>>>***!!!NOTE: YOU MAY HAVE TO HIT THE REFRESH BUTTON TO SEE LATEST SITE UPDATES ON SOME PAGES!!!***<<<
ATTENTION
Lacey is looking for a full-time assistant. If interested, please email coach Tom Pfister tpfister@laceyschools.org
The Eatontown Rec Wrestling program (the feeder program for Monmouth Regional) is looking for a volunteer coach to help with the team this season. The program is open to kids in Grade 1-8 in the Eatontown, Tinton Falls, and Shrewsbury areas. If interested, please email Mike Murcia at mike.a.murcia@gmail.com or Rich Johnson at rfjohnson1234@gmail
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22nd
Couple of quick notes. The following motions were approved for this upcoming season, and will now be voted on in mid-October for the upcoming season.
1. Number of teams qualifying for the State Sectional Tournaments is increased from six to eight
2. The Top 4 finishers in each weight class at Regions will qualify for the State Tournament in Atlantic City
3. The District & Region realignment plan. You can CLICK HERE to see the new District and Region alignments. You can also see my two cents on the change by scrolling down to the August 17th update.
Also, the new Sectional alignments for the 2016-2017 season have been revealed. They can be seen HERE.
The most notable changes from the Shore...
Howell, who won the CJG5 Title last season, has moved back into SJG5. That returns them to the same Section as Southern Regional, who defeated the Rebels in last year's Group 5 Championship.
Wall, which has fallen to Delsea in the SJG3 Final in each of the last two seasons, has moved back into CJG3.
Brick Township, who has wrestled mostly in Central Jersey throughout the years, has been moved into SJG4.
2016-2017 Dates of Importance
11/21: Tryouts/Practices Can Begin
11/28: Official Start of Practice
12/16: Opening Day of Season
1/15: 2-pound Growth Allowance Begins
1/28: State Sectional Cutoff
2/6, 2/8, 2/10: State Sectionals
2/12: Group Finals at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River
2/17-18: Districts
2/22, 24-25: Regions
3/3-3/5: NJSIAA Tournament in Atlantic City
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th
We are at 100 days until opening weekend of the 2016-2017 season. Now that the dog days of summer have ended, schools have opened, football has arrived, and New York Rangers hockey is right around the corner... the days will start flying by.
The high school football season kicked off last weekend. To keep tabs on all the action from the Shore Conference, make sure to go to ShoreSportsNetwork.com Also, over in the world of Twitter, give our friends Bob Badders (@Bob_Badders) and Steve Falk (@smfalk) follows for Shore Conference Football updates.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21st
Frank Molinaro was defeated on points in the Bronze Medal match at the Olympics in Rio on Sunday afternoon. Congratulations to Frank on a tremendous run. You have made us all proud, and the Shore is fortunate to call you one of our own.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17th
A couple of things to touch on, then it's back to Internet Vacation...
Obviously there's been A LOT of talk about the proposal to realign the Districts and Regions. And obviously, there seems to be a great divide among those for and against the change. Since I have this really awesome website to throw out some opinions, I'll chip in my (worthless) two cents.
First, I am for the change. Short of eliminating a few Districts, especially up north where the number of byes into the semis were getting out of hand, something needed to be done to even the numbers of teams and wrestlers across the board. It just no longer made any sense to have a specific area, and a strong area at that, have more teams and wrestlers in it.
The main gripe seems to be about just how drastic the proposed change is. Truth be told, there is just no way to level the playing field without expanding the borders. There was no way to move a few schools here and there and everything would be fixed, and make no mistake about it, but the current system is broken. The numbers back it up. The only way to even things out is to completely blow things up.
Since I'm not as in touch with the northern and southern areas as I am our own area, I'll stick to the concerns among our area.
Travel: Obviously there are going to be some pretty long trips for teams under the new proposal, with the potential for hour plus trips in some extreme cases. You know what, find me a team that doesn't travel during the course of the season. Be it the early season tournaments, the dreaded quads, or Sectionals, teams are traveling great distances all season long. If a one hour drive is a problem for the Districts, then I sure hope that team isn't going anywhere near that distance for a meaningless regular season match or December tournament with a skeleton lineup.
Rivalries: Meh, not buying that. The great rivalries are already settled on the mat in the dual season. The best rivalries in the Shore have never been about the individual tournament team standings. I'd venture to guess that Beach/Boro, the Bricks, the Jacksons, Keansburg/Keyport, etc. drew much bigger crowds for their one on dual than they did when they competed in the same District. The student body of these schools are not going to the Districts the way they used to anymore anyway. Districts used to be in front of packed houses, now they're in half empty gyms consisting of family, friends, teammates, and the hardcore fans. It's just too long a day and crowds are down across the board anyway. Location creates rivalries just as much as competition does, and there will be plenty of competition at these tournaments now that they're evened out.
Tradition: Region 6 is the Shore Conference. How can you break up the Shore Conference? The Shore Conference is NOT being broken up. The Shore didn't have its own Region until 1991 or 1992. It did fine before then. Is it great having all of our teams in the same four Districts filtering into the same Region? Absolutely. It was also easily the largest Region by numbers and the toughest to get out of with all things considered. We'll still have our six divisions. We'll still have our Shore Conference Tournament, but the door is now open for something else... individual County Tournaments. Everyone else has them, but the Shore has never gone down that road, and could never go down that road, as long as we were all in the same Districts and Regions. And since people have been complaining about how to fix the Shore Conference Tournament forever (yet another tournament that IS broken, IMO) maybe now we have the push to make it better. And for those suggesting that we just turn it into an individual tournament, not going to happen. There's the potential for too many matches counting against the individual match limit for the better wrestlers with an area this size.
I know a lot of people like seeing all of our Shore guys competing for trips to AC in one gym over the course of three days. That is the tough part. That will definitely be missed. I look on the bright side of it. Previously, the Shore was sending 42 wrestlers to AC every year. Since the Shore's rise over a decade ago, the competition to get out of the Region was as tough, if not tougher, than just about any Region. Now, with all of our teams spread out, the road to AC for the Shore becomes somewhat easier in many ways. Adding to that is the fact that, under the new proposal, the Top 4 instead of the previous Top 3 from every Region advance to AC, we are going to be sending even more talent from our backyard to Boardwalk Hall than ever before. We are going to be well represented in AC, and we should all be flying our colors and supporting our guys together as one come March. Heck, I'd even love to see someone take the initiative of forgoing buying blocks of tickets for their specific school and getting everyone from the Shore to gobble up entire Sections for our entire area to get together and pull for all of our guys, whether they be Region 5, 6, 7, or 8. We're still the Shore.
Honestly, my only personal beef with the proposal is a selfish one... covering this thing is going to be a NIGHTMARE! We're very fortunate to have guys like Steve Falk and Bob Badders doing the work to give the best coverage possible on the Districts and Regions. With our area blown up, it's anybody's guess what happens. From my end, covering four Districts non-stop on Saturday made my head spin by 3:00. Now it's 15 Districts??? YIKES! I was happy to be able to give real time updates from all four Districts the last 12 years, but anyone expecting the same with 15 Districts might be a little unhappy that day. Or VERY patient. But if that's the only gripe I can come up, then it's not too bad.
Final two things and I'm back on vacation.
1. Best of luck to Southern Regional/Shore Conference Alum, Frank Molinaro as he goes for the gold in Rio in a few days.
2. Thanks to Sunset Farms for picking up the tab on my all the renewals and domain space I had to re-up on this offseason. Send them some donuts or go buy a shrub or something. Maybe I'll even ask them next renewal period. And if you must know, I re-upped across the board for at least another five years. So, not going anywhere for a while.
3. Once, or if, the changes go through, I'll be taking a look at each of our new Districts with some bits on the schools you may not be familiar with.
4. The Mets make me nauseous. Is it hockey season yet?
5. Finally, if you read all of this, you get a participation trophy. Isn't that what it's all about these days?
DESPO
(Updated, once again, with no care for spell check or grammar!)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12th
Taking a quick break from my Internet Vacation, I still refuse to check the email though, to address the huge news in regards to this season's individual postseason tournaments.
A proposal was presented, and sounds like will pass, that will do a MASSIVE realignment throughout the entire state of the District and Region Tournaments. How massive? The Shore Conference, which has had its own four Districts that filtered into Region 6 for the past 23 years, will now be spread out into 15 different Districts as part of four different Regions.
To see the proposed realignment, CLICK HERE!
So what does it mean if it all goes through? Well, for starters, the Shore was guaranteed 42 representatives in the State Tournament each season. With the Shore's Region 6 consistently being one of the strongest, one would expect that number to increase as power teams of our area will be repped throughout Regions 5-8. On the flip side, you have to feel for those poor souls with websites covering the Shore once Districts and Regions start. Those fools are going to have their work cut out for them. Oh... wait. Damn.
I'll post more info and links on the realignment when it becomes available. Until then, I'm going to go sit in the corner and wonder what I'm going to do come February. Something tells me that I'm a lock to keep close tabs on District 24 and Region 6 though. Hmm... wonder why?
That's All For Now...
DESPO
Click to view.
One final look back, as well as a brief glimpse to 2017, with a little piece on each of the Shore's team. You can see that by CLICKING HERE!
CLICK HERE FOR STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS/RESULTS
REGION RECAP
REGION MEDAL WINNERS (Top 4) BY DISTRICT
21: 14 / 22: 13 / 23: 15 / 24: 14
Seniors: 29 / Juniors: 15 / Sophomores: 8 / Freshmen: 4
TEAM NOTES
Barnegat: The Bengals were represented by a pair of sophomores in Sean Foley and Charlie Peterson. Next season will mark the first time since 2013 that the Bengals will have multiple wrestlers with Region experience in their lineup.
Brick Memorial: The "down year" for Brick Memorial was on full display as the Stangs' Gianni Ghione and Nick Rivera each won their 2nd Region titles. They'll both be making their third trip to AC, and will be joined by 3rd-place finishers Luke Vescovi and Chris Hayes. Memorial has now had at least one champ each of the last five years and added to their Shore Conference high, with 58 Champs all-time.
Brick Twp: Junior Dean Helstowski finished in 3rd place for the Dragons to advance to Boardwalk Hall for the 2nd time in his career. Helstowski gives the Dragons a representative in AC for the 10th straight season. Also earning a medal on Saturday for Brick was fellow junior Anthony Costanza, who wrestled his way from the 9th-seed to finish 4th at 152.
CBA: If there were a team title awarded at Regions, CBA would have outpointed Wall for 1st place on the strength of their 5 medal winners, including champions Sebastian Rivera and Jack LaCorte. Rivera, voted Region 6 Most Outstanding Wrestler, became the Colts 4th wrestler to win multiple Region titles and helped continue their streak of 5 years with a R6 Champ.
Colts Neck: Joey King and Steven Barsky each finished one win short of a medal. All four of Colts Neck's participants in this year's tournament return next season. In fact, the Cougars return their entire starting lineup from this year's Top 10 squad.
Donovan Catholic: The Griffins were represented by three wrestlers at the Regions for the first time since 1989, all sophomores. Cristiaan Dailey became the first wrestler from DC to win a Region match since 2011, when Anthony D'Anton claimed the 103-pound title.
Holmdel: Although the Hornets came up just shy of claiming a medal, senior Garrett Hilsheimer and sophomore Scott Dupont gave Holmdel their first wins at the Regions since 2013.
Howell: Another strong showing for Howell at this year's Regions as they earned five medals, including first place performances from senior Kris Lindemann and junior Eric Keosseian. The five medal winners for Howell marks the 5th straight season that the Rebels will have multiple representatives in Atlantic City. Darby Diedrich's medal at 106 marks the 4th straight year the Rebels have had a Top 4 finisher at 106.
Jackson Liberty: While the Lions had a streak of 4 years with a champion snapped, they did earn two medals with seniors Tyler Kalmowitz placing 2nd and Nicholas Pellegrino finishing 3rd. It marks the 7th season in a row that Liberty has won a medal at the Regions.
Jackson Memorial: Junior Matt McGowan snapped a 3-year title drought for the Jags to bring their all-time total to 51 championships, 2nd most in the Shore Conference. Finishing 3rd for the Jags was Mike Spino, who avenged his quarterfinal loss to Wall's Jack Kelly, by pinning him in the 3rd-place match.
Lacey: Freshman Hunter Gutierrez, one of three frosh headed to Atlantic City, punched his ticket to AC with a 2nd-place finish at 106. Gutierrez gives the rising Lions at least one medal winner for the 4th time in 5 years.
Long Branch: Senior Joey Jasio finished in 2nd place at 220 to give the Green Wave a Top 3 finisher at the Regions for 9th time in 11 years.
Manalapan: Senior Joe Marano's 4th-place finish at 220 marks the 4th time in the last 5 years the Braves claimed a medal the Region 6 Tournament.
Manchester: With his 3rd place finish at 195, Will Farparan becomes the first wrestler from Manchester to punch his ticket to AC since Jesse Meaney in 2012.
Middletown North: The Lions crowned a champion for the 2nd consecutive season when Anthony Vetrano won the 182-pound weight class. This will be the 3rd year in a row that North sends a participant to Atlantic City.
Ocean Township: For the first time since 2012, the Spartans will send multiple wrestlers to Boardwalk Hall in 2nd-place finisher Jake Benner, a sophomore who suffered his first defeat of the season in the 132-pound final, and senior TJ Saldutti, who placed 3rd at 170.
Pinelands: After an 11 year run without any State-qualifiers, the Wildcats will have a representative at Boardwalk Hall for the 3rd straight season in Christopher Nielsen, the runner up at 182-pounds, who became the team's third Region finalist since 2002.
Pt Beach: One of the smallest programs at the Shore had one of the biggest runs at the tournament, earning three medals, including their first Region 1st-place medal since 2006 when John Finnerty won the 145-pound weight class from the 6th-seed and was making his 4th R6 appearance. Joining Finnerty in AC will be 152-pound runner-up Giancarlo Crivelli, giving the Gulls multiple representatives at the States since 2005.
Raritan: Sophomore Russell Benson came up just short in giving the Rockets their 1st champ since 2011, dropping a 3-2 UTB decision to Matt McGowan. Still, Benson punches his ticket to AC, the 2nd Rocket to do so since 2013.
Rumson: While the Bulldogs' bid at a medal came up short, they have a nice foundation laid for next year as they will return multiple Region participants to their lineup for the first time since 2010, Theo and Nick Addison.
St John Vianney: The Lancers crowned their first Region Champ since 2004, when Luke Ecklof won the 106-pound title, one of three wrestlers not to win his District to earn a Region 6 title this season. Ecklof makes the journey to Atlantic City where he will be joined by teammate Micah Clark, who finished 3rd at heavyweight and will be making his 2nd trip to Boardwalk Hall. It will mark the 3rd year in a row that SJV will be represented at the State Tournament after going 10 years without a participant.
Southern: Southern did have their streak of three years with a champ snapped on Saturday, but it was still another very strong showing for the Shore's #1 team. The Rams earned six medals in all, and pushed four wrestlers on to AC in 2nd-place finishers Teddy Caporrino and Peyton Blauvelt, and 3rd-place finishers Matt Barnett and Pat Mooney. Southern's success extended beyond the mat on Saturday as head coach John Stout was voted as the Region 6 Coach of the Year by his peers.
TR East: Junior AJ Meyers became the Raiders' 1st R6 Champ since 2013, and is the 33rd Champ overall for legendary head coach Warren Reid. For the 2nd straight year, Meyers heads to Atlantic City, where he was two wins shy of a medal in 2015.
TR North: While the Mariners didn't move anyone on to Atlantic City, they did receive two 4th-place finishes. Frosh Nick Reilly concluded strong frosh campaign with a 4th-place finish at 113, one of only four freshmen to medal at this year's tourney. Junior Patrick O'Donnell also had a nice showing, finishing 4th from the #12 seed, with his only losses coming to Wall's Robert Kanniard.
TR South: For the 6th year in a row, TRS left the Region 6 Tournament with at least one champion. Owen McClave won his 3rd consecutive R6 championship, joining BJ Clagon, Kevin Corrigan, and Jeff Parker as 3-time Region champs for the Indians. McClave will now make his 4th appearance in the State Tournament and will be joined by sophomore Cole Corrigan who will be making his 2nd trip to Boardwalk Hall, finishing as a R6 runner-up for the 2nd straight year.
Wall: With four AC-qualifiers, and two 4th-place finishers, it was another strong weekend at the Regions for the Crimson Knights. Leading the way for the Knights were Brett Donner, who won his 3rd title and is the Shore's lone remaining undefeated wrestler headed to Atlantic City, and fellow senior Josh Glantzman who took 1st-place at 160. They will be joined in AC by 195 runner-up Matt McKenzie and super-frosh Robert Kanniard, who finished 3rd at 145.
REGION 6 FINALS RESULTS
152: #1 AJ Meyers (TR East) d. #6 Giancarlo Crivelli (Pt Beach) 5-1
1st Title for Meyers; 33rd overall for TRE, and their 1st since Richie Lewis in 2013
160: #1 Josh Glantzman (Wall) d. #6 Tyler Kalmowitz (Jackson Liberty) 4-1 TB2
2nd R6 medal for Glantzman and his 1st title; 19th Region title for Wall
170: #1 Brett Donner (Wall) md. #2 Peyton Blauvelt (Southern) 13-3
3rd Title for Donner, 4th medal overall. 20th Region Champ for Wall
182: #2 Anthony Vetrano (Middletown North) md. #4 Christopher Nielsen (Pinelands) 10-1
1st Title & 2nd medal for Vetrano; 14th Region Champion for Middletown North
195: #1 Jack LaCorte (CBA) d. #2 Matt McKenzie (Wall) 3-2 TB2
1st Title & 1st trip to AC for LaCorte; CBA's 17th Champ and 5th straight year with a champ.
220: #1 Eric Keosseian (Howell) d. #3 Joey Jasio (Long Branch) 3-1 SV
2nd Medal for Keosseian and 1st title. 27th Region champ for Howell
Hwt: #1 Nick Rivera (Brick Memorial) d. #3 Will Oxley (CBA) 3-1
2nd consecutive title for Rivera and 3rd medal. Brick Memorial's 57th champ all-time, most in the Shore.
106: #3 Luke Ecklof (SJV) d. #5 HunterGutierrez (Lacey) 6-0
1st medal for Ecklof. 1st Region champion for SJV since 2004, and 3rd overall.
113: #1 Sebastian Rivera (CBA) tf. #2 Kyle Slendorn (Howell) 18-3 4:15
Back to back Titles for Rivera; 3rd medal overall. 18th champ for CBA.
120: #1 Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial) d. #3 Richie Koehler (CBA) 9-3
2nd Title for Ghione; 3rd medal overall. 58th Region Champ for Memorial. 3rd consecutive year with multiple champs.
126: #6 Matt McGowan (Jackson Memorial) d. #1 Russell Benson (Raritan) 3-2 UTB
1st Title for McGowan. 51st Champ for Jackson and 1st since 2012.
132: #1 Owen McClave (TR South) d. #3 Jake Benner (Ocean Twp) 5-2
3rd consecutive title for McClave; 4th medal overall. 39th champ for South, and 6th consecutive season with a champ.
138: #1 Kris Lindemann (Howell) d. #2 Cole Corrigan (TR South) 5-3
1st Title for Lindemann, 3rd medal overall. 28th Region champ for Howell
145: #6 John Finnerty (Pt Beach) d. #8 Teddy Caporrino (Southern) 11-5
1st Title & medal for Finnerty. 9th Region Champ for Beach and 1st since 2006.
OW: Sebastian Rivera / Coach of the Year: John Stout
CLICK HERE FOR WRESTLEBACK RESULTS
REGION 6 3RD PLACE MATCHES
106: #2 Darby Diedrich (Howell) md. #6 Owen Kretschmer (Southern) 10-2
113: #6 Nicholas Pellegrino (Jackson Liberty) d. #3 Nick Reilly (TR North) 3-2
120: #5 Mike Spino (Jackson Memorial) p. #4 Jack Kelly (Wall) 2:30
126: #7 Matt Barnett (Southern) d. #4 Mike Plaska (Freehold Twp) 4-3
132: #2 Anthony Gagliano (Howell) md. #6 Nick Wagner (Wall) 14-5
138: #3 Luke Vescovi (Brick Memorial) d. #6 Mike Racanelli (Southern) 6-4
145: #4 Robert Kanniard (Wall) d. #12 Patrick O'Donnell (TR North) 7-3
152: #4 Pat Mooney (Southern) d. #9 Anthony Costanza (Brick Twp) 9-4
160: #12 Garrett Fitzgerald (CBA) d. #4 Lamont Reid (Long Branch) 3-1
170: #3 TJ Saldutti (Ocean Twp) d. #5 Thomas Anderson (Middletown North) 3-1
182: #1 Dean Helstowski (Brick Twp) d. #9 Jack Baker (Pt Beach) 11-4
195: #4 Will Farparan (Manchester) d. #3 Calvin Beaty (SJV) 5-3 SV
220: #4 Chris Hayes (Brick Memorial) d. #5 Joe Marano (Manalapan) 12-5
Hwt: #4 Micah Clark (SJV) p. #2 John Tomlinson (Long Branch) 5:19
REGION 6 SEMIFINAL RESULTS
106
#5 Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey) md. #8 Joe Ferigne (Brick Twp) 10-2
#3 Luke Ecklof (SJV) d. #2 Darby Diedrich (Howell)
113
#1 Sebastian Rivera (CBA) p. #4 Luke Moynihan (Lacey) 0:51
#2 Kyle Slendorn (Howell) p. #6 Nicholas Pellegrino (Jackson Liberty) 1:32
120
#1 Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial) p. #4 Jack Kelly (Wall) 0:50
#3 Richie Koehler (CBA) d. #7 Nick Ciaccia (Howell) 4-0
126
#1 Russell Benson (Raritan) d. #5 Christopher Rodriguez (Manchester) 3-1 SV
#6 Matt McGowan (Jackson Memorial) d. #2 Joe Demuner (Wall) 4-2
132
#1 Owen McClave (TR South) tf. #5 Dylan VanSickell (CBA) 20-4 5:59
#3 Jake Benner (Ocean Twp) d. #2 Anthony Gagliano (Howell) 4-3
138
#1 Kris Lindemann (Howell) d. #5 Carl Vasti (CBA) 3-0
#2 Cole Corrigan (TR South) d. #3 Luke Vescovi (Brick Memorial) 2-1
145
#8 Teddy Caporrino (Southern) d. #4 Robert Kanniard (Wall) 8-5
#6 John Finnerty (Pt Beach) d. #2 Khalil Haskins (SJV) 6-5
152
#1 AJ Meyers (TR East) d. #4 Pat Mooney (Southern) 3-0
#6 Giancarlo Crivelli (Pt Beach) d. #2 Ronny Ghaida (Manalapan) 9-7 SV
160
#1 Josh Glantzman (Wall) d. #12 Garrett Fitzgerald (CBA) 2-0
#6 Tyler Kalmowitz (Jackson Liberty) d. #7 Derrick Wiley (Matawan) 4-2
170
#1 Brett Donner (Wall) md. #5 Thomas Anderson (Middletown North) 22-10
#2 Peyton Blauvelt (Southern) d. #3 TJ Saldutti (Ocean Twp) 5-1
182
#4 Christopher Nielsen (Pinelands) d. #1 Dean Helstowski (Brick Twp) 6-5
#2 Anthony Vetrano (Middletown North) d. #3 Tanner Kelly (Jackson Memorial) 6-4 SV
195
#1 Jack LaCorte (CBA) d. #4 Will Farparan (Manchester) 4-3
#2 Matt McKenzie (Wall) d. #3 Calvin Beaty (SJV) 2-1 UTB
220
#1 Eric Keosseian (Howell) d. #4 Chris Hayes (Brick Memorial) 4-1
#3 Joey Jasio (Long Branch) d. #2 Dominic Infante (Pt Boro) 5-2
Hwt
#1 Nick Rivera (Brick Memorial) p. #4 Micah Clark (SJV) 5:48
#3 Will Oxley (CBA) d. #2 John Tomlinson (Long Branch) 3-1 SV
CLICK HERE FOR REGION BRACKETS
g