Jaguars eyeing their sixth consecutive District 21 title

By Mike White
Staff Writer

The Jackson High School wrestling team has won the NJSIAA District 21 championship the last five years in a row. The Jags have no plans on ending the streak anytime soon.

Yet team members and coach Scott Goodale realize the road to the district title most likely passes through Manalapan, which defeated Jackson a couple of weeks ago in the finals of the Shore Conference Tournament.

"I feel our kids are very hungry to keep the winning streak alive," Goodale said. "It marks the first time in a long while where we will be the underdogs coming into this event. This title is very important to our guys. They don’t want to be the group that ends the streak."

Manalapan is a talented team, but Goodale feels the depth of his squad will play a key role in Jackson winning its sixth consecutive championship. The District 21 Championship is slated for tomorrow and Saturday at Manalapan High School.

"I’m hoping our overall balance is going to get us over," Goodale said. "We’ll try to place a guy at every weight class. There’s a good chance that they will end with six champions, but we feel we have a good chance at placing a wrestler at every class. That’s what we are going to need to do in order to pull this off. It is going to be a very close match."

Last weekend, Jackson fell in the finals of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV final to nationally ranked Absegami High School. The Jags lost by a 49-15 margin, but Goodale felt his wrestlers put forth a respectable showing against one of the premier programs in the nation.

"They are a very good team," Goodale said. "We were just overmatched on this day. I thought our kids wrestled as well as they were capable of. We got a couple of wins, and I thought we had a shot at a couple more."

Matt Bradley (103 pounds), Jeff Pascarella (112), Joe Eurell (125) and Dom Dimeola (152) all posted victories for the Jags.

Dimeola got Jackson its first win of the night by knocking off Dave Williams, 7-6. Eurell beat Jimmy Stevens 9-3 and Pascarella won by a fall over Mike Dempsey. Bradley edged Donny Weed, 3-2.

"We were happy with getting the four victories," Goodale said. "We told the kids to go out and leave it all on the mats. We wanted them to be aggressive and to take some chances."

Jackson followed the loss to Absegami with a victory over Howell. The Jags are 20-2 overall this season.

"We wrestled well in that match," Goodale said. "We rebounded from the loss to Absegami by staying focused and doing a good job against Howell. We’re looking forward to the District 21 Championship. It is a little more special now that we are going to have to get past Manalapan to win the title. I believe the kids are focused and ready to go."

John Verderosa’s Braves are superbly balanced and extremely dangerous in the middle weights from 125-152. Against Jackson, the Braves lost just once in that six-match stretch and that paved the way for the upset.

It has been a special season for the Braves and they want to end it by adding the only remaining team championship on the table, a district title, to their list of 2002-03 championships. The Braves last won the district in 1997 and are very eager to win the title back.

The Braves had been closing the gap between themselves and Jackson over the last two years. However, their SCT win is proof that they have caught the Jaguars, and now all that remains to be seen is if they have surpassed them on the tournament level.

The districts, however, are more importantly the first step toward Atlantic City and the state championships (March 14-16) for the individual wrestlers.

Howell’s Zac Cunliffe, the district’s all-time winningest wrestler (129-7), begins his quest for the only title that has eluded him during his illustrious career. Already a three-time district champion and three-time state place-winner, he looks to join a select group of four-time winners. He is 22-0 this season with a dozen pins and is ranked No. 2 in the state at 125 pounds. He has been sharp and focused all year. His win over No. 3 C.J. Mays of Oakcrest at the All-Star Wrestling Invitational confirmed he is wrestling as well as anyone. The move up to 125 has been no problem at all. He has maintained his quickness and is stronger.

Three straight trips to the state championships have taught Cunliffe what it takes to get to the top and he’s planning on using that experience this year.

"I think it’s 90 percent mental when you get to the state," he pointed out. "You have to keep your head in it. You can’t think too much about it and you can’t think too little. You have to be balanced."

Cunliffe isn’t the only wrestler looking for a rare fourth straight district title. Manalapan’s Mike Gaeta has kept pace with Cunliffe throughout his career and has three titles himself. He’s wrestling at 145 this year and is 19-2 and a favorite for No. 4.

Gaeta’s teammates Nick Manochio (103) and Dan Hilt (119) are returning champions with their sights set on state gold. Hilt (21-1) is ranked No. 1 in the state at 119 and has been every bit a top-ranked wrestler who is leading Manalapan to its success. His only loss of the season was last month in New York at the Eastern States Classic. He’s looking for his third straight district title.

Manochio is ranked second at 103 and is undefeated (17-0). He’s going for a second straight district crown.

The returning champions and the weight classes they won at in 2002 are: Manochio (103); Hilt (112); Cunliffe (119); Giro Borgia, Jackson (130); Gaeta (140); Brenden Provow, Manalapan (145); Jeremy Edwards, Jackson (171); Brian Farrington, Howell (189); and John Loff, Jackson (heavyweight).

All of the 2002 winners have been wrestling well this year and will be favorites to repeat. There are, however, many other wrestlers.

Among those to watch are: Ken Thomas, St. John Vianney (103); Brett Frimer, Marlboro (112); Jay Ucci, Howell (119); Anthony Castro, St. John Vianney (125); Kyle Pardun, St. John Vianney (130); Mike Brogan, St. John Vianney (135); Justin Algarin, St. John Vianney (140); Mike Moiglis, Holmdel (152); Joe Parisi, Marlboro (152); Eric Nomikos, Colts Neck (160); Jerry Sperling, Marlboro (160); Jamie Giovinezzo, Freehold Borough (215); and Peter Hochhauser, Howell (215).

Those who finish second and third this weekend will be winners in their own way because they get to extend their season to next weekend’s Region VI Tournament at Southern Regional. Action begins Friday with the preliminaries at 6 p.m. followed at 7 by the quarterfinals. The semi-finals start at noon on Saturday with the consolations at 3 p.m. and the finals immediately following at about 4 p.m.