Sayreville wrestling to rely upon experience
Bombers return five wrestlers with at least 20 wins from a year ago
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The Sayreville High School wrestling team enters the season looking to pick up where it left off a year ago, when the Bombers battled their way to a threeway tie for the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division crown and took second place in the District 20 competition.

Overall, the Bombers posted a 22-5 mark and also finished fourth in the GMC tourney, behind the likes of South Plainfield, Old Bridge and JFK. Five Sayreville wrestlers won individual District 20 championships.

This time around, coach John Denuto said his team is aiming to win the White Division outright, but its ultimate goal is to win the NJSIAA North 2 Group III Tournament, where the competition includes schools such as Scotch Plains, Warren Hills and Voorhees. Last season, Sayreville competed in Central Jersey Group IV.

"Our guys have all worked very hard, especially our seniors who've been here three years," the coach said.

"They know they're going to have to earn it. Just because we've had a couple of good years doesn't mean we can win if the effort isn't there. They don't deserve anything; they still have to earn it. It's all about focus and keeping focused."

Denuto's team has also handled adversity well. Last season, Mike Knight's father passed away, and twins Nick and John Boulton also lost their father.

Recently, Scott Poore's mother passed away. Poore was one of the team's top competitors last year before graduating in June.

"This is a tight group; they all support each other and they have a lot of character as a team," the coach said.

The Bombers return three 30-plusmatch winners as well as two grapplers who surpassed the 20-win mark last winter.

Mike DeLuco (145 pounds) and junior Ramon Santiago both posted 34 victories a year ago. Both grapplers won their respective District 20 titles. Santiago, who has 53 career triumphs, also took second place in the GMC, while DeLuco finished third in his weight class.

In addition, Mike Knight (171) posted a 33-4 mark and took first place in District 20 and second place in the GMC. However, Knight will miss the early part of the campaign as he recovers from ACL surgery. Denuto said Knight is expected back by the end of December.

John Boulton (130), who went 22-13 and was second in the GMC, and junior Dan Bergfeldt (112), who was 20-12, will also play important roles. Other key returnees include Nick Boulton (125), who battled his way to 17 wins last season, and a pair of 10-match winners, Rhett Fischer (152) and Bryan Miksiewicz (215).

Denuto is also expecting major contributions from Pat Ronan (119), who came on strong late last season and finished third in District 20, and Jared Christensen (160), who was 9-5.

Rounding out the lineup are freshman Kyle Anderson (112), junior Joe DelPiano (135), freshman John Bisaha, who had a strong summer, and junior Mike Alos, both 189-pounders.

"We have a lot of versatility and we're pretty balanced, particularly in the middle

weights, so we'll be juggling the lineup a bit on a match-by-match

basis until [Mike] Knight gets

back," Denuto said.

The coach noted that Sayreville

will have a tougher regular

season schedule this year.

The Bombers will do their traditional

opener on Dec. 15 in a quad-meet against New Brunswick, Piscataway and South River, hosted by South River. On Dec. 19 Sayreville welcomes division rival Monroe to the borough. Three days later, Denuto's team will travel to Hazlet to meet powerful Raritan, along with Hillsborough and St. John Vianney in another quad match.

During the holiday break, Sayreville will again compete in the Brearley Christmas Tournament, where the Bombers finished second behind the host team last year.

"Our guys are ready for the challenge," Denuto said.

"We've asked a lot and they've given a lot. Most of them wrestled 30 or more duals over the summer and they went to camps. Then we started with double practices. They've worked hard to get here. If they keep on working, there's no telling what they can accomplish, and we want a state title."

He also credited the Bombers' assistant coaches with developing the wrestlers. They include: Tom Martinez, Griff Banos, Wayne Van Derhoff, Len Zaleski, and Mark Ciarmare, who coaches the Middle School team.

Additionally, Sayreville had a strong turnout at tryouts and there are now 26 freshmen in the program.