WRESTLING: Sayreville edges South Brunswick on Criteria H

A pin from heavyweight Anthony Porcaro in the next to last bout positioned the Sayreville High School wrestling team, ranked No. 5 in the Home News Tribune Top 10, to post a 34-33 victory on Criteria H (most first points scored) over 10th-ranked South Brunswick on Saturday.

Each team competed without three starters as South Brunswick (4-6) wrestled shorthanded due to injury and Sayreville (4-0) was not at full strength due to weight issues.

Sayreville appears to be passing the mantle of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s most improved team to South Brunswick.

After finishing 4-10 in 2011-12 and 12-14 the following season, Sayreville posted a 19-4 record a year ago.

“We took two years to rebuild and grow,” Sayreville coach Marcus Ivy said. “They know what they are capable of. They know what they can do.”

The Vikings finished 10-14 a year ago with seven sophomores in the lineup.

Despite a season-ending injury to key 120-pounder Mike Klimkiewicz (he underwent shoulder surgery five days ago) and two other starters being sidelined, South Brunswick is enjoying a resurgence. The team now has two one-point losses including a 36-35 setback to Somerville.

“It just shows that we are improving,” South Brunswick coach Bobby Januska said. “We are growing. We still have a lot to accomplish. There is promise and we are going to grow from these (one-point loss) experiences. Once we get back to full strength, these matches will go our way.”

In a dual that started at 113 pounds, Sayreville won six of the first eight bouts to build a 27-9 lead. Dylan Taillefer (120) and Dylan Kelliher (160) recorded pins during that key stretch.

South Brunswick rallied to win the next four bouts. Senior captain Tyler Shwartz (170) started the run with a pin. The Vikings also benefited from a forfeit at 220 pounds which made the score 27-27.

Porcaro’s 1:48 pin of Dean Elmenayer, which came with an unseasoned 106-pound teammate on deck, gave Sayreville a 33-27 lead. Elmenayer has performed admirably as the successor to recently graduated Gordon Thompson, who was a GMC and district tournament runner-up last season.

Dylan Haltli’s 6-5 overtime decision over Joseph Mastro at 126 pounds, coupled with the ability of teammate Tyler Gilligan to lose small (6-3) to Maxwell Rhoden at 195 pounds were among the keys to Sayreville’s victory. Ivy recently named Haltli and Gilligan his Co-Wrestlers of the Week.

Andrew Chang (138) had a huge pin for South Brunswick, while teammate Roger Sheffmaker (113) lost small to keep the Vikings’ upset hopes alive.

Kelliher, competing for the first time this season due to injury, went 3-0 on the day as Sayreville and South Brunswick also upended West Windsor-Plainsboro North and West Windsor-Plainsboro South as part of Saturday’s quad meet. The 152-pounder bumped up in weight class twice.

Sayreville’s Tyler Lewis raised some eyebrows with a third-place finish in last month’s Neptune Classic, where he looked vastly improved from winning just seven bouts a year ago.

An intelligent and coachable wrestler, Lewis dropped a 9-7 decision in sudden victory to Alexi Rissiotis, who returned to the mats following a two-year hiatus.

“He needs to sure up some of his skills, but he’s doing well for us and we’re happy with his progress,” Januska said of Rissiotis.