WRESTLING: No. 2 Monroe pins its way to win over No. 3 Edison

Monroe High School wrestling coach Billy Jacoutot was not completely pleased with his team's 37-25 win over Edison on Wednesday night, but his counterpart felt the Falcons made a statement in the victory.

"That's a team that should be in the Top 20 in the state," said Edison head coach Tom White, noting the Falcons were among others receiving votes but could not crack the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association statewide Top 20 poll.

"They get my vote," White said. "They are a team we want to compete against so we can get in the (statewide Top 20) conversation."

The teams split bouts on Wednesday night, but Monroe owned a 16-4 edge in bonus points with four pins, a forfeit and a major decision.

"We just didn't come out on top today," said Edison's Billy Povalac, one of the state's top 145-pounders who had a pin on Wednesday night. "Our kids got pinned at certain spots where we thought we could lose small. It was a great match overall. We'll hopefully see them again in the state sectional (tournament) and we'll try to win it the next time. That's our plan, to get another shot and come back strong and hopefully come out on top next time."

Freshmen Kaylon Bradley, with a pin at 182 pounds, and Nichols DePalma, with a major at 106, provided key victories for Monroe during a stretch in which it won five of six bouts to erase a 6-0 deficit and build a commanding 25-9 lead.

"Coach does a great job catering to our whole program," Monroe's Sal Profaci, arguably the state's top 132-pounder, said about Jacoutot preparing rookies and veterans alike. "We've got a system of stuff that we do in the room every day that we've just implanted into our guys brains so once they get on the mat in a situation like tonight, they are just able to do it off muscle memory."

After Edison's Robert Cleary (120) and Peter Tomasino (126) posted 3-1 and 2-1 decisions, respectively, over Shawn Gardini and Joe Zargo to help the Eagles close to 25-15, hammers Profaci and Chris Muce (138) recorded pins to seal the win.

The Falcons, who endured losses earlier this season to Christian Brothers Academy and Brick Township, a couple of teams ranked in the state, will get their chance to prove they belong in the Top 20 when they face South Plainfield in a dual that could determine the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division title on Friday night.

"I'm very happy we got the win, but there were some spots quite honestly where I felt we didn't represent ourselves very well," Jacoutot said. "I'm not going to name weight classes, but there's a couple spots in the lineup where we just didn't represent our abilities."

Jacoutot said he will be less concerned about the scoreboard against South Plainfield, which is ranked No. 19 in the state, than the way his wrestlers carry themselves on the big stage at the Rutgers Athletics Center in a dual that will be contested prior to the Scarlet Knights' showdown with Penn State University.

"It's about the mentality and the way we carry ourselves on Friday night that I believe, for me, anyway as a coach, is what I'm looking for," said Jacoutot, noting the perennial power Tigers are accustomed to competing under the bright lights. "I'm not even thinking about what the final score is going to be. I'm looking at what's our mentality and do we represent ourselves the right way which is scrapping and wrestling a full six minutes."

After losing the first two bouts of a dual that began at 160 pounds on Wednesday night, Bradley sparked Monroe's run with his late second-period pin of Christopher Cuevas in a tightly contested bout that featured four lead changes.

Pat Dressel's takedown on the edge of the mat with seven seconds remaining resulted in a 4-2 decision over Vlad Torres at 195 pounds as the Falcons built a 9-6 lead.

Edison forfeited to Nick Fromhold at 220 pounds before heavyweight Keith Serio helped Edison close the gap to 15-9 with a 3-1 overtime decision over Nick Goff.

DePalma's ability to step up at 106 pounds enabled Andy Lombard to bump up to 113, where he pinned Julian Burke for the aforementioned 25-9 advantage.

"I think the quality of wrestling was good," White said. "You don't mind losing as long as we are putting a good product out there and everybody is wrestling to the best of their ability."