Jaguars ready to prove they're the state's best
Take on Rams after finishing third at The Clash
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Jackson Memorial's Brian Cohen, shown above working over Manalapan's Ryan McGilvary, Ken Carney, shown below battling Southern's Ed Broderick in an SCT finals bout last winter, and their Jaguar teammates will be tested once again on Saturday as the state's second-ranked team from Southern Regional comes to town.

All signs point to another battle in Jackson on Saturday.The state's top-ranked wrestling team from Jackson will be licking its chops once again as they host a second-ranked Southern Regional squad that has been waiting for an opportunity to unseat the Jaguars as the team to beat since the season began.

In what is being hyped as the biggest dual meet of the season, both Jackson and Southern come into the week having seen some of the top wrestling the nation has to offer in a pair of prestigious tournaments over the holiday break.

Southern had five place-winners to earn a third-place finish at the two-day POWERade Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg, Pa., over the weekend. The Rams had three grapplers advance to the finals - defending 140-pound state champion Frank Molinaro, 152-pounder Luke Lanno and 215-pounder Glen Carson - before falling, while two other Ram wrestlers - Brian Broderick (125) and Keith Dillard (160) - finished eighth in their respective weight classes.

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Meanwhile, the Jaguars traveled out to Rohester, Minn., to compete in a prestigious two-day, 32-team event - The Clash National Duals - where they finished second last year against a field containing several of the top teams in the nation.

This time around they weren't as fortunate, finishing 1-2 in the championship bracket on Saturday after rolling to the Bracket B Championship the previous day.

While the Jaguars failed to capture a team title, junior Scott Winston (last year's NJSIAA champ at 145 pounds) did nothing to hurt his growing reputation as one of the top wrestlers in the nation, winning all six of his bouts at 152 points.

Early on, Jackson appears poised to challenge for the team title. In Friday's action, Jackson defeated Aitkin (Minn.), 53-15, Skutt Catholic (Neb.), ranked 37th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, 43-21, and Hastings (Minn.), ranked 21st in the nation by the AWN, 43-16, to claim the Bracket B title.

The Jaguars were led by the efforts of Frank Anderson (215) and Dan Hopkins (189), who each recorded three pins on the day, while Sean Byrnes (145), Corey Biscaha (135), Winston and Kyle Kinchen (119) also went 3-0.

Jackson, who entered the tournament ranked 10th in the nation by the AWN, then advanced to the four-team championship bracket held Saturday, joining Montini Catholic (Ill.), ranked sixth, defending champion Carl Sandburg (Ill.), ranked seventh, and Apple Valley (Ill.), ranked 23rd.

Unfortunately, their hopes of a team title were dashed in their second match of the night Saturday, when they fell to Montini Catholic, 36-28. Jackson jumped out to a quick lead on the heels of pins by Byrnes and Winston and a technical fall from Ken Carney, only to have Montini Catholic battle back in the upper-weight matches.

Earlier in the day, Jackson avenged last year's loss to Carl Sandburg by defeating the defending champs, 37-23, reeling off six straight wins from 112 to 140 to seal the win.

Later on Saturday, Jackson fell to Apple Valley, 36-24, to end their tournament with a 4-2 overall mark.

Montini Catholic, who finished 2-1 in the championship bracket, having beaten Jackson and Apple Valley (33-32) before falling to Carl Sandburg (42-24), wound up winning the team title, with Apple Valley second and Jackson third.

Now that they're back in New Jersey, the Jaguars will very much be looking forward to facing Southern Regional on Saturday. These two teams are very familiar with each other and certainly respect each other's abilities.

Tickets for the match are available at the Jackson Memorial athletic office between 2-4 p.m. this week, and will also be made available during tomorrow night's girls basketball game.

Get there early for this one - it's certain to be a packed house.

First bout is 2 p.m.

Howell captures Roselle Park tourney title

Tournament action has become a very important part of the wrestling season, and over the recent holiday week, Howell was victorious at a tough tournament in Roselle Park.

For the Rebels, who began their season with an impressive repeat win at the Battle on the Beach in Delaware, followed by four dual-meet victories, the repeat win in Roselle Park was another validation of their No. 7 ranking in the state.

John Gagliano's wrestlers rolled up 189.5 points to beat host Roselle Park (161.5) by more than 30 points.

Cody Fobest (125), Justin Morello (130), Jimmy Bohn (140) and Tom Tuminelli (145), who are the nucleus of Howell's powerhouse middle weights, were the Rebels' champions.

Joey Langel (112) and Mike Bonfig (heavyweight) were runners-up for the tournament's defending champions.

Howell will now turn its attention to the defense of its A North Division championship. Last night they traveled to Middletown North, and on Saturday will host longtime Freehold District rival Manalapan (11:30 a.m.). On Jan. 9, Christian Brothers Academy makes a call to Howell before the Rebels take on Ocean Township, another of the state's elite teams, on Jan. 10.