January 21, 2013 Volume-V Issue-2

5 Lacrosse Hall ofFame Induction

6 ELITE Sports PerformanceAsk the Experts

8-9 CHANGE OF PLANS

11 Brick Memorial WithAnother Instant Classic

12 SCT WrestlingPreview

15 Stumpy’s Corner

3 Garnet GullsMaking Their Point

4 Lacrosse Coming to Middletown

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S t e v eMey e rDirector/CEO/Marketingsmeyer@al l shoremedia .com

7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

S c o t tS t um pDirector/Managing Editors t u m p @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

Senior Content ProvidersMattManley / / Mmanley21@gmai l .com

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A l l S h o r e M ed i a , L L C26 Oxford Drive Wayside NJ, 07712

Copyright 2013 All Shore Media LLCAl l r ights reserved Reproduct ion in who le or inpart w i thout the permiss ion of A l l Shore Med iais p roh ib i ted

The f irs t thing fans, players , coaches and parentswant to know after the big game is always,

”Is this going to be on ”

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”Is this going to be on ”

When Point Beach broke opena tight game with a 9-0 run

against Colts Neck during ashowdown of the Shore Conference'stop two teams on Jan. 19, it was amicrocosm of what has set the GarnetGulls apart from the rest of thecompetition so far this season.Four different players scored during the key burst,

and Point Beach's improved defense created muchof that offense to send the Garnet Gulls, ranked No.2 in the All Shore Media Top 10, on their way to animpressive 67-56 nondivisional win over the No. 1Cougars. Point Beach (12-0) remains the onlyundefeated Shore Conference team and handed theCougars (12-2) their first loss against New Jerseycompetition this season in front of a capacity crowdon the Garnet Gulls' home floor.

Junior point guard Matt Farrell finished with ateam-high 23 points along with six assists and foursteals, and junior Dom Uhl scored a career-high 17points and had seven rebounds and three blocks inhis best game with theGarnet Gulls sincetransferring fromFrankfurt, Germany, overthe summer. Seniorcenter Riley Calzonettiadded 10 points and 8rebounds for PointBeach, which showed anoffensive balance thatmay be unmatched in theShore Conference alongwith a stingy defense incrunch time

"We just tried to playgood defense, and theoffense comes,'' Uhlsaid. "We were fired up.We wanted to prove toeverybody that we're thebest team in the Shore.''

A Point Beach lead thatwas as high as 13 pointsin the third quarter hadbeen whittled to fourpoints by the Cougarsafter sophomore guardChris O'Reilly buried a3-pointer for his onlypoints of the game totrim it to 50-46 early inthe fourth period. PointBeach answered with afree throw by Calzonetti,a dunk by the 6-foot-6 Uhl off a steal, a jumper byjunior Noah Yates off another Cougars turnover, a3-point play by Calzonetti in transition off a thirdturnover and then a reverse layup on a drive bysenior guard P.J. Kineavy for a 60-46 advantagewith 3:35 left in the game.

"We're going to put the ball in the basket, so it'sjust if we want to play defense,'' Farrell said.

The Garnet Gulls, particularly Yates, also did amuch better job of slowing down Colts Neck seniorstar Brandon Federici. He finished with a game-high 25 points, but only four of them came in thesecond half as Point Beach forced him into 2-for-6shooting from the field after the break. Seniorguard Tim Vangelas added 14 points in the loss forthe Cougars.

"They set a lot of staggers (staggered screens) forhim, and at first our top guy wasn't hedging,''Farrell said. "He needed to hedge longer even if wehad to switch it. We just wanted to lock and trailhim, and just force him into bad shots because he'sa great player.''

"(Federici) was unconscious in the first half,'' saidPoint Beach head coach Nick Catania. "At halftime,we're going, 'He can't keep shooting like that.' Noahwas draped all over him, then Matty Farrell did areal good job on him. When we were denying weweren't getting our hand out. He was getting toomany catches. We wanted to limit his catches.''

After the decisive 9-0 burst, the Garnet Gullsclosed out the win by going 7-for-8 from the foulline in the final 1:49, including a 6-for-6 showingby Farrell. While Federici was brilliant for ColtsNeck, every player on the floor was a scoring threatfor Point Beach. Farrell, Kineavy, Calzonetti andUhl routinely beat their defenders off the dribblealong the baseline or from the wing to create easybuckets as the Garnet Gulls did a good job ofspacing the floor.

"We feel our five people on the floor at the sametime, even our bench, can take anyone on thecourt,'' Farrell said. "The way that (the Cougars)

play defense, they sag offtheir man, but they're nothelpside all the way, sowe knew we could get tothe basket."

"This game we opened itup and ran our motion alittle bit because we feltlike laterally we couldbeat them off the dribble,''Catania said. "I feel we'retalented. When you'rethinking about thematchups, I feel prettygood with anybody we'regoing to play. It's just amatter of are we going toplay with confidence, arewe going to focus, are wegoing to execute thegameplan?"

Point Beach withstood ablistering attack byFederici to start the game,as the 6-foot-3 guard went6-for-7 from the field inthe first half and rattled in15 first-quarter points,including three 3-pointers,to give the Cougars a 19-15 advantage at the endof one. Farrell counteredwith 10 points in thesecond quarter, combining

with Uhl and junior forward Jeff Bryant for 12points in a 17-7 run to close the first half and givethe Garnet Gulls a 37-28 lead. The 6-foot-5 Bryantwas active on both ends of the floor, creating extrapossessions and getting putbacks on the offensiveglass, while also finishing with three blocks in thegame. Farrell ended the half by grabbing twostraight rebounds off his own missed shots and thenputting in a runner as time expired.

Colts Neck forced seven turnovers in the thirdquarter to fight its way right back into the game.Uhl kept Point Beach afloat with six of his 17points in the third period to allow the Garnet Gullsto stay ahead, 48-43, heading into the fourthquarter. Point Beach was able to isolate him on thewing, where he is a match-up problem because of

his ability to stick the three or put the ball on thefloor and blow by bigger defenders to explode tothe rim. Uhl has already received interest fromTemple, Northwestern and LIU-Brooklyn and isbecoming more comfortable with the faster andmore physical American game compared to the stylehe played in Germany.

"I feel like I'm starting to play more aggressivelynow and getting used to the speed (of the game),''Uhl said. "When they give me space, I just shootthe ball, and when they play me close, I just driveto the basket. I think nobody my size can defend mebecause I'm basically quicker than everybody.''

"He causes problems all over the place, no matterwho guards him,'' Farrell said. "I think the first 11games, 10 games, he was hesitant, trying to getused to the game. Now he's fitting into the offense.He's a matchup problem for everybody.''

The Garnet Gulls closed out the win strong,holding Colts Neck to 11-for-27 shooting from thefield in the second half, for their most impressivewin in a season that also includes a victory over atalented Manasquan team from the Hoop GroupBoardwalk Showcase a week earlier. They also didit without sophomore starter Chris Schifano, whosuffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right kneein the win over Manasquan.

Now the target is squarely on their back as theShore's No. 1 team and only undefeated squad,which is rarefied air for a tiny Group I school in a47-team conference.

"We're No. 1, and it's just incredible,'' Farrellsaid. "We're kind of used to (the pressure) by now.We know that when we go into other gyms now andother teams play us, they're playing their hardestand they want to come at us strong. We're going tobe prepared.''

Pt. Beach junior PG Matt Farrell

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3Making Their PointB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

F i l e P h o t o s b y :B i l l N o rm i l e

www.b i l l no rmi le .zenfo l i o .com

Pt. Beach senior center Riley Calzonetti

Game VideoH igh l i ghts by :

S c o t t S t umpwww.a l l shoremed ia .com

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It started with a save. The bal l wascleared to Chris Fisher fromMiddletown North. He drew in thedefense and dished the bal l toMiddletown South's Evan Lepkoski .Shot . . .SCORE! The f irs t goal ever bya Middletown High School team. Lacrosse is finally here in Middletown thanks to a

group called Lacrosse In Middletown. L.I.M. is acommunity based organization with a goal to gethigh school lacrosse teams playing competitively inMiddletown high schools this spring. They arecommitted to completelyfunding both the boys andgirls lacrosse programs atMiddletown High SchoolNorth and South. Since thebeginning of 2012, thisgroup of parents andcommunity lacrosseenthusiasts have created astrong organization based ontheir love of the sportknowing it will bringexcitement and opportunitiesto many student athletes ofMiddletown.

Led by Chris Fisher,President and founder of LIM, the organization hasreally taken off. Starting with just an idea and adream in late 2011, Chris seized the idea to bringthis sport to Middletown and went for it. "I knewthis was tried a few times in the past but that didn'tdiscourage me. I was confident if I could find theright group of likeminded volunteers we could get

this thing off the groundand on the field byspring 2013." Chris didjust that by assembling aboard of five additionaldads who began theirpush for boys and girlsLax in the schools.Working closely with theBoard of EducationL.I.M. has been able toaccomplish many thingsin a short period of time.

L.I.M. has become theeverything for

Middletown lacrosse.Since forming they haveformed an organization ofmore than 100 families,ran 2 summer camps, 10clinics, started twostudent clubs at the highschools, assembled awinter boys HS team andmiddle school girls team,and have currently raisedover $50,000 towards thisyear’s team budgets. Theyhave held parentmeetings, multiple

fundraisers and found many opportunities to get theword out about lacrosse. "We hold clinics onThursday nights for 7th through 12th gradeMiddletown public school students. Upcomingclinics for the girls and boys will run throughFebruary," explained board member John Griffin.

"Our main goal is to meet the financial goals of

the organization," said John Macrae. "As thetreasurer I am pleased with our efforts so far but wereally hope the community will embrace us and giveto the kids." "We have a variety of ways thatbusinesses and families can help our studentathletes financially. Gift matching, equipmentdonation and direct donations are just a few."

With the athletes available in Middletown greatthings are right around the corner. L.I.M. hopes tocontinue to build on what was started and create alasting program for the boys and girls teams ofMiddletown North and South and begin the questthis spring to bring championship lacrosse to thedistrict.

To support the financial needs of Middletown'sathletes contact L.I.M. atmiddletownnjhslacrosse@aol.com or visit us onFacebook at Lacrosse In Middletown. To donate toL.I.M. our address is L.I.M., PO Box 190,Middletown, NJ 07748.

Lacrosse In Midd letown:Now Becoming a Rea l i tyB y P e t e S k a r z y n s k i – L IM , N o r t h V i c e P r e s i d e n t

Since its inception in1989, the New JerseyLacrosse Foundationhas providedopportunities forlacrosse to grow andprosper in the GardenState. Lacrosse hasgrown dramaticallyover the last eighteenyears and theFoundation has beenthere each step of theway. The Foundationcontinues to support ourNew Start Program, theNew Jersey LacrosseJamboree, awards for the NJILCAAll-State Banquet, the Garden StateChallenge, and the New Jersey Lacrosse Hallof Fame. The Foundation has attempted torecognize the best that “New Jersey” has hadto offer, with one hundred thirty one havingbeen inducted over the last 16 years

Each year, the members and board of NJ

Lacrosse nominates and selects a groupof individuals to honor - men andwomen, past and present, who by

their deeds as players,coaches, officials, and/orcontributors, and by theexample of their lives,personify the greatcontribution of the sport oflacrosse to our way of life,and to recognize and inductthese individuals into the NewJersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

This Year’s InducteesTruly Outstanding OfficialLauren BergTruly Outstanding ContributorDale Oehler

Truly Outstanding PlayerMatt PoskayTruly Outstanding PlayerRichard PrakopcykTruly Outstanding PlayerGina Carey-SmithTruly Outstanding PlayerLauren Simone Farrell Richard Rizk Unsung Hero AwardJohn M. Kalinowski

This year’s Hall of Fame banquet willtake on a new venue at:Mercer Oaks Country ClubSunday, January 27, 2013, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PMBeer & Wine cocktail hour & luncheonMercer Oaks Country Club725 Village Road West Princeton Jct., NJ 08550(609) 275-9260

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New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of FameReady for Class of 2012

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Elite Sports Performance Centerin Tinton Falls introduces our

new series, “Ask the Experts”.New Jersey’s #1 facility forphysical therapy, performancetraining, and college recruitingwill answer your questions aboutinjuries, rehabilitation, training,nutrition and recruiting.

Patti Adorna, Recruiting Specialist with 30+ years’college experience

QUESTION: When do I startcontacting college coaches?

ANSWER: Simply when you havesomething to offer....BUT you start looking atcolleges in freshman year. You can't ask acollege coach to evaluate you if you areplaying on the freshman or junior varsityteam. You must have some accomplishmentsand that includes a minimum of varsityexperience on your high school team AND/ORplaying for a competitive club or travelprogram. Remember...college coaches recruitPOTENTIAL & they evaluate many differentaspects of your "game" - both tangible andintangible things.

Bobby Smith, Owner and Founder of Reach YourPotential Training

QUESTION: I’d like my high schooldaughter to start some speed andagility training. I feel she needs aquicker first step and more “burst”off the line. Do you have anyrecommendations?

ANSWER: The first step towards gettingfaster always starts with GETTINGSTRONGER. Regardless of sport, strength isthe foundational quality towards power andspeed. In order to move fast, you must be ableto move first. The secret to movement isCOVERING GROUND. In order to coverground, an athlete must first be able to pushforce into the ground. Focusing an athlete’sefforts on developing total body strengththrough a ground based, 3-dimensional andmulti-joint strength-training program willultimately lead to a quicker first step andburst. Once an athlete has an acceptable levelof strength, traditional speed trainingtechniques can be introduced.

If you have a Questionfor our Expertsplease email us atinfo@elitespc.com

Dr. Sharon Wentworth & Dr. Stephen Bade

QUESTION: Can an athlete returnto 100% after an Anterior CruciateLigament (ACL) injury?

ANSWER: YES!! Although an ACL injury isone of the most common and serious kneeinjuries that an athlete can experience, if theathlete has a good sports medicine “team,” he orshe can return to pre-injury level (or maybe evenbetter!). It is crucial to find a talentedorthopaedic surgeon that specializes in sportsmedicine and a physical therapist who specializesin working with athletes. Both must haveextensive experience specifically with ACLs. Theother important components of the “team” are theparents, the coaches, and the athletic trainers.With the right “team”, a positive mindset, and astrong work ethic, an athlete can return to his/hersport physically and mentally stronger thanbefore the surgery.

More than half of the USA Women’s soccerteam that won the Olympic Gold medal have hadACL reconstructive surgeries and obviously theyhave returned to world-class level athleticism.

Adrian Peterson, NFL All-Pro running back,returned from his ACL reconstruction less thanone year later and came within 9 yards ofbreaking the NFL single season rushing record.Enough said!

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year ago at this time,Neptune’s KeithKirkwood was an

integral part of abasketball team starting tocoalesce into the force thatwon the Shore ConferenceTournament and reached theNJSIAA Group III final. The 6-foot-5 forward was beginning

to establish his role as a versatileoffensive threat able to slash tobasket from the wing and pound theoffensive glass. He became arebounding and shot-blockingforce, blossoming from a timidbut talented player to one whocould take over tournamentgames for stretches. Heaveraged 11.7 points and 11rebounds per game for theseason, but took it up anotch in the statetournament, averaging 17 points and 15rebounds in Neptune’s run to the Groupfinal.

Basketball was the only sport he hadplayed for most of his life, and he wasconsumed by it. His career at the nextlevel seemed to be secure thanks tohis performance in the postseason,which galvanized his recruiting.Division I scholarship offers soonrolled in from MonmouthUniversity, St. Peter’s NewHampshire, UNC-Charlotte, andLIU-Brooklyn. It seemed thatKirkwood’s basketball career wouldonly progress from there, with themain question being whether hewould have an impressive enoughsenior season to attract offers frommajor conference teams.

A year later, Kirkwood isverbally committed to theUniversity of Hawaii. Forfootball.

“I wouldn’t have believed you atall if you told me last year thatthis would happen,’’ Kirkwoodsaid.

CHANGE OF PLANSOn Feb. 6, Kirkwood will ink his Letter of Intent

on National Signing day to a university that isnearly 5,000 miles from his home to play a sporthe only played for one year in high school. Hispassion for basketball has been superseded by whathe believes is a new love of football. Othersbelieve his football career may be an infatuation

that will be strongly tested by therigors of the FBS level.

“My mind wason one side andthen got draggedto the other,’’Kirkwood said.“It was a toughdecision, but Italked to myfamily, talked tomy coaches, and Ifelt this was thebest decision forme. Basketball isalways going tobe my passion. Ijust have a reallygood feeling thatfootball is goingto get me towhere I need togo.’’ “It’s what he wants,’’ saidlegendary Neptunebasketball coach KenO’Donnell, now in his22nd season. “It’s hislife, and it’s what hewants to do andwhere he wants tobe. I was kind ofsurprised, to be

honest with you. Itold him that I thinkthe basketball got himto the football(scholarship) becausehe’s so athletic.They’re banking on himbeing so athletic. It’s

not that he has so muchfootball knowledge, it’sthat he potentially canbe very goodbecause of hisathleticism.’’

Theseeds for

Kirkwood’schange of

plans were sewnduring his junior

year when he watchedNeptune’s football team

finish 11-1 and win its firstNJSIAA sectional title since1998. The camaraderie on theteam and the excitement of the

gameshad him intrigued.Meanwhile, Neptunefootball coach MarkCiccotelli saw whattype of athleteKirkwood was on thehardwood and knewthat he would be aweapon if he decidedto play.

“I’m one of thoseguys who believeskids should playmultiple sports whenthey are in highschool,’’ Ciccotellisaid. “I saw Keithplay basketball andknew he was a greatathlete and verycoachable.’’

At 6-foot-5 and 220pounds, Kirkwoodwould also be an

imposing match-upfor any

cornerback linedup against him when

he was lined up at widereceiver. Kirkwood also

knew that Neptune had anexplosive quarterback ready to take over the reinsin senior Ajee Patterson. He decided to givefootball a try despite the concerns of his parentsand basketball coaches about the threat of aninjury that could derail his basketball career.

“Coach Ciccotelli told me from Day One that Icould be something special, and I tookhim at his word,’’ Kirkwood said.

Coaches from FBS and FCSprograms were already intrigued withKirkwood before he even played his firstgame. The Scarlet Fliers participated at a 7-on-7tournament at Rutgers in the summer andCiccotelli soon began fielding calls from coaches.The interest then went into overdrive whenKirkwood finished with 33 catches for 737 yardsand 7 touchdowns for a Neptune team that went 9-3 and reached its second straight Central JerseyGroup III final.

Ciccotelli was fielding calls from the likes ofPenn State, Maryland and other schools on a largerlevel than the ones extending him basketballoffers, but the first program to actually extend a

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By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

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9scholarship offer to Kirkwood was Hawaii. How aschool on the other side of the country came tofind a player who barely had any film and onlyplayed one year is that Hawaii’s special teamscoordinator is Chris Demarest, the son of formerHolmdel athletic director Jay Demarest and acoach who still has plenty of Shore Conferenceconnections.

Once Kirkwood had the offer, the next step wasgetting him to take an official visit to the campusin Honolulu. He scheduled it for Jan. 11-12, whichalso happened to be two days in which thebasketball team had games, including ananticipated showdown with St. Joseph-Metuchen atthe Hoop Group BoardwalkShowcase. Kirkwood took thevisit, and four days after hegot home, he made hisverbal commitment.

“I’mjust sogratefulto be ableto go on such avisit like that,’’Kirkwood said. “It wasan amazing place. It’sbeautiful. We went to thebeach, went surfing, andthe campus is beautiful.The team seemed likefamily as soon as Imet them. Coach(Norm) Chow isa great guy,and I

can’twait togo outthere forschool.’’

The euphoriaof Kirkwood’scommitment onJan. 16 wastempered by asenior basketballseason that hasbeen onefrustration after

another to this point.Kirkwood missed nearlythe entire game in a loss toLong Branch because of aschool trip earlier in theseason, and the ScarletFliers lost two gameswhile he was making hisvisit to Hawaii. He alsohas battled nagginginjuries that have limitedhis practice time, but histeammates have remainedpatient even though theseason has not gone asplanned for the defendingShore ConferenceTournament champions.

“My teammates feltas if they should’ve picked it upwithout me, that since I’mgone the team isn’t goingto fall apart,’’ Kirkwoodsaid.

“The kids are funny,they sort of play it off a

little bit,’’ O’Donnell said.“We’ve said that we can’thold it against him that hehas to visit schools. Thekid from Lakewood(Tyrice Beverette) went on a

football visit to the Universityof Delaware in the onegame they lost, so ithappens.’’

ETTINGBACK

ON TRACKA month into the season, the

Scarlet Fliers are only a .500 team at6-6 and are hoping to finally hittheir stride now that Kirkwoodlooks to be permanently back in thelineup. “To be honest with you, it’s been

a little overwhelming with all thesecolleges, but now that I’ve made my

commitment I feel a little morerelieved,’’ Kirkwood said. “I’m glad I

made this decision. Basketball now is going topick up now that I have all this stress off my

hands, and my team is looking forwardto me coming back and helpingthem out.’’

“I told him that it isfrustrating,’’ O’Donnellsaid. “Now hopefullythat it’s finally settled,and he knows what he’sdoing next year, we canget our season going.’’

By missing importantgames, including whatturned out to be a41-point beatingat the hands ofSt. Joseph-

Metuchen and Kentucky-bound junior Karl Towns,Kirkwood has had hiscommitment questioned.Some people within theprogram and others on theoutside began to wonder ifhe cared about playingbasketball at all any morenow that he had hitchedhis wagon to football.

“There were a lot ofrumors saying that I wasgoing to quit or give up onbasketball, but I’m nevergoing to give up on myteam,’’ Kirkwood said. “Ilook forward to helpingthis team win the ShoreConference and win the

division as well.’’

“I told him that he’s spent a whole lot of time playingbasketball, and I said, ‘You should enjoy your senioryear,’’’ O’Donnell said. “You have to try to get this teamtogether now. We’ve had all kinds of distractions so far.We finally got to .500 now, so hopefully we can startbuilding next week.’’

After Kirkwood left a win over Freehold on Jan. 17during the third quarter with a minor back injury and didnot return, O’Donnell pulled him aside after the game.He talked to him at length about being more of a leaderand pulling the team together to finally reach itspotential. Kirkwood is the only returning starter from lastseason’s team, so he is being counted on to take chargeamong a group of relative newcomers.

“It is a lot of pressure knowing that I’m one of the onlyseniors on the team, and I have to step up and take thatrole of the captain and bring this team together,’’Kirkwood said.

“We’re lacking that leadership a little bit,’’ O’Donnellsaid. “I thought it was going to be Keith’s team, but hewas preoccupied, to be honest with you, and he’s not avery boisterous guy. He’s very quiet, and we’re stillsearching.’’

Beginning on Jan. 22, the Scarlet Fliers begin a pivotalstretch in their drive to repeat as Class B Northchampions and secure a decent seed in the SCT. They geta rematch with first-place Long Branch and will be at fullpower, while Long Branch is out to prove its initial winover Neptune without Kirkwood in the lineup was nofluke. Senior guard Kyle Lewis, another football playerand a tough defender, is back in the lineup afterrecovering from a football injury. Junior forward TyrellMontgomery is also expected to return to the lineup, sothe talent is there. Now it’s just a matter of getting on thesame page.

“Maybe we can all get this together and make a run,’’O’Donnell said.

“My future is set so now it’s time to get morecamaraderie on this team and show what we can do,’’Kirkwood said. “I’m looking forward to it.’’

This also may not be the end of Kirkwood’s basketballcareer. Besides playing wide receiver at Hawaii, he hasalso inquired about potentially walking on the basketballteam.

“We’ll see,’’ Kirkwood said.“Just look at how the pastyear has gone. You neverknow what can happen.’’

Photos byC l i f f L a v e l l e

www . c l e a r e d g e . z e n f o l i o . c om

B i l l N o rm i l ewww . b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c om

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On Jan. 16, the Brick Memorialwrestling team found itself in a

position it rarely is in. Trailing JacksonMemorial 26-15 with two boutsremaining, the Mustangs faced losing fora third time in their last four matches.Needing two pins to win the match, Brick Memorial

170-pounder Tyler Richardson and 182-pounder NickCosta delivered with a bang.

Richardson, a senior, pinned Jackson's Charles Clarkin 3:18 to cut the Jaguars' lead to five points and set upCosta to be the hero when Costa pinned JamesLangschultz to seal a pulsating, 27-26 victory in acritical Class A South match.

"I wanted to win it for myself, for the team, and thecrowd," Costa said. "There's nothing better thanbeating the Jaguars."

Costa, who is fighting a PCL knee injury and says heis about 80 percent, used a hammer lock and a halfnelson on Langschultz and "rolled through, put him onhis back and held on for life."

"We knew we were finishing with two of our best guyson our team," Brick Memorial head coach Dan O'Conesaid of Richardson and Costa. "They knew what they hadto do, and it's nice to lean on those guys."

After the first six bouts, the Jaguars, ranked fourth inthe All Shore Media Top 10, led the No. 2 Mustangs11-9 while both teams looked for momentum. In thatstretch, Brick Memorial's Matt Moore, a 2012 seventh-place finisher in the state at 195 pounds, defeated

Jackson's Ken Bradley, a District 21 champion, 2-0 inthe night's first bout. Also, Jackson's Fred Terranovapicked up bonus points when he earned a technical fallof Alex Santos, 15-0.

The match started to take form as a classic whenBrick Memorial's Joe Ghione, a sixth-place statefinisher, picked up a 2-1 decision over Alec Huxford,who returned from injury and wrestled his first matchthis season. The win gave the Mustangs a 12-11 lead.

Any momentum that Ghione gave his team wasquickly given back to the Jaguars. Jackson's JarrettDiGiantomasso defeated Brick Memorial's JaredStaub, a Region VI third-place finisher last season, 2-1. Trailing 1-0 with less than a minute in the match,DiGiantomasso received a penalty point when Staublocked his hands and then DiGiantomasso was able toescape for a 2-1 lead and the eventual win.

Senior Brian Hamann, a returning Region VIchampion and two-time fourth-place state medalist,ignited the Jaguar crowd with a pin over Alec Donovanin 1:26. The wins by DiGiantomasso and Hamann gavethe Jaguars a 20-12 lead.

Brick Memorial then turned to the sophomorebrother combination of Rob and Cliff Ruggiero to stopthe bleeding. Rob Ruggiero was able to pull out aclose 7-1 victory over Sean Leahey at 145 pounds. Thematch was tight throughout before Ruggiero tookdown Leahy and received two back points with lessthan 10 seconds to go.

Then Cliff Ruggiero had one of the match's toughestbouts with the Jaguars' Spencer Young at 152 pounds.With 57 seconds remaining in the match and bothcrowds chanting on their wrestlers, Young was able to

stave off Ruggiero for the 4-3 win. The final 57seconds was a back-and-forth battle that saw Younguse an outside single shot while Ruggiero used hisstyle of judo throws in an attempt for takedowns.

Before Richardson and Costa came to the mat,Connor Bohringer widened the Jaguars lead to 26-15with a third-period reversal of Joe Beverly to win thematch 6-5 at 160 pounds.

Following the win, O'Cone was sure to point out theclose matches that the Mustangs lost and the room forimprovement.

"That was too close for comfort. They wrestled greatand I don't think we wrestled well," O'Cone said. "Weneed to work harder. We are losing one-point decisionsand two-point decisions."

"Right now we are not dominating. We are not justhappy with winning or losing close, so we have toadjust," O'Cone added.

The win still puts the Mustangs in line for at least ashare of the Class A South title. The Mustangs are now11-2 and 4-1 in the A-South following a 36-24divisional loss to Toms River South.

The Jaguars, who have beaten Toms River South,now drop to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the divisionfollowing their first loss in A South on Saturday toSouthern, 27-24.

Brick Memorial will take on Southern on Jan. 23 andO'Cone knows that it won't be easy.

"Tonight was a clear statement that on any given daySouthern, Jackson, Toms River South, and BrickMemorial can beat each other."

Brick Memorial withAnother Instant ClassicBy Josh Sternl ieb - All Shore Media Contributor

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The Shore ConferenceTournament has produced

some of the most memorablemoments in local wrestling history.From Paul Sternlieb jumping the whistle for a late

takedown to seal Toms River East’s 2002 title toJoe Slisky pinning in the final bout to give JacksonMemorial the 2005 championship, the SCT deliversgreat drama year after year.

This season’s tournament begins Jan. 29 andconcludes Feb. 2 at Pine Belt Arena on the campusof Toms River North. The usual suspects are all inplay, but there is no clear-cut, heavy favorite asthere has been in past years with Jackson Memorialand Long Branch. The tournament began in 1975,and in that span just eight different programs havebeen crowned champions.

There has already been a lot of back-and-forthbetween the top teams this season. No. 1 TomsRiver South has wins over Brick Memorial andSouthern, but a loss to Jackson Memorial. TheJaguars have that victory over the Indians, butsuffered defeats against the Mustangs and Rams.Clearly the tournament will be dominated - as far asseeding goes - by Class A South. The divisionboasts five of the Shore Conference’s top 10 teams.The question mark is Howell and where the seedingcommittee will slot the Rebels.

The 20-team bracket will be seeded on Jan. 27.Let’s take a look at the contenders and the dark-horse candidates to take home the 2013 SCT title.

Toms River South

Beginning in 1975, theIndians won the first four SCTtitles but have gone drysince. Being ranked No. 1in the Shore, they

obviously havea great chance to end the drought and add a

fifth title. Senior state champion B.J. Clagon haslooked simply unstoppable this season and is a top-three pound-for-pound wrestler in the state, andsenior Kevin Corrigan is one of the best 113-pounders around. Freshman Owen McClave is apotential state medalist at 106 pounds and MattTheobold is a dependable, 100-match winner in themiddle of the lineup. Sophomore Joe Salvato hasbeen great as well at 160 pounds with a 20-0record. Their lineup has good balance and bonus-point potential at several weights. They have alsodefeated Southern and Brick Memorial in the sameseason for the first time ever, so history is on theIndians’ side.

Brick Memorial

The Mustangs are the defending SCT championsand lead the way with 13 titles overall. Consistencyhas been the biggest issue for Brick Memorial, butwhen the squad is wrestling at full tilt they cancompete with anyone in the state. Senior MattMoore is undefeated at 195 pounds and is part of adangerous group of upperweights that can pile upbonus points quickly. Tyler Richardson (170) seemsto find a way to pin when his team needs him mostand Nick Costa (182) has been a bonus-pointmachine sincehis

return from an injury. Down low, junior two-timestate medalist Joe Ghione (19-1) is the anchor withsophomores Alec Donovan and twins Cliff and RobRuggiero in the middle.

SouthernThe Rams are just 4-4 this season but ranked third

in the conference. That should tell you somethingabout the caliber of opponents they’ve wrestled andalso the depth of their lineup. Great coaching andtoughness have been the pillars of Southern’ssuccess over the years, and just when you don’texpect much from the Rams is when they strike.Junior Zach Wilhelm, a former state medalist and aBeast of the East medalist this season, is the team’smost accomplished wrestler, and with 10 wrestlersalready reaching double-digit wins there is plentyof balance in the lineup. Junior Andrew Tonnesonhas been a great addition to the starting lineup witha 17-6 record at 126 pounds. Jake Campana andChris Serpico are proven winners in the middle ofthe lineup while Connor Case, Jesse Bauta andCody Smead give the Rams a solid group ofupperweights.

Jackson Memorial

After starting 9-0, the Jaguarsare 1-5 in their last six. All five ofthose losses, however, have comeagainst teams ranked in the top 10

in the state. The Jaguars will bebattle-tested and their inexperienced

wrestlers will be much more seasonedwhen the tournament rolls around. SeniorsBrian Hamann (138), a two-time statefourth-place finisher, and SpencerYoung (145) along with junior 195-pounder Ken Bradley are JacksonMemorial’s big guns. Sophomore’sFred Terranova (106), HunterReese (126), Sean Leahey(138/145) and Connor Bohringer

(160/170) have eachwon over 10bouts whilesenior MaxMondellohas beensolid at

heavyweight.The return of

senior Alec Huxfordwill be big for the Jags. A former district champ

and state qualifier, Huxford missed most of last

Up for Grabs: Shore ConferenceWrestling Tournament PreviewB y B o b B a d d e r s – S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

Brick Memorial

Jackson Memorial junior Ken Bradley

Toms River South senior B.J. Clagon

Toms River Southsenior Kevin Corrigan

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season and the first month of the season with ashoulder injury. He will wrestle at 120 and 126pounds.

Howell

The Rebel reached the SCT final last year for thesecond time in program history, but the critics willbe quick to point out their run came with bothSouthern and Jackson Memorial not in thetournament. The Rebels are a very solid team buthaven’t wrestled the same grueling schedule as theA South teams. The biggest question is where theRebels will be seeded. They could be anywherefrom third to fifth, but since there isn’t a clearfavorite, seeding shouldn’t be as important. TheRebels have 13 wrestlers with double-digit wins, ahuge number regardless of competition. Senior BenEsposito remains undefeated at 138 pounds andfreshman Kris Lindemann has the look of a statemedalist at 126 pounds. There is talent throughoutthe lineup, but we haven’t seen it wrestle againstthe rest of the Shore’s elite. We’ll find out soonenough just how good Howell is.

When talking about sleeper teams to win theShore Conference Tournament it’s rare to

go past the fourth-best team. This is not atournament where Cinderella stands a chance.Historically, the top four seeds have dominated withan occasional five seed advancing to the semifinals.This year’s tournament is a little more wide openthan in seasons past, so if any teams can crack thesemifinals from the bottom half of the top 10 it willbe these programs.

Brick TownshipThe Green Dragons may be the fifth-best team in

A South, but in that beast of a division that can begood enough to become ranked in the state. Brick’slosses have come to Brick Memorial, JacksonMemorial and Southern, none of which can beconsidered a bad loss. Region VI runner-up, seniorDan Wojtaszek, leads a Dragons team that boastsseven 10-win wrestlers. They’ll need a lot to gotheir way, but the Dragons have the goods to forgean upset.

Long BranchThe Green Wave are similar to Brick Township in

that they have fairly balanced lineup with astandout in the middle. That would be senior JakeGeorge, a region runner-up last season at 152pounds, who recently recorded his 100th careerwin. A lot would have to break right for the GreenWave to make the semifinals, but they certainlyhave a chance.

Best of the restRaritanJackson LibertyCBAPoint BoroToms River North

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Howell senior Ben EspositoLong Branch senior Jake George

Photos byC l i f f L a v e l l e

www . c l e a r e d g e . z e n f o l i o . c om

Long Branch Photo byL i n k S p o r t s

www.facebook.com/pages/Link-Sports

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n Sehmonyeh Allen—Neptunen Sean Armand—Jacqueline Kennedy

Onassis HS (NY)n Delvon Arrington—St. Anthony’sn Brian Baker—Colts Neck n Mustafa Barksdale—RBRn Robert Barksdale—Asbury Parkn Billy Beggans—Ocean Townshipn Kate Beriont—St. John Viannen Steve Bridgemohan—E Brunswickn Josh Brody—RBRn Brandon Brown—Freehold Boro n Yesenia Burgos—St. John Vianneyn Rashon Bruno—St. Anthony’s n Courtney Calderon—St. John Vianneyn Isaias Calderon—Neptune n Richard Calia—Holmdeln Shilique Calhoun – Middletown Northn Quarran Calhoun—Raritann Cooper Calzonetti—Neptune n Chase Campbell—Oak Hill Academy (NC)n Cleveland Cannon—Long Branchn Raheem Carter—Long Branch n Corey Chandler—East Side n Robert Cheeks—St. Anthony’s n Rahmir Cottman—RBR

n Vincent Council—Lincoln (NY)n Don Coven—Long Branch n Jared Craddox—Lakewood n Paul De Salvo—CBAn Syessence Davis—Neptune n Allen Dean—Neptune n Taquan Dean—Neptune n Dana Jean DeGennaro—RBCn Chris Delaney—CBA n Pat Delaney—CBAn Jose Diaz—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Mark Donnelly—RBR n Sean Dunne—CBA n Kristian Duravcevic—Fordham

Preparatory School (NY) n Mike Faherty—Brooklyn Polytech n Matt Farrell—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Crissie Fisher—Rumson-Fair Haven n Sarah Fisher—RBR n Adam Fleischner—Holmdel n Colin Ford—Manasquan n Glen Ford—RBC n Greg Ford—Trenton Central n Avery Gardner—Long Branch n Billy Gilligan—RBR n Tyler Glass—Mater Dei Prep

n Erica Gomez—St. John Vianney n Dana Graziano—Holmdel n Kevin Grier—CBAn Paul Halas—St. Rose n Felicia Harris—RBR n Michael Harris—Randolph n Mykel Harris—Great Mills (MD)n Ashley Hart—The Peddie Schooln Eugene “Nu Nu” Harvey—

St. Benedict’s Prepn Corey Haskins—RBR n Kasey Hobbie—RBC n Norman Hobbie—Manasquan n Darien Hutton—Ewing n Nolan Ivers—Holmdel n Jasmine Jackson—Old Bridge n Rosie Jackson—St. John Vianney n Tyson Johnson—St. Mary’s HS (NY) n Billy Kiss—Long Branch n Michael Kelly—St. Anthony’s (NY)n Nick La Morte—Mater Dei n Herve Lamizana—St. Patrick’s n Erin Leahy—Rumson-Fair Haven n Carl Little—Asbury Park n Maggie Loundy—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Charles Markens—St. Patrick

n Mike Mavrinac—Middletown South n Jasmine McCall—Manalapan n Billy McCue—CBAn Christian Morris—S. Kent School (CT)n Darius Morris—Long Branch n Valerie Morris—Freehold Boro n Michael Murphy—Howell n Sachin Nagpal—Ranney School n Brian O’Reilly—Middletown South n Karen Otrupchak—RBR n Kevin Owens—Neptune n Toni Panza—St. John Vianney n Anthony Perry—St. Anthony’sn Shinece Perry—RBR n Earl Pettis—Saints John

Neumann & Maria GorettiCatholic (PA)

n Simon Press—Asbury Parkn Joey Raines—Asbury Park n David Reeves—RBC n Anne Richards—The Lawrenceville Sch.n Charlie Rogers—Matawan n Amanda Rosato—St. John Vianney n Alifiya Rangwala— The Ranney

Schooln Will Sanborn—RBR n Keyron Sheard—RBR

n Brian Snodgrass—Holmdel n Lauren Sokol—The Peddie Schooln Stephen Spinella—Colts Neck n Matt Stahl—Middletown Southn Missy Stavola—Rumson-Fair Haven n Jenna Strich—RBC n Scott Stump—RBC n Kim Talbot—RBC n Aaron Tarver—RBR n Terrance Todd—Neptune HS n Maurice Turpin—Long Branch

n John Weldon—]Freehold Boro

n Dawn Werner—St. John Vianney n John Werner—

St John Vianney n Kade Weston—

RBRn Kayshanna Wesley—Asbury Park

n Eric Yarborough— Asbury Park

n Tomora Young—RBR n Terry Zinn—RBC

n Lynne Zoltowski—RBC

A SAMPL ING OF CURRENT AND FORMER MAC ALL -STARS

V i s i t o u r webs i t e , www.mac tes t i ng . com

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For years ,the argument from a vocal segmentof the publ ic school programs in theShore Conference was that they werenot a level playing f ie ld when facingoff against non-public schools .

The public programs argued felt that it was unfairthat they had to play teams that could draw athletesfrom various areas and essentially construct all-starteams. The Shore Conference’s primary remedy tothis issue was creating the separate public and non-public division titles in its team sports. Thedominance of Christian Brothers Academy inbasketball and other boys sports and thepowerhouse girls teams at places like St. JohnVianney and Red Bank Catholic led to some bit ofreform. The non-publics still compete against thepublics in the Shore Conference Tournament invarious sports, but the divisional level does reflectthe differences between programs.

However, things are now starting to get murkierand even moresplintered. Coachesfrom public schoolswhom I have spoken toare now as concernedwith certain other publicschools as they are withnon-publics as it relatesto competitive fairness.The rise of tuitionpublic schools andchoice schools createdby the state governmenthave made it an all-outfree-for-all for athletesbetween local publicschool districts, non-public schools andpublic schools that cannow draw players fromareas outside theirsending districts.

One prime example ofthe tuition schools isPoint Beach, whosebasketball programshave benefited frombeing able to acceptstudents outside thesending district whose parents are willing to paytuition. Many public schools accept tuitionstudents, but it’s a program that was not reallypopularized until the past few seasons. Some public

schools, like Haddonfield in South Jersey, haveheld open houses and actively sought tuitionstudents to help compensate for spending cuts bythe state.

Basketball seems to be a primary sport where thetuition school comes into play, because

many times a star-studded AAU team at theyouth level will want to stay together in high

school. Years ago, when agroup wanted to staytogether, they all usuallywent to the same parochial

program. Now they often have theoption to stay together and

compete for the same public schoolif they so choose.

Then there is the Interdistrict PublicSchool Choice Program, which has 109approved schools for 2013-14 schoolyear. The only choice school in theShore Conference is Central Regional.Allentown, which is in MonmouthCounty but is not a member of theShore Conference, also is a choiceschool. What that means is it can drawstudents from as far away as 20 milesfrom the school, and transportationwill be provided to the school if thestudent meets the eligibilityrequirements of state law and thetransportation will cost no more than$884.

Allentown’s football team, whichwas a doormat for 50-plus years, hasalready seen a major impact fromplayers coming in from the Trenton area, whileanother choice school, Bound Brook, has built a

wrestling powerthat includesathletes fromoutside itsnormal sendingdistrict. The juryis still out onhow it willaffect theprograms atCentral. Thechoice schoolswere created togive familiesmoreeducationaloptions, but youknow how thatgoes. It doesn’ttake long forcries of athleticadvantage tostart going out.

Proving to theNJSIAA thatplayers aretransferring toschools forathleticadvantage has

proven to be difficult. Manasquan wrote a lengthyreport to the NJSIAA trying to block the transfer ofbasketball stars Katelynn Flaherty and MarinaMabrey to Point Beach during this past offseason,

but the NJSIAA allowed the transfer. If playerswant to leave their school and go somewhere else,it’s usually very hard to stop them.

What the rise of tuition public schools and choiceschools, combined with the regular presence ofnon-public programs, seems to be creating is a setof haves and have-nots. Your program is eitherattracting talent or being ignored by it. Parents

have already shown over the past decade that theywill go to great lengths to have their children playon a certain team in the race for college scholarshipmoney, whether that means transferring multipletimes, changing addresses or sending their son ordaughter to live with a relative in a specific town.It used to be that if an athlete was from a certaintown, his or her options were the local parochialschools or the local public school program. Now itcould be several public schools as well as non-public programs.

This new landscape is now leading to grumblesabout fairness between public schools. A tinyGroup I school that only draws talent from itssending district will argue that it can’t competewith a fellow Group I program like Bound Brook orPoint Beach because those schools are gettingplayers from a larger area. So now we’ve splinteredfrom publics vs. non-publics to publics vs. otherpublics vs. non-publics. How do you delineate thatwhen it comes to handing out division titles?

The answer is you don’t, so it will be interestingto see if this issue mushrooms in the coming yearsif Central starts drawing athletes from outside itsdistrict and tuition students become morecommonplace at strong public school programs. It’ssuch a thorny issue that it will be difficult orimpossible for the NJSIAA to unravel. It maysimply become the new normal.

Pt. Beach's Marina Mabrey

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O RMA T I O NCon t a c t : S t e v e n Me y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 sme y e r@a l l s h o r emed i a . c om

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Pt. Beach's Katelynn Flaherty

P h o t o s b y :B i l l N o rm i l e

www.b i l l no rmi le .zenfo l i o .com

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