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South Plainfield rolls to seventh straight GMC Wrestling Tournament title

Greg Tufaro
@GregTufaro

Editor's note: This is the first of three stories from the GMC Wrestling Tournament that MyCentralJersey.com will post this evening. It does not include results of the 182, 195 and 220 pound finals which were not concluded at press time.

As the youngest sibling of one of the most talented brother combinations in Greater Middlesex Conference history, South Plainfield freshman Nick Heilmann felt an obligation to continue the legacy of his family and his high school's storied wrestling program.

One of six finalists for the Tigers, who clinched their seventh consecutive team title and 11th in the past 12 years before the championship round began, Heilmann became South Plainfield's first 2015 league tournament title winner, claiming the 106-pound crown with a 10-0 major decision over Bishop Ahr's Gaven Ringwood at Piscataway High School on Saturday night.

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Heilmann's older brothers, Troy, a current University of North Carolina sophomore wrestler, and Nick, a former Tar Heel grappler, combined to win seven GMCT individual championships (a broken finger prevented Troy from winning a fourth title).

Only the Zannetti brothers (Gene, Jeff and Greg) of J.P. Stevens can rival the Heilmanns for GMC sibling success.

Joe remembers watching his brothers shine for South Plainfield in the league tournament finals.

"Everything my brothers did, I always looked up to them," Joe said. "I always wanted to follow in their footsteps. I wanted to be a GMC champ. All the seniors wanted us to win this tournament, especially as a team, but they also wanted the best for the individuals."

South Plainfield entered the finals with 211 team points. Monroe, competing in the tournament without four starters, all of whom were injured, trailed by 72 points.

Ryan Walsh (126) and Dan Hedden (138) also won championships for South Plainfield. Walsh scored an 8-4 decision over South River's Tyler Burgess, while Hedden decisioned Monroe's Chris Muce 6-3 in what was regarded as one of the two best tossup bout of the finals.

"You really never know how many chances you are going to get, so I looked at this as something I had to win, because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow let alone next year," said Hedden, who finished second at 126 pounds last year. "You get just so many chances and I couldn't let this one slip whether I was a freshman, sophomore, jumnior, whatever."

South Plainfield head coach Kevin McCann said his team laid the groundwork for its 22nd GMCT title on Friday night when it advanced 12 wrestlers to the quarterfinals.

"We knew going in having the most wrestlers (still alive) that we just had to keep wrestling the way we are capable of and kind of put it away," McCann said. "I really think we put it away in the quarters when we put 10 (wrestlers) into the semis."

The Cinderella run for South Plainfield's C.J. Maszczak, a No. 15 seed who wrestled all the way from Friday night's pigtail bouts to Saturday night's finals, defeating the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds along the way, ended with an 8-1 loss to undefeated Bryan McLaughlin of Woodbridge in the 152-pound championship.

Monroe's Sal Profaci, a four-time GMCT finalist, claimed his second league tournament title with a 10-4 decision over South Plainfield's Kyle Bythell at 132 pounds, where the University of Michigan commit may be the state's best.

Jordan Handwerger, who wrestled Friday night for the first time following a lengthy layoff after breaking his hand, advanced to the 160-pound final against Carteret's Eliias Vega, dropping a 5-1 decision.

Edison's Robert Cleary, who won the GMCT and District 19 titles at 106 pounds a year ago, avenged a 3-1 regular-season loss to previously unbeaten Stephen Nadera of Old Bridge with a 12-5 decision in the 120-pound final.

"I learned a lot obviously," Cleary, a Region V runner-up a year ago, said of his regular-season loss to Nadera, one of four defeats on the year for the sophomore. "I know he's strong and I beat him with my quickness tonight. This is a huge win. Maybe the biggest of my life. It's because the beginning of the year things started out rocky, and I'm happy to come out on top."

Teammate Billy Povalac pinned South River's Jared Smith in 36 seconds to win his second consecutive title, this one at 145-pounds.

East Brunswick's Mark Schleifer, who split four bouts with Perth Amboy's Norberto Torres last season, defeated his archrival for the third time this year with a 3-2 decision in the 113-pound final. Schleifer's older brother, Jonathan, won a state title last winter and is currently wrestling at Princeton.

Brandon Farrell of J.F. Kennedy, who has had tremendous success despite having an injury-riddled career, defended his 170-pound title with a 3-2 decision over East Brunswick's Anthony Tamayo.

Sayreville's Anthony Porcaro successfully defended his heavyweight title with a 2-0 decision over East Brunswick's Kevin Eid.