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Wrestling: South Plainfield clinches 9th straight GMC Tournament title

Angel D. Ospina

@AngelDOspina

South Plainfield's Ben Lundy (right) tangles with Sayreville's Corey Knoth during their 160-pound wrestleback match for third place in the GMC Tournament at Piscataway High School on Jan. 28, 2017.

PISCATAWAY - In the stands of the Greater Middlesex Conference Wrestling Tournament at Piscataway High School on Saturday, Joe Lemmo, a former member of the South Plainfield wrestling team, watched as his alma mater clinched the program’s 24th overall conference title.

As a former state champion for the Tigers in 1965, Lemmo knows what it means to wrestle in the green and white, and on Saturday, his team made him proud as the illustrious program won its ninth consecutive conference title.

“The team came a long way,” Lemmo said. “They have a hell of a program. It’s fun to watch them, no matter if they win or lose, they are good sports. They just have great team.”

South Plainfield advanced 12 wrestlers to the quarterfinals on Saturday and were well represented in the finals with six total wrestlers competing for gold. The Tigers had a comfortable lead heading into the finals as the perennial program led all schools with 220 points with Monroe at second place with 160.5 points.

For the Tigers, taking first place at the GMC Tournament is a goal the wrestlers set to accomplish from the beginning of the season.

South Plainfield's Jake Hoffman (left) works to score points against North Brunswick's Cullen McCardle during their 152 pound wrestleback match in the GMC Tournament at Piscataway High School on Jan. 28, 2017.

“One of our goal is to keep the streak going,” South Plainfield coach Bill Pavlak said. “Some of the coaches have wrestled for South Plainfield, their kids are wrestling for South Plainfield and the coaches talk about the tradition of coming here. It’s a big deal so the wrestlers take it as part of our goals of the season.”

Joe Heilmann (120), Jake Giordano (126) and Zach DekVecchio (220) all took the mat in the finals on Saturday as defending champions.

Sophomore Tommy Fierro (106) also reached the finals as the third seed and upset Michael O’Brien of Edison with a pin in the third period while Joe Sacco clinched a finals matchup against top-seeded Bob Dinger of Middlesex for the 138-pound title. Luke Niemeyer (195) was set to wrestle against Bishop Ahr’s Andrew Brazicki.

Senior Ben Lundy also contributed to the team win as he earned a bronze medal as he defeated Corey Knoth of Sayreville with a 3-2 decision. For Lundy, who had a brother wrestle for South Plainfield, earning a bronze medal in the GMC Tournament is a huge accomplishment that he can use as a bragging point against his brother.

"I mean the family aspect is huge,” Lundy said. “My family is always rooting even my brother, even though he kind of gets jealous sometimes. My family always has my back and they love watching me wrestle.”

For South Plainfield, family and tradition has made this program an absolute juggernaut in the GMC year-after-year. With fans such as Lemmo watching in the first row, or alumni nights that are held every year, the close-knit tradition is the staple that makes this team a yearly powerhouse.

“You don’t want to be the one team that everyone sees that doesn’t have a GMC plaque,” Lundy said. “It’s nice to keep the tradition going.”

Last year, South Plainfield’s Kyle Bythell clinched the 138-pound title with a 7-3 victory over Middlesex-Dunellen’s Jeff Johnson, but on Saturday, Johnson got revenge as he defeated Bythell 6-2 in the semifinals.