WRESTLING: East Brunswick Bear Invitational Tournament results

EDITOR'S NOTE: Team scores and complete tournament results can be found at the conclusion of this story.

With three of his starters out of the lineup for multiple reasons, Sayreville High School head wrestling coach Marcus Ivy was left to lament would could have been at the Bear Invitational.

While the Bombers placed fourth in the 14-team field – the highest finish of any of the seven Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament schools competing in the event – Ivy believes Sayreville would have fared better at full strength.

“We definitely could have been a team to be reckoned with,” Ivy said, “but we did a good job. It’s definitely a pretty cool thing to be the top team from the GMC. If you look at our preview, I said we want to compete with everyone, that we are looking to hang with everyone and beat the teams we should beat and find ways to beat teams that are on paper better than us.”

Hopewell Valley – the lone entrant with a full lineup – rolled to the team title followed by runner-up Somerville and third-place Manville.

East Brunswick’s Mitch Polito, a third-place finisher in last year’s state tournament, was named Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights, while North Brunswick’s Kenny Abode earned Outstanding Wrestler honors for the upper weights.

Junior Trevor Mastorio, who claimed the 138-pound title with a 2-1 decision over Montgomery’s Matthew Lisanti, was Sayreville’s lone individual champion. Teammates Darren Figueroa (106) and Joe Porcaro (220) also reached the finals.

“Trevor is one of those guys you get once in very many years,” Ivy said, noting Mastorio is a phenomenal student (4.2 grade-point average in honors and advanced placement classes) with a work ethic in the classroom that mirrors his intensity in the wrestling room.

“He’s a kid I want to have success, not because I like him more than anyone else, but because he proves the formula works – do the right things in the classroom, in the wrestling room and in the offseason and you are going to be successful.”

After going 16-15 as a freshman, Mastorio finished 25-10 last year and is off to a 10-2 start this season. His only losses are to North Hunterdon’s Andrew Gapas, who finished 38-8 on the way to placing eighth in the state last year, and to Nicholas Incontrera of perennial national power Blair Academy.

“Trevor’s not a natural gifted athlete,” Ivy said. “He’s an athlete, obviously, but he’s not one of those natural studs. He’s worked hard for everything he got and he’s been tremendously successful because he works harder than anybody. He’s as tough and tenacious a wrestler as you will see. I love his success because I can just point to him and say, do what he’s doing. Do the right thing all the time and you’re going to be successful.”

In the tournament’s marquee bout, Manville’s Michael Tyle decisioned Bound Brook’s J.J. Sistrunk 5-1, scoring a reversal and two back points in the final 25 seconds to snap a 1-1 deadlock in the heavyweight final.

Tyle split with Sistrunk a year ago, sandwiching wins in the Somerset County Tournament and in Atlantic City around a pair of losses in the district and region tournament.

The loss was the first of the season for Sistrunk, a key wrestler on a rebuilding program that is off to an 0-4 start in dual meets and which competed yesterday with just eight grapplers. The Crusaders, who placed 10th at the Bear Invitational, were without three-time state placewinner and Rider University commit Joe Casey.

“When I heard Bound Brook joined this tournament, I thought this was a good way for me to compete early in the season,” Tyle said of an anticipated rematch with Sistrunk. “Even though they are our rivals, they give us good competition. When you get two rivals in the same tournament, it just makes us compete harder. I hope to see (Sistrunk) later on in the county, district and region finals. He’s an all-around great competitor and I love wrestling him because he makes me push.”

Manville, not unlike Sayreville, was also without three starters. The Mustangs will get a chance to see five Bear Invitational teams – including Hopewell Valley – at season’s end in the District 18 Tournament, where the Mustangs hope to have a better showing and where Hopewell Valley and Piscataway are the early favorites to win a title.

 “I think we did all right, but we could do a lot better,” Tyle said, noting the Bear Invitational could impact district seeding. “I think if we have a full lineup we might really push Hopewell Valley. I think coming into a tournament like this with good competition it teaches us what we want to learn.”

Polito, the reigning District 18 champion, recorded a nine-second pin of Montgomery’s Dylan Irving in the semifinals and a 27-second pin of Somerville’s Jack Snee in the final to win the 126-pound weight class. Polito is 5-0 on the year with all five of his wins coming via fall. He has spent a total of three minutes and one second on the mat this season including three pins en route to winning a title at the season-opening Icebreaker Invitational.

“I’m healthier this year, I’ve been able to manage my weight a lot better and I’ve been training harder,” said Polito, a Lehigh University commit who battled through some nagging injuries at 113 pounds last season. “I feel like I’m hungrier than last year to get the state title because it’s my last shot. It was really great to be there Sunday (in Atlantic City last season). I was able to go out and take third with everybody watching. It kind of reminded me if I had a few more workouts over the summer, I could have been a state champ. I was like, alright, you can do this. Keep pushing.”

Abode decisioned Hopewell Valley’s Max Ronollo 6-4 to win the 182-pound bracket, in which he pinned South River’s Brandon Szerszen during the semifinals and rolled to a 10-0 major decision over Manville’s Cesar Herrarte in the quarterfinals.

South River’s Kyle Baszak, who posted a 3-2 decision over Hopewell Valley’s Ben Markulec in the 195-pound final, finished one vote behind Abode for Outstanding Wrestler in the upper weights. Markulec is an incumbent district runner-up and finished second at the Bear Invitational for the second consecutive year.

“I knew I had to score points on him and just defend well against him,” Baszak said. “I blocked most of his shots and I took my shots when they were there. I got much better on the mat and my stamina is getting much better, too.”

Baszak’s lone loss this season is to incumbent region qualifier Sebastian Iakouchevitch of A.L. Johnson in the season-opening Edison Classic final. Owner of a 6-1 record, Baszak needs 30 more victories to reach the 100-win plateau, a milestone he and South River coach Bobby Young are confident Baszak can attain.

“The match in Edison, it was his first real competition outside of the practice room, so going into the tournament, he wasn’t really situated with his weight and comfortable wrestling 195,” Young explained. “He’s up a little. He’s giving up maybe like 10 pounds, so it’s tough. He’s got to get adjusted, and today it looked like he really did adjust. He’s worked hard. He’s put a lot of time inside the room and outside the room, so I’m very optimistic about his future this year.”

Making weight after the holiday was an issue for several wrestlers at the Bear Invitational, including Perth Amboy standout Joe Pacheco, who was .1 pounds over 106 and had to enter at 113 pounds, where he steamrolled his way to the title with two pins and a major decision.

Emmanuel Perera (132, Montgomery) Carlos Ugalde (152, Bound Brook) and Matthew Rogalski (220, Manville) represented the Skyland Conference with individual titles.

Hopewell Valley’s champions included Christian Micikas (106), Chris Lanciano (120), Justin Venezia (145), Tray Lauricela (160) and Tyler Sobel (170).

TEAM SCORES

1. Hopewell Valley 213.5

2. Somerville 155

3. Manville 147

4. Sayreville 120

5. Spotswood 108

6. South River 104

7. Montgomery 90

8. North Brunswick 86

9. Matawan 80

10. Bound Brook 77

11. East Brunswick 73

12. Perth Amboy 64

13. West Windsor-Plainsboro North 24

14. Highland Park 14

106

1st Place - Christian Micikas of Hopewell Valley Hs

2nd Place - Tanner Donato of Somerville

3rd Place - Ethan Burlew of Manville Hs

4th Place - Thomas Perpente of Spotswood

5th Place - Lee Rubin of Matawan Reg

6th Place - Jeremy Lamberty of Bound Brook HS

1st Place Match

Christian Micikas (Hopewell Valley Hs) 7-3, So. over Tanner Donato (Somerville) 5-4, So. (Dec 7-4)

3rd Place Match

Ethan Burlew (Manville Hs) 7-2, Fr. over Thomas Perpente (Spotswood) 2-2, So. (Fall 3:30)

5th Place Match

Lee Rubin (Matawan Reg) 6-4, Fr. over Jeremy Lamberty (Bound Brook HS) 4-6, Fr. (Fall 2:47)

113

1st Place - Joe Pacheco of Perth Amboy

2nd Place - Darren Figueroa of Sayreville War Memorial

3rd Place - Kamrin O`Neill of Matawan Reg

4th Place - Issac Cruz of South River

5th Place - Zachary Weiner of Spotswood

6th Place - Evan Wooby of Somerville

1st Place Match

Joe Pacheco (Perth Amboy) 6-1, Sr. over Darren Figueroa (Sayreville War Memorial) 5-4, So. (Fall 3:34)

3rd Place Match

Kamrin O`Neill (Matawan Reg) 7-1, Fr. over Issac Cruz (South River) 3-4, So. (Fall 5:15)

5th Place Match

Zachary Weiner (Spotswood) 2-1, Fr. over Evan Wooby (Somerville) 1-2, Fr. (MD 12-2)

120

1st Place - Chris Lanciano of Hopewell Valley Hs

2nd Place - Brock Laggini of Somerville

3rd Place - Daniel Higuita of Matawan Reg

4th Place - Connor Platt of Spotswood

5th Place - Max Greenberg of Montgomery

6th Place - Andrew Carmona of Highland Park

1st Place Match

Chris Lanciano (Hopewell Valley Hs) 9-1, Jr. over Brock Laggini (Somerville) 5-3, . (Dec 9-3)

3rd Place Match

Daniel Higuita (Matawan Reg) 5-4, Jr. over Connor Platt (Spotswood) 1-2, Jr. (Dec 8-7)

5th Place Match

Max Greenberg (Montgomery) 4-4, So. over Andrew Carmona (Highland Park) 4-5, Fr. (Fall 1:22)

126

1st Place - Mitchell Polito of East Brunswick H.S.

2nd Place - Jack See of Somerville

3rd Place - Forfeit Forfeit of Unattached

4th Place - Christopher Rodriguez of North Brunswick Township

4th Place - Dylan Irving of Montgomery

6th Place - Jacob Oster of Spotswood

1st Place Match

Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick H.S.) 5-0, Sr. over Jack See (Somerville) 1-1, . (Fall 0:27)

3rd Place Match

Christopher Rodriguez (North Brunswick Township) 1-1, Sr. over Dylan Irving (Montgomery) 5-2, Jr. (DFF)

5th Place Match

Forfeit Forfeit () 3-0, . over Jacob Oster (Spotswood) 0-1, So. (DFF)

132

1st Place - Emmanuel Perera of Montgomery

2nd Place - Cesar Lopez of North Brunswick Township

3rd Place - Matt Patella of Somerville

4th Place - Jose Veliz of Matawan Reg

5th Place - Heath Trainor of Hopewell Valley Hs

6th Place - RJ Thompson of Manville Hs

1st Place Match

Emmanuel Perera (Montgomery) 3-0, . over Cesar Lopez (North Brunswick Township) 2-1, Jr. (Dec 3-2)

3rd Place Match

Matt Patella (Somerville) 5-4, Sr. over Jose Veliz (Matawan Reg) 7-3, Sr. (Fall 1:52)

5th Place Match

Heath Trainor (Hopewell Valley Hs) 6-5, Jr. over RJ Thompson (Manville Hs) 5-4, Sr. (MD 8-0)

138

1st Place - Trevor Mastorio of Sayreville War Memorial

2nd Place - Matthew Lisanti of Montgomery

3rd Place - Mark Pacheco of South River

4th Place - Gian Mena of Somerville

5th Place - Mike Meola of Bound Brook HS

6th Place - Aaron Longo of Hopewell Valley Hs

1st Place Match

Trevor Mastorio (Sayreville War Memorial) 9-2, So. over Matthew Lisanti (Montgomery) 2-1, . (MD 14-2)

3rd Place Match

Mark Pacheco (South River) 5-2, Sr. over Gian Mena (Somerville) 4-5, Sr. (Dec 10-8)

5th Place Match

Mike Meola (Bound Brook HS) 4-6, Fr. over Aaron Longo (Hopewell Valley Hs) 7-5, Jr. (For.)

145

1st Place - Justin Venezia of Hopewell Valley Hs

2nd Place - Shane Demeter of Manville Hs

3rd Place - Leandro Santos of South River

4th Place - E`Unique Gittens Russell of Matawan Reg

5th Place - Alex Angeles of North Brunswick Township

6th Place - Matthew Bohinski of Spotswood

1st Place Match

Justin Venezia (Hopewell Valley Hs) 8-2, Jr. over Shane Demeter (Manville Hs) 6-2, Sr. (Fall 2:55)

3rd Place Match

Leandro Santos (South River) 4-2, Sr. over E`Unique Gittens Russell (Matawan Reg) 4-3, Jr. (For.)

5th Place Match

Alex Angeles (North Brunswick Township) 2-1, Sr. over Matthew Bohinski (Spotswood) 2-2, So. (MD 10-0)

152

1st Place - Carlos Ugalde of Bound Brook HS

2nd Place - Gavin Potts of Manville Hs

3rd Place - Amos Barnes of Hopewell Valley Hs

4th Place - Brayan Jimenez of Somerville

5th Place - Alwayne Mitchell of Matawan Reg

6th Place - Alex Abrahamsen of Montgomery

1st Place Match

Carlos Ugalde (Bound Brook HS) 9-4, Jr. over Gavin Potts (Manville Hs) 6-3, Jr. (Dec 3-0)

3rd Place Match

Amos Barnes (Hopewell Valley Hs) 6-3, Sr. over Brayan Jimenez (Somerville) 3-7, Sr. (Fall 3:15)

5th Place Match

Alwayne Mitchell (Matawan Reg) 4-3, Sr. over Alex Abrahamsen (Montgomery) 2-2, . (Fall 0:58)

160

1st Place - Tray Lauricella of Hopewell Valley Hs

2nd Place - Shea Obado of Spotswood

3rd Place - Dan Colon of South River

4th Place - Jacob Mitchell of West Windsor-Plainsboro North

5th Place - Will McIntyre of Somerville

6th Place - Jamil Angeles of Perth Amboy

1st Place Match

Tray Lauricella (Hopewell Valley Hs) 7-3, Sr. over Shea Obado (Spotswood) 2-1, Sr. (Dec 4-2)

3rd Place Match

Dan Colon (South River) 6-1, Sr. over Jacob Mitchell (West Windsor-Plainsboro North) 2-3, Sr. (Dec 6-4)

5th Place Match

Will McIntyre (Somerville) 4-3, So. over Jamil Angeles (Perth Amboy) 4-4, Sr. (Dec 10-7)

170

1st Place - Tyler Sobel of Hopewell Valley Hs

2nd Place - Steven Garcia of Manville Hs

3rd Place - Christian Perrine of East Brunswick H.S.

4th Place - Jordan Malanga of Somerville

5th Place - Mykhaylo Khalabundnyak of Sayreville War Memorial

6th Place - Joshua Perera of Montgomery

1st Place Match

Tyler Sobel (Hopewell Valley Hs) 8-1, Sr. over Steven Garcia (Manville Hs) 6-3, Sr. (Dec 6-0)

3rd Place Match

Christian Perrine (East Brunswick H.S.) 5-2, Jr. over Jordan Malanga (Somerville) 4-5, Jr. (Fall 3:20)

5th Place Match

Mykhaylo Khalabundnyak (Sayreville War Memorial) 5-5, Jr. over Joshua Perera (Montgomery) 1-2, . (Dec 6-2)

182

1st Place - Kenneth Abode of North Brunswick Township

2nd Place - Max Ronollo of Hopewell Valley Hs

3rd Place - Brandon Szersen of South River

4th Place - Nino Oneto of Sayreville War Memorial

5th Place - Donald Shaffer of Spotswood

6th Place - Mina Meshriky of East Brunswick H.S.

1st Place Match

Kenneth Abode (North Brunswick Township) 3-0, Sr. over Max Ronollo (Hopewell Valley Hs) 8-3, Sr. (Dec 6-4)

3rd Place Match

Brandon Szersen (South River) 6-1, Sr. over Nino Oneto (Sayreville War Memorial) 3-5, So. (MD 15-4)

5th Place Match

Donald Shaffer (Spotswood) 2-1, Sr. over Mina Meshriky (East Brunswick H.S.) 2-4, Sr. (UTB 3-2)

195

1st Place - Kyle Baszak of South River

2nd Place - Ben Markulec of Hopewell Valley Hs

3rd Place - Savon Kirksey of Sayreville War Memorial

4th Place - Edward Rogers of Spotswood

5th Place - Hamza Akel of Somerville

6th Place - David Welch of Perth Amboy

1st Place Match

Kyle Baszak (South River) 6-1, Sr. over Ben Markulec (Hopewell Valley Hs) 8-1, Sr. (Dec 3-2)

3rd Place Match

Savon Kirksey (Sayreville War Memorial) 8-3, Jr. over Edward Rogers (Spotswood) 1-2, Jr. (Fall 2:54)

5th Place Match

Hamza Akel (Somerville) 5-4, Sr. over David Welch (Perth Amboy) 4-3, Sr. (Dec 7-6)

220

1st Place - Matthew Rogalski of Manville Hs

2nd Place - Joe Porcaro of Sayreville War Memorial

3rd Place - John Helstowski of North Brunswick Township

4th Place - Yousef Elhalaka of Spotswood

5th Place - Nelfy Caba of Perth Amboy

6th Place - Tim Coleman of Hopewell Valley Hs

1st Place Match

Matthew Rogalski (Manville Hs) 8-0, Sr. over Joe Porcaro (Sayreville War Memorial) 4-5, So. (Fall 3:50)

3rd Place Match

John Helstowski (North Brunswick Township) 2-1, Jr. over Yousef Elhalaka (Spotswood) 1-2, Sr. (Fall 3:49)

5th Place Match

Nelfy Caba (Perth Amboy) 4-4, Sr. over Tim Coleman (Hopewell Valley Hs) 4-6, Sr. (Dec 4-3)

285

1st Place - Michael Tyle of Manville Hs

2nd Place - Jervey Sistrunk of Bound Brook HS

3rd Place - Jake Pidgeon of Somerville

4th Place - Youseff Gammel of East Brunswick H.S.

5th Place - Benedict Arthur of Sayreville War Memorial

6th Place - Luke Tilton of Highland Park

1st Place Match

Michael Tyle (Manville Hs) 7-1, Sr. over Jervey Sistrunk (Bound Brook HS) 6-1, Jr. (Dec 5-1)

3rd Place Match

Jake Pidgeon (Somerville) 7-2, Sr. over Youseff Gammel (East Brunswick H.S.) 3-3, So. (Fall 4:54)

5th Place Match

Benedict Arthur (Sayreville War Memorial) 6-4, Jr. over Luke Tilton (Highland Park) 7-3, So. (Fall 1:01)