WRESTLING: Balance rules the day in District 25
DELRAN – The District 25 wrestling tournament proved itself an event for balance at Holy Cross Academy.
Each local school that advanced grapplers from Friday night put a man atop the podium here on Saturday. Only out-of-area Jackson lacked a champ – and the Jaguars claimed seven second-place finishers.
Camden Catholic rose above the diverse heap with 180 cumulative points as the Irish celebrated their first team district title since 2012.
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“I’m just happy for our kids, they’re the ones who worked so hard,” first-year Irish coach Matt Walsh said. “It’s great for them. They’re the reason we’re all here anyway. It's just a testament to the kids.”
Jeremy Nutt opened the wins for Camden Catholic in the final round that started at 138 pounds. The 182-pounder took a 5-3 decision against Audubon’s Tony Dustman.
“I feel blessed,” Nutt said. “To win this as a team together, it means a lot.”
Lucas Revano came next with a 120-pound title when he pinned Jackson’s Jeremiah Nash in 1 minute, 3 seconds.
“I shot in and he left his arm up,” said Revano, who improved to 36-2. “I saw it and went for it. It means a lot because we put in so much hard work. We turn it up and we really focused in the past two days.
“We’re just going to keep getting better and older.”
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Anthony Croce rounded out the trio in the day’s final bout, a 12-3 major against top-seeded Matt McGowan of the Jaguars in the 132 class.
“I just went out and wrestled my match,” Croce simply explained.
Cody Walsh at 106 and Brandon Mooney at 138 also reached their championships.
The Irish will send 10 wrestlers to the Region 7 tournament at the Pine Belt Arena at Toms River North High School, which begins Wednesday.
Matt Walsh initially thought his club could get anywhere from six to 11 qualifiers. After a semifinal round that saw five losses for those in green robes, Camden Catholic rebounded to fall on the heavier side of the prognostication.
Only one consolation final ended in an Irish loss.
“I think it’s great we have 10 going, especially with all we’ve been through this year,” Croce added.
A signature moment in that endurance came after a 39-21 loss to Cherokee on Jan. 18.
“We sat in that locker room that night and we talked about it,” Matt Walsh said. “We said we need to focus and come back for districts.”
That’s exactly what they did. Those very same Chiefs didn’t disappoint on the district stage, either. Ryan Manahan grabbed the 126-pound crown, Ryan Burke did the same at 145.
Shawn Webb decked Jackson’s Kyle Epperly in 1:24 for the rights to 160.
Both coaches took home accolades as well – Mike Booth for Coach of the Year and Christian Scannell for Assistant Coach of the Year.
Perhaps their finest grappler, Collin Wickramaratna fell in the final stage of the 113-pound bracket to the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Seneca’s Joe Manchio got anointed that honor after an 8-4 triumph.
In the first two rounds, he notched a pair of pins that spanned a total of 27 seconds.
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“I came here to get a ‘W,’” last year’s state champ at 106 pounds said. “I wanted to work on the techniques I needed to dial in on. I’ve been a little bit sloppy lately. I wanted to focus on all the little things.”
The Golden Eagles got another winner out of Liam Casey at 195.
Manchio’s 15-second pin in the semifinal also punched the event’s first consolation ticket. Connor Mullarkey of Holy Cross became the beneficiary when the Jaguars’ Chris McDonald suffered a collarbone injury on Manchio’s dump-and-deck move.
There were other bright spots for the hosts as well, notably Chase Mullarkey’s victory at 106 pounds by a point. The home crowd also roared when Avery DiNardi beat Jackson’s Tim Hamann by a 3-2 result to claim his fourth consecutive district title, this one at 152.
In case the Lancers’ faithful weren't aware of the feat, DiNardi held up four fingers to indicate such when he turned their way in acknowledgment.
Holy Cross only lost one final. That came at heavyweight, where Sterling’s Lamar Price got an armbar in on Bobby Cristella and won by pin at 4:28.
“The last couple weeks I’ve started practicing it,” the unbeaten Price at 27-0 said of the move. “It’s been my most-practiced move.
“It just worked. Never in the world would I have thought I’d pin Bobby Cristella.”
The bout prior to Price’s also provided a winner for the Colonial Conference. Audubon 220-pounder Cameron Greene notched an impressive 5-1 decision against Jackson’s David Lemay.
“I feel great and I can’t wait for regions,” Greene said. “I’ve been working a lot on my feet all year long. I do 100 double (-leg shots) every day after practice.”
Greene used his teammate Dustman’s defeat as motivation.
“Once he lost, it felt just like a (dual-meet) match,” the Green Wave star revealed. “My teammate lost, I have to go out and redeem him.”
Moorestown also boasted two victors in Christopher Tenenbaum at 138 and Nate Dalmass four bouts later at 170.
As Dalmass walked off the mat, Quakers’ boss Brian Carey met him in the circle. He threw a full-bodied embrace around his school’s latest district champ.
Each area coach got that opportunity on Saturday.
Mark Trible; (856) 486-2424; mtrible@gannettnj.com
District 25 tournament
Irish triumph: Camden Catholic took the team championship with 180 points, 17 more than second-place Jackson.
Most outstanding wrestler: Seneca's Joe Manchio, who pinned in his first two bouts in a combined 27 seconds and won the 113-pound class with an 8-4 decision against Cherokee's Collin Wickramaratna.
Chiefs of staff: Cherokee got both leadership awards. Mike Booth claimed Coach of the Year and Christian Scannell took Assistant Coach of the Year..
Well said: “We’re just going to keep getting better and older.” – Camden Catholic 120-pounder Lucas Revano