December
31, 2004
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| Fair Lawn's Dylan Landi celebrating his 171-pound county championship on Thursday night at the Teaneck Armory. | |
TEANECK -- Bergen County wrestling fans look forward to the county wrestling tournament, eagerly watching out for the early favorites to be heading to Atlantic City come March. Thursday night's 45th Annual George Jockish Holiday Wrestling Tournament held at the Teaneck Armory did not disappoint, as many of the favorites did the expected.
"This tournament is one of the toughest you have all year," Ramapo's Jim Schulz, who took the 152-pound championship. "It's kind of a thing of endurance. Two days, six or seven matches, it makes it hard."
While the individual matches played out, the team titles were also being contested, and while Bergen Catholic was the runaway winner of the Non-Public and the overall team trophy, the Group races saw three teams earn their first-ever titles.
Rutherford came out on top of the Group 1 list, while Lodi earned the Group 2 championship. Ramapo won Group 3 for the second year in a row and Hackensack collected the Group 4 trophy. The Comets and the Raiders also tied for second in the overall standings behind the Crusaders.
While the BC overall win may have been expected, it wasn't as guaranteed as many of the previous 13 (in 14 years) were, according to head coach David Bell.
"We've really had a transition," he explained. "We lost four to graduation, three others left the program and another decided not to wrestle this year, then we had an injury that kept one kid out and another had to withdraw with injury in his second match. Considering everything, we did well."
Ramapo head coach Drew Gibbs, while happy with his team's Group 3 title, was just as proud of being the "public school co-champion," though both he and some of his Ramapo wrestlers were disappointed they didn't get second place outright.
Ramapo and Lodi were the only schools to have multiple champions, with each getting two, as 12 schools split up the 14 titles, the most since the tournament went to 14 weight classes in 1995 and equaling the 1991 tourney were 12 schools shared 13 titles.
A class-by-class recap follows.
103 - In a class where so many freshman reside, it wasn't surprising that a sixth seed would emerge as a champion. Bob Dabal (9-0 career record) of North Bergen, the only non-Bergen County school still remaining in the annual tournament, took home the Bruins' 21st championship and first since 1994 with a pin of fifth-seeded Joe Trause (6-3) of Bergen Catholic.
The two freshmen were even through one period, with Dabal getting a takedown and Trause a quick reversal, before Dabal used a quick roll to put Trause on his back. The pin came quickly after that at 2:55. The top seed, Fred Santaite of Northern Highlands, finished third.
112 - Last year's 103-pound champ made it two in a row, as top-seeded John Trumbetti (46-1) of St. Joseph Regional knocked off second seed Chris Battaglia (24-20) of arch-rival Bergen Catholic. The Green Knight sophomore was in control for the majority of the match that ended in an 8-1 decision.
Trumbetti earned a takedown 17 seconds in and was up 4-1 after one period with another takedown 10 seconds before the close of the period. A reversal made it 6-1 after two and a third period takedown was the final scoring move. Battaglia, a junior, could not mount any serious threat against the 2003 state runner-up. Westwood's Dan Butcher, an 11th seed coming in, took third place.
119 - In one of the more wide-open weight classes, Ramapo's Andrew Van Dyk (9-0) came out of the 12th seed to post a stunning pin of third-seeded Matt Ulrich of Garfield (45-13). The Raider freshman took out top-seeded Jon Weber of Westwood in the semis, and took out a 1, 3, 4 and 5 seed on the way to victory.
Van Dyk had Ulrich, a junior, down 4-0 after one period, including tow back points, and he started the second period down. He escaped, then flashed a quick throw that sent Ulrich to the mat.
"It's a move I call the Van Dyk," he said with pride. "It's all about the hips, and I just got him over. This is what I've been working for ever since I was little."
He accomplished the pin at 3:33. Cresskill's Max Ferreira, a 10th seed, decisioned Weber in the third-place match.
125 - In one of the feature bouts of the finals, St. Mary's senior Jim Grant (90-20) overcame a formidable opponent and won his first title. The top-seeded senior took a surprisingly easy 16-5 major decision over Bergenfield's second-seeded Dan Glover (91-14), denying the Bear senior a shot at his third county championship.
Grant's dominance of the match was most unexpected, as he recorded seven takedowns and a reversal while allowing Glover, a senior, to escape for all of his points.
"I didn't want to wrestle top," Grant said. "He's long, and I didn't want him to step over and get lucky and catch me."
He had leads of 4-1 and 8-2 after the first two periods, and coasted to the win. Pascack Valley's Jack O'Hara, the third seed, took third place.
130 - The seeds held true in another weight class that was loaded with top grapplers, as top-seeded Cory Dunn (106-12) of Rutherford earned his second title in three years with an 11-7 decision over Don Bosco sophomore Dale Fava (36-7), the second seed.
Fava got an early lead with a takedown, but Dunn, a senior, escaped and notched a takedown with 20 seconds to go in period one for a 3-2 lead. He increased it to 7-3 after two periods, then used a pair of third period takedowns to secure the win and a return to the winners circle (he won at 125 pounds in 2002 before finishing third at 135 last year). Third-seeded Matt Lindsey of Paramus was the third place finishers.
135 - Senior Sal Tirico (92-10) of Lodi made it two in a row, backing up his 130-pound crown in 2003 with a 4-3 decision over third-seeded Daryl Cocozzo (67-9) of River Dell. Tirico, the top-seed, and Cocozzo, a junior, battled through a scoreless first period. Tirico then chose down and worked a reversal for the first points of the match.
Cocozzo escaped for a 2-1 score after two periods, and Tirico chose to allow Cocozzo to escape to open the third period and tie the score. The gamble paid off with a takedown by Tirico with 42 seconds left, and he again allowed a Cocozzo escape with 27 ticks remaining. The Hawk wrestler could not get the go-ahead takedown.
Cocozzo had knocked off second-seed and defending 119 pound champ Dave Greenwald of St. Mary's in the semis, though Greenwald did win for third place.
140 - The road to recovery was long and winding, but it was a journey with a happy ending for fifth-seeded Gene Palko (69-10) of Saddle Brook / Glen Rock. After missing all of last season due to an injury to his kidney, the senior came away with a 10-6 decision and the Most Outstanding Wrestler award over third seed Joe Biango (60-17) of Waldwick / Midland Park, the eighth title for Saddle Brook (where Palko is from) and the first for the Falcons since 1992.
Palko, a senior, had bested top seed Andrew Wagner of Ramsey in the semis, and he saw a 3-2 first period lead turn into a 4-3 deficit when Biango, a senior, earned two back points in the second period. Palko did not let it faze him, rebounding for an escape and quick takedown to establish a 6-4 lead that would become 8-5 after two periods. He scored a decisive takedown with 52 seconds left in the match to put it away. The expected final match between Wagner and second-seeded Dan Adamo of Demarest occurred in the third place bout, with Wagner winning a decision.
145 - Top-seeded Derek Sickles (89-27) of Bergen Catholic took home a second straight title with a relatively easy technical fall of second-seeded Nick Magaraci (67-21) of Old Tappan at 3:01 (16-0). Sickles, a senior and last year's 135-pound champ, put Magaraci, a senior, down 15 seconds in and scored eight back points in the first period alone on the way to a 10-0 lead. He used a takedown 16 seconds into the second to set up a pair of two-point near falls that ended the match. Third seed Brad Marquart of Rutherford took third place.
152 - Schulz (79-18), the first seed, got the first points on a takedown in the opening period and he never lost the lead on the way to a 5-3 decision over sixth-seeded junior Rico Rodriguez (34-7) of North Bergen.
"I saw he was throwing people around the whole tournament," Schulz related, "so I wanted to try and stay away from the upper body. I tried to stay down by his legs, and I seemed to accomplish that pretty well."
Rodriguez made an instant escape off that first takedown that made it 2-1 after the first, and Schulz chose down and escaped for the only points of the second period. After Rodriguez escaped in the third, Schulz, a senior, got the key takedown with 55 seconds to go, then staved off the final 19 seconds after the Bruin escaped. Rodriguez knocked off second seed Spencer Kent of Bergen Catholic in the semis, though Kent rebounded to take third.
160 - Fourth-seed Rich Eichenlaub (37-15) became the 46th champion in Pascack Hills' annals (the most of any school in the tournament), as the junior finished off second seed Jeff Bliss (74-19) of New Milford in a 5-1 decision. The two worked a scoreless opening period before Bliss, a senior, escaped from the down position with 37 seconds to go in the second.
Eichenlaub then swung the momentum with a takedown in the last second of the period for a 2-1 lead. He escaped eight seconds into the third from a still stunned Bliss, then managed to stay out of danger until recording the match-insuring takedown with 10 seconds to go. Everett Sayers of Pascack Valley took third by decision over Derrick Van Dyk of Ramapo, who had bested top-seed Daniel Woods of Demarest in the quarterfinals before losing to Eichenlaub in the semis.
171 - Junior Dillon Landi (59-10) of Fair Lawn turned a tight match into a quick ending at the beginning of the second period, pinning third seed John Procopio (60-16) of Indian Hills at 2:14. The win was the 40th all time for the Cutters, joining Pascack Hills as the only schools in tournament history to have 40 or more champions.
Landi, the top seed, was holding a 2-0 lead after the first period, courtesy of a takedown with 46 seconds to go, when he suddenly caught Procopio, a senior, with a quick move to his back and a pin four seconds later.
"It was an elevator move, things that the coaches go over every day," Landi said of the key takedown. "I've been practicing it for a long time. It was a tough weight class with tough kids."
Second-seeded Greg Osgoodby of Waldwick / Midland Park took third place.
189 - One of the more intriguing matches was the battle between top-seeded Bryan Fill (62-12) of Hasbrouck Heights / Wood Ridge and second seed Karim Mahmoud (56-8) of Wallington / Becton. Neither wrestler had more than a two-point lead at any time before Mahmoud came away with a 7-6 decision that gives Wallington (where Mahmoud resides) its first-ever county champion.
Fill, a junior, took a 2-1 lead after one period, only to see Mahmoud, a senior, come back to earn a 4-3 lead after the second period. Mahmoud then allowed Fill to escape from the down position to start the third period and tie the score, and the move paid off when he notched a takedown with 1:20 to go. Fill escaped at 46 seconds, but was hit with a stall point penalty with 24 seconds left. Mahmoud was penalized a stall point with three seconds left, but rode out the final ticks.
Third seed Ricky Keenan of Bogota took third, and John Elia of Pascack Valley, despite finishing fifth, took home the Most Pins in the Least Time award, recording five pins in a total of 6:44.
215 - Keith Dobish (62-8) of Lodi became the sixth two-time champion of the 2004 tournament, as the top seed vanquished third-seeded senior Michael Schlossberg (45-31) of River Dell via an 11-3 decision. Dobish, a junior, repeats in the same weight class thanks to a quick 5-0 first period lead that expanded to 9-1 after two periods. He had three back points late in the opening period, and escaped from the down position six seconds into the second.
All three of Schlossberg's points came on escapes. Bergen Catholic's Larry Otsuka emerged from the 12th seed to earn third place, taking out a 2, 4 and 5 seed along the way.
275 - After a runner-up finish last year, there was no way Eric Sewell (73-16) was going to be denied in the final bout of the tournament. The top-seeded Hackensack senior, still fighting off the knee injury from football season, scored a pin at 2:56 over second seed Terry Stanford (43-14) of Ridgefield Park / Ridgefield.
The two remained on their feet for the entire scoreless first period before Sewell, who chose down, reversed five seconds into the second. Stanford, a senior, managed an escape, but Sewell caught him with a takedown to his back and finished off the pin four seconds later. Mark Fersa of Saddle Brook / Glen Rock took third place.
FOR MORE PICTURES OF THIS EVENT OR TO PURCHASE A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT THE NJS.com SCHOOL STORE!
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