Michael Foley, Cole Stangle spark St. John Vianney SCT wrestling win over Brick Memorial

BRICK - Michael Foley was not totally comfortable being in the spot he was in Thursday night at Brick Memorial High School.

Foley, a junior 190-pounder for St. John Vianney, was wrestling Brick Memorial 190-pounder Cory Martin at 215 pounds with the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal-round match between the two teams hanging in the balance.

St. John Vianney was up by four points with three bouts remaining. Brick Memorial was a solid favorite at heavyweight and St. John Vianney was heavily favored at 106.

"It's nice having everybody like look at you like it's on you,'' Foley said. "But, at the end of the day like if you lose, your letting down your teammates.''

Foley, a two-time region qualifier, did not let his teammates down. He recorded a dominant 19-4 technical fall win to pretty much lock up St. John Vianney's 40-31 win that enabled it to move into the SCT semifinals for the first time.

St. John Vianney (12-2), the No. 5 seed, will wrestle No. 1 seed Christian Brothers Academy (12-2) Monday at 5 p.m. at Middletown South in the semifinal. It is believed to be St. John Vianney's first appearance in the semifinal.

Howell (16-3), the No. 3 seed, will wrestle No. 2 seed Middletown South (11-3) in the other semifinal at the same time at Middletown South. The championship match will be Monday at 7 p.m.

St. John Vianney was able to get the matchup it wanted with Foley because it won the pre-match flip. That enabled it to forfeit to Brick Memorial's standout freshman Harvey Ludington, who was bumping up to 190, and have Foley wrestle Martin.

"Me personally, I thought that was going to happen so I was preparing for either one of them (Ludington or Martin).''

Foley built an 8-0 lead with two sets of three back points in the first period. He got another takedown in the seocnd period and two more in the third, with the final one coming with eight-tenths of a second remaining. The technical fall made it 34-25 headed into the final two bouts.

"Once I got the major, I worked for the tech (technical fall) to help the team out,'' Foley said.

St. John Vianney then was able to forfeit to Brick Memorial at heavyweight, which made it 34-31. Talented freshman Patrick O'Keefe clinched the win with a pin.

''This is my first year being on a team that is this good,'' Foley said. "It's just awesome.''

The Lancers had bonus points in seven of the eight bout they won.

Highly-heralded freshman Anthony Knox (113), two-time state qualifier and Elizabeth transfer Jasiah Cleary also pined. Three-time state qualifier Nico Diaz (138) and Holmdel transfer and two-time region qualifier Thomas Cleary (165) also won by technical fall and Joe Giordano (126) majored Lucas Torre in a matchup of 2020 state qualifiers.

The flip helped St. John Vianney get the matchups it wanted at 132 and 138 as it was able to bump Diaz up to 138 and away from returning state champion Anthony Santaniello.

However, St. John Vianney was able to thwart a Brick Memorial move when freshman Cole Stangle rallied from a one-point deficit after two periods to defeat two-time region top six finisher Braden Scott 12-6 at 144. Brick Memorial had bumped Scott up to 144 and away from Diaz.

Stangle, who was on his back at the end of the second period, recorded a reversal and five back points in the third period.

"Honestly, I'm comfortable on the mat,'' said Stangle, who recorded eight back points in the bout and was reversed twice. "I've been working real hard with my coaches and everybody who helps me. We've been working on top, bottom, everywhere where I need help. All the hours I've put in and all the mistakes we've corrected have finally paid off. ''

Nothing that transpired on the mat Thursday night was a surprise to Brick Memorial head coach Mike Kiley, especially after his team did not win the flip and get the matchups it needed at 132 and 138 and 190 and 215.

"They're a tough team,'' Kiley said. "They put up bonus (bonus points). They've got a lot of studs in their lineup and they made the right moves up top. That's a good win for them.''

The St. John Vianney-CBA semifinal will be a fascinating one because both teams are talented throughout the lineup. It could also be the first of two meetings between the two. They could also meet in the NJSIAA nonpublic South A playoffs.

"CBA's a real tough team,'' Stangle said. "They have good kids on their team, but we have good kids, too. We're not afraid to bang just as hard as they will. What they bring to us, we'll bring back to the table. I think it's going to be a good match. If we keep working hard, we'll be there. Don't count us out.''

St. John Vianney 40, Brick Memorial 31

113: Anthony Knox (SJV) p. Kenneth Melillo 1:17

120: Evan Tallmadge (BM) d. Jake Zaltsman 8-3

126: Joe Giordano (SJV) md. Lucas Torre 8-0

132: Anthony Santaniello (BM) p. Dom Terracciano 1:23

138: Nico Diaz (SJV) tf. Jack Torre 4:01 (22-7).

144: Cole Stangle (SJV) d. Braden Scott 12-6

150: Ryan Smith (BM) md. Kevin McBride 13-3

157: Jasiah Queen (SJV) p. Josh James 2:16

165: Thomas Cleary (SJV) tf. Dawson Renna 4:55 (16-1)

175: Mike Angrosina (BM) p. Ryan Cawley 2:18

190: Harvey Ludington (BM) by forfeit

215: Michael Foley (SJV) tf.Cory Martin 5:59 (19-4)

HWT: Sam Azzaretti (BM) by forfeit

106: Patrick O'Keefe (SJV) p. Gavin Martin 1:20

IN THE OTHER SCT QUARTERFINALS:

CBA 57, Lacey 15: Vincent Principe (113) and Alex Nini (120), the state eighth-place finisher at 113 last year, recorded pins in the first two bouts and the Colts jumped out to a 45-0 lead after nine bouts on their way to the win over the Lions.

Two-time state qualifier Zander Silva (157), Nick Stump (165), Robert Canterino (215) and Tyler Venet (106) pinned for CBA.

Two-time state seventh-place finisher Garrett Totten, Julian George (138), who was eighth in the state at 132 last year, and 2020 region champion Tyler Barrett all won by technical fall.

Howell 44, Raritan 18: A 3-2 win by Sawyer Ostroff at 126 pounds over Ryan Mansueto followed by a pin by Kieran Bruen at 132 over Braden Kmak gave Howell a 20-0 lead after four bouts and it went on to the win over the Rockets.

Returning state champion Hunter Mays (165), Ian Soutar (175) pinned and Nick Acque (157) won by technical fall for Howell.

Raritan's Zach Reilley (138), a returning region qualifier, defeated returning state qualifier Giovanni Scafidi 3-1.

Middletown South 43, Jackson Memorial 17: A major decision by Ryan Madden (113), a 14-8 win by Kaden King (120), a technical fall by two-time state top five finisher Jack Zaleski (126) and a 9-3 win by Alec Holland (132) enabled the Eagles to jump out to a 15-0 lead after four bouts and they went on to defeat the Jaguars. It is believed to Middletown South's first appearance in the semifinal.

Two-time state qualifier David Hussey (144), Jack Reiter (175) and Matt Cody (215) pinned for Middletown South.

The Middletown South-Howell semifinal will be a rematch. The Eagles defeated Howell 31-27 on Jan. 18 at Howell.

IN A REGULAR SEASON MATCH:

Point Pleasant Beach 39, Shore 27: A 4-3 win by Reid Niebling at 215 pounds started an 18-3 run by the Garnet Gulls over the final five bouts as they defeated the Blue Devils to clinch the Shore Conference Class B Central championship for the third straight season. It is the 24th divisional title in Point Beach's history.

A 3-1 win in sudden victory by Luke DeBenedett at 113 made it 33-27 Point Beach and a pin by P.J. Niehe (120) in the final bout clinched it.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Wrestling: Michael Foley comes up big for St. John Vianney