbridge, where they can claim the GMC White Division title with a win.