Wrestling: Manville’s ascent continues
From 12th to 11th to 9th to 5th -- that's the climb Manville High School's wrestling team has taken at the Somerset County Tournament.
Manville has returned to respectability, but Saturday's showing at the 39th annual county tournament was a real notice that the Mustangs are up to something.
Manville was fifth with 101 points and five place winners and just 17 1/2 points behind second-place Bridgewater-Raritan.
Mustang wrestlers went a collective 23-17 with junior 113-pounder Brian Kuhlman winning the team's first county title since 1999-00. Senior Kevin Murillo and junior Jeremy Nurnberger were third at 132 and 152 respectively, and junior Bobby Demeter and (120) and sophomore T.J. Caswell (145) took fourth.
The Mustangs had 12 one-point bouts, going 5-7.
Last year, the Mustangs were a collective 12-19 at the county tournament in ninth place with 66 points. Kuhlman was second at 106 and Murillo (120) and Nurnberger (145) were both fourth.
In 2012-13, the Mustang wrestlers went a collective 8-17 with Milton Texeira's fourth place at 132 the only place. Manville had a mere 24 points for 11th. In the 2011-12 SCT, the Mustangs went 3-13, finishing 12th out of 13 with 16 points. They had just two quarterfinalists in Murillo (113) and Pete Hando (145).
GOOD RIVALRY
You can officially mark North Plainfield's J.T. Valley vs. Bound Brook's Aaron Saavedra as a matchup worth watching. The two seniors met for a fifth time in the Somerset County Tournament 195-pound final Saturday with the top-seeded Valley winning 5-3. Valley was also the tournament OW - the first Canuck to win the award since two-time county champ Billy Eville in 1982.
The unbeaten Valley is 2-3 vs. Saavedra. He won by fall for third at 195 at the county last year. Saavedra beat Valley 12-10 for third at 195 as a freshman, and scored a technical fall in a county 195 semi two years ago. Saavedra beat Valley 7-3 in a January dual meet last season. So Valley now has a first, two thirds and a fourth at the county tournament and Saavedra has two seconds, a third and fourth.
Last year the two had state finalists in their way. Montgomery's state champ Anthony Cassar pinned Saavedra in the county semis, and Valley lost in the semis to Franklin's state runner-up Ralph Normandia. Cassar beat Normandia for the county title. In 2012-13, Normandia beat Saavedra 9-2 for the county title.
Valley and Saavedra can't meet for a sixth time unless the two make it to the NJSIAA Tournament at Atlantic City. Last year both made it. Valley was third at Region III and Saavedra was third at Region V -- both won by fall. Valley went 1-2 at the state tournament.
MATCH OF WEEK
Two of the oldest programs in the state meet in Phillipsburg for the first time Wednesday night at "The Pit'' when Bound Brook (7-1) ranked No. 2 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20 faces No. 5 Phillipsburg. Bound Brook's first varsity season was in 1936.
UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Seeding for Saturday's tournament at Union High will be today at 5:30. Tournament is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. with finals to start about 3 p.m.
TOP 10
1. Bound Brook (7-1)
2. South Plainfield (14-3)
3. Del Val (6-2)
4. Hunterdon Central (5-3)
5. North Hunterdon (6-2)
2. 6. Hillsborough (9-1)
7. Voorhees (5-2)
8. Watchung Hills (2-3)
9. Montgomery (7-2)
10. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (6-5)