SPORTS

Wrestling: GMC notebook and Top 10

Greg Tufaro
@GregTufaro

At the J.P. Stevens High School wrestling team's season-ending banquet a year ago, head coach Vinny Gioffre outlined a plan that he believed would help the Hawks improve.

The once-proud program, which finished with a 1-23 record last season, was forfeiting nearly half of its bouts.

GMC WRESTLING OFFICIAL RECORD BOOK: box scores for every dual meet contested through Jan. 15

Gioffre held open mats three days a week for three hours per day throughout the month of July.

"I know that for some that's not a lot and for others that's over the top," said Gioffre, noting his growing program is filled with seasoned wrestlers and others who are so new to the sport that they once literally put their headgear on backwards.

"Whether it was two or 18 kids in the room, I told the kids I'm going to be here every day," Gioffre said.

Following a lengthy hiatus, the Hawks returned to the Old Bridge Summer Duals, where they gained invaluable experience.

"We didn't have a full squad there," Gioffre said, "but it was important for the kids."

The Hawks (4-8) have already matched their win total of two years ago when they won four of 22 duals, and are on pace to surpass the team's 6-14 mark of three seasons ago. They have defeated Perth Amboy, Mountain Lakes, Ewing and East Orange and have single-digit defeats to Carteret and Spotswood.

"We are not worried about the results," Gioffre said. "We work one day at a time. It may take a while, but we'll get there."

Paul Vargas (13-6 at 145), Jair Pittman (13-5 at 160) and Samuel Marshall (11-7 at 170) are the lone starters with winning records.

Gioffre, who teaches across town at Edison High School, reorganized the staff which included adding the legendary Nisovaccia brothers, National Hall of Famer Gerry and Joe, who were standouts as scholastic wrestlers at J.P. Stevens and later as New Jersey scholastic head coaches.

The Hawks, who returned 18 wrestlers, now have 34 in the room including several freshmen who benefited from the district's middle school program.

J.P. Stevens is now filling every weight class with the exception of 182.

Ahr alumni event

Bishop Ahr will hold its Annual Alumni Wrestling Match on Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. before the team's dual against Piscataway, which is coached by Bill Pavlak, a 1978 graduate of the school formerly known as St. Thomas Aquinas.

Former Bishop Ahr wrestlers are invited to enjoy submarine sandwiches and beverages and to view tables of memorabilia – including wrestling photos, yearbooks and awards – which will be displayed in the hospitality room overlooking the match at the Michael Catanzaro Gymnasium.

Those interested in attending can call 732-549-1108, Ext. 605 or email head coach Nick Tonzola at ntonzola@bgahs.org by Dec. 17 to RSVP.

Graduates can view the high school's wrestling Wall of Fame, which includes county, region and state champions.

The Bishop Ahr program is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Tiger injures paw

South Plainfield is wrestling without 160-pounder Jordan Handwerger (9-1), who is sidelined with an injured hand likely until the start of the conference tournament.

Handwerger's absence was felt over the weekend at the Virginia Duals, where the Tigers finished 2-2 in the tournament after losing 35-30 to Arvada West of Colorado, an opponent coach Kevin McCann felt his team could have defeated had it been at full strength.

"Obviously he's a senior and he's battle-tested," McCann said of Handwerger. "We want to have him in the lineup, but we expect our guys behind him to step up and do the job. Whoever we put out there, we expect to win."

Burgess on the verge

South River senior 126-pounder Tyler Burgess is on pace to earn his 100th career victory.

The Rams (7-1) sit atop the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division.

TOP 10

(records through Thursday)

1. South Plainfield 13-3

2. Monroe 8-2

3. Edison 4-2

4. Old Bridge 7-2

5. Sayreville 6-0

6. J.F. Kennedy 6-1

9. South Brunswick 7-6

8. East Brunswick 4-2

7. Bishop Ahr 4-6

10. South River 7-1