Southern Regional wrestling team makes case for best in school history

PISCATAWAY - It was a question that had to be asked after the Southern Regional High School wrestling team dismantled storied Phillipsburg 41-14 in the NJSIAA Group 5 championship match for its fifth NJSIAA group championship Sunday at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena.

Is this the best team Southern has ever had?

"I would probably put it up there in the top three,'' said Southern head coach Dan Roy, who is in his fourth season as the head coach and has been on the coaching staff for 20 years.

The gold standard for great Southern teams is the 2007 team that was led by three-time state champion, future NCAA 149-pound champion and Olympian Frank Molinaro. That team also had future state champion and three-time state finalist Glenn Carson and current Southern assistant coach and 2007 state 145-pound runner-up Luke Lanno.

No question, that was a great team. But, that team had the misfortune of being in the same group as Jackson Memorial, which was coached by current Rutgers University head coach Scott Goodale and was ranked in the top five in the country and was the consensus No. 1 ranked team in the state.

Southern lost to Jackson Memorial three times that season, including in the Group 4 championship match.

"This is one of the better teams we've ever had, but the 07 team was better,'' Lanno said.

"I think we could compete with them (the 2007 team),'' said sophomore 132-pounder Wyatt Stout, whose father John Stout was Southern's head coach for 18 seasons from 2001-2019.

SOUTHERN WRESTLED A TESTING SCHEDULE

This Southern team, which finished 19-1 with the only loss to Non-Public A runner-up Delbarton, wrestled one of the toughest schedules it has ever wrestled.

In their two matches against Phillipsburg (15-3), the Rams won by a combined 57 points. In both the 42-12 win over the Stateliners on Jan. 19 and Sunday, Southern won 10 bouts.

It is very rare the Phillipsburg fans and their wrestlers and coaches are as quiet as they were during Sunday's match.

"The coach said (Phillipsburg coach Brad Gentzle), 'We didn't want to beat (Southern) at Southern. We want to beat them at Rutgers,' '' Stout said. "We've been thinking that quote a lot. I feel like we left no doubt who the better team is.''

"That really just gave us more fire to work harder,'' said senior 126-pounder Conor Collins, who pinned Kyle Beenders Sunday.''

Southern also erased the bitter taste of the 27-25 defeat to Phillipsburg in last year's Group 5 semifinal.

"It does because we weren't even here last year,'' Roy said. "We were a younger team then, We're more experienced this year. That's why we wrestled that schedule and went to all those tournaments (Southern went to the power-packed Powerade and Escape The Rock tournaments).

KEY BOUT

Any doubt about who was going to win the match ended at 132 pounds, when Stout, a returning region qualifier, defeated returning state qualifier Gavin Hawk 5-2. The matchups at 126 and 132 were different than on Jan. 19 because both Collins and Stout weighed at 132 and 138 that night. Collins majored Hawk on Jan. 19.

"It was a match I was really looking forward to,'' Stout said. "I really wanted it. I'm excited about that win.

"This is the best team I've ever been a part of. We went through so much together,'' Collins said. ''To go out as state champs is all I could ask for.''

Stout's win gave the Rams a 24-4 lead halfway through the match with still some heavy hitters coming.

A 'Super Team'

There are several things Southern takes pride in when it comes to its dominance this season.

"I think it means a little more that we're a public school,'' Stout said. "We've all grown up together. We've stuck together. It's pretty much a 'Super Team.' It's about as good as a public school can really get.''

"This is the best team I've ever been a part of. We went through so much together,'' Collins said. ''To go out as state champs is all I could ask for.''

This Southern team contests everything. Even, when the match was decided with three bouts remaining, the Rams coaches, wrestlers and fans were still into the bouts, pushing for wins and takedowns.

"We've got grit. They've done everything I've asked of them,'' Roy said. "A lot of kids sacrificed to make this happen.''

STALLING CALL LEADS TO JACKSON MEMORIAL DEFEAT

Jackson Memorial head coach Doug Withstandley admitted his team did not wrestle its best in its 33-27 defeat to North Hunterdon in the NJSIAA Group 4 championship match at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena Sunday.

However, he and the rest of the Jaguars' were annoyed at a critical stalling point in the heavyweight bout that helped North Hunterdon's Brendan Raley, the state eighth-place finisher at 215, record a 2-1 win over previously-unbeaten Ryan Fischer.

After Fischer had been warned in the neutral position in the second period, he was called for a second stall with 57 seconds left in the third period while he was leading 1-0 and riding Raley that tied the bout 1-1. Raley won the bout on an escape with a second left.

"I think the stalling neutral may have been warranted. He (Raley) was much more aggressive neutral,'' Withstandley said. "But, on top, that's our best position. Top is offense. The kid's (Raley) flat with his head in the mat and we're running power half's (power half nelsons). I don't agree with the top one at all.

"I warned our heavyweight, 'If you get a stall call neutral, it's going to cost you'.'' He didn't do enough neutral and it cost us.

The win by Raley was the third bout of a five-bout, 20-point run that gave the Lions (15-5), who won their sixth state group championship and first since 2020, a 30-14 lead with four bouts remaining.

If Fischer (29-1) had won, Jackson Memorial (16-7), which was trying to win its first group championship since 2011 and fifth overall, would have trailed just 27-17 headed into the final four bouts.

"I told him, 'It's OK to go first period 0-0 because he's great on the mat,'' Withstandley said.

Fischer was still on the verge of riding Raley out when Raley got out at the lower center of the mat just before the buzzer.

"I told our guys, don't leave it in the ref's hands. We did that today,'' Withstandley said.

North Hunterdon clinched the match when John VanDoren (132) rallied from a 4-1 second period deficit against Nikko Rucci and recorded a 7-5 win in the next-to-last bout on a takedown with 31 seconds left in sudden victory

The Lions then forfeited to Lucas Lipari (138) in the final bout.

North Hunterdon's run from 190-113 also included a 2-1 win in the ultimate tie-breaker by Louis White at 215 over Justin Krosnicki on an escape three seconds into the ultimate tiebreaker period.

That run left Jackson Memorial needing to not only win the final four bouts from 120-138, but get major bonus points to win the match. That

The defeat ended run that had seen the Jaguars wrestle the best they had all season in their four state tournament wins to get to the

"A lot of guys came out flat,'' Withstandley said. "We were not aggressive, not confident. That was not a good performance compared to our previous four matches.''

CAMDEN CATHOLIC RALLIES TO DEFEAT ST. JOHN VIANNEY

Camden Catholic won the final three bouts to erase a seven-point deficit and defeat St. John Vianney 33-29 in the Non-Public B championshup match.

It was the 19th state championship for Camden Catholic. St. John Vianney was denied its second group title and first since 1995.

The turning point came at 132 when Irish freshman Kage Jones majored Patrick O'Keefe, the state-runner at 106 last season, 14-4. O'Keefe had made the jump to 132 this past Thursday night after he had trouble getting down to 113 pounds.

That tied the match 29-29 with one bout remaining.

Camden Catholic's returning state qualifier Wayne Rold (138) then clinched the match with a 9-1 major decision over Anthony Paulino.

Jackson Young, a returning state fifth-place finisher, began Camden Catholic's run with a 3-0 win over returning state qualifier Patrick O'Keefe at 126. It was Young's second 3-0 win of the season over Zaltsman.

Camden Catholic (14-5) won eight bouts and got bonus points in five bouts.

GROUP 5

SOUTHERN 41, PHILLIPSBURG 14

215: Riley O'Boyle (S) md. Logan Kries  11-2

HWT: John Wargo (P) md. Anthony Evangelista  9-1.

106: Anthony Mason (S) md. Massimo Gonzalez  13-0

113: Attila Vigilante (S) d. Dawson McWilliams  12-5

120: Scottie Sari (S) md. Julian Ricci 19-7

126: Conor Collins (S) p. Kyle Beenders :54.

132: Wyatt Stout (S) d. Gavin Hawk 5-2

138: Luke Geleta (P) md. David Ferrante 15-6.

144: Hayden Hochstrasser (S) d. Patrick Day 10-3.

150: Matt Henrich (S) tf. Johnathon Roth 3:40 (19-4).

157: Nick Bennet (S) d. Liam Packer 3-1 (Sudden Victory).

165: Cole Velardi (S) p. Hunter Cleaver 5:05

175: Connor Hille (P) d. Mitch Bivona 6-4.

190: Caleb Rivera (P) d. Collin French 5-3.

GROUP 4

NORTH HUNTERDON 33, JACKSON MEMORIAL 27

144: Evan Kinney (NH) md. Ryan Wolf 11-0.

150: Daniel DeLusant (NH) p. Christopher Wolf 2:57.

157: Cael Huxford (JM) tf. Brian Wilson 4:16 (17-2).

165: John Calamia (JM) d. Aaron Yarnell 5-1.

175: Luke Hamann (JM) p. Thales Gondim 3:11

190: Alex Uryniak (NH) p. Paul Novello :55.

215: Louis White (NH) d. Justin Krosnicki 4-3 (Ultimate tiebreaker).

HWT: Brendan Raley (NH) d. Ryan Fischer 2-1

106: Joseph Celentano (NH) md. Joseph Weikel 11-2.

113: Logan Wadle (NH) md Jay Seda 10-2.

120: Luis Espinoza (JM) d. Shane Wysocki 6-2.

126: Jonathan Espinoza (JM) md. Grant Goldan 18-4

132: John VanDoren (NH) d. Nikko Rucci 7-5 (Sudden Victory).

138: Lucas Lipari (JM) by forfeit.

NON-PUBLIC B

CAMDEN CATHOLIC 33, ST. JOHN VIANNEY 29

144:  Michael Craft (CC) d. John Saraiva  6-0

150: Cole Stangle (SJV) md. Jack Baylouny  17-8

157: Austin Craft (CC) md. Kevin McBride 15-5

165: Jasiah Queen (SJV) by forfeit.

175: Thomas Cleary (SJV) by forfeit.

190: Terry Terch (CC) d. Luca Minardo 4-3.

215: Michael Foley (SJV) p. Nicholas Dugan 4:57.

HWT: Tyler Bird (CC) p. Ryan Buchanan :54.

106: Matt Gould (SJV) d. Lazarus Joyce  6-2.

113: Dom Digiacomo (CC) p. Ryan Kearny  :42.

120: Anthony Knox (SJV) Sammy Spaulding 16-7.

126: Jackson Young (CC) d. Jake Zaltsman 3-0.

132: Kage Jones (CC) md. Patrick O'Keefe 14-4.

138: Wayne Rold (CC) md. Anthony Paulino 9-1.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Wrestling: Southern could have its best team ever