CBA’s Brock Oizerowitz wins his first SCT title by finding a way over a familiar foe

LAKEWOOD – In order to lock down his first Shore Conference Tournament title on Saturday, Christian Brothers Academy standout Brock Oizerowitz was going to have to beat a wrestler who knows him well as a former workout partner while also riding him out for the entire third period.

Done and done.

The star sophomore grinded out a 1-0 victory against Long Branch junior Tornick Kajaia in the 175-pound SCT final at Lakewood High School to add to his growing resume. It felt like the type of survive-and-advance victory you see in Atlantic City in March, when Oizerowitz is hoping to move several steps up the podium after taking eighth in the state at 175 as a freshman.

“He’s a pretty tough opponent, but I still got the job done,” Oizerowitz said. “Since we wrestled before, we knew what each other does.”

The top seed won every single weight class except for one on Saturday. Oizerowitz held up his end of the bargain by taking the title as the No. 1 seed at 175, enduring the closest bout of the finals outside of Point Boro’s Jake Clayton beating St. John Vianney’s Cole Stangle in the second tiebreaker at 165.

Oizerowitz was also CBA’s only champion in the tournament, although four of the Colts’ top wrestlers did not participate.

“Obviously this helps me a lot,” Oizerowitz said. “He’s one of the best wrestlers in the state as well, so it’s a good match to see where I’m at.”

Oizerowitz, who is the son of Toms River North football coach Dave Oizerowitz, is ranked No. 6 in the state at 175 by NJ Advance Media. Kajaia is unranked but showed he can compete with the best.

Oizerowitz and Kajaia are familiar opponents 

Kajaia and Oizerowitz previously trained together at Triumph Wrestling Club in Ocean, so they know each other’s styles well. Kajaia also closed the gap after Oizerowitz beat him 8-2 last year in a dual meet between the Colts and Green Wave.

“We both know each other’s best moves,” Kajaia said. “I know he has good underhooks, so I was trying to keep my elbows in and not let him get to any offense with the underhooks.”

After a scoreless first period, Oizerowitz chose defense in the second period and got the escape for the only point of the match. Kajaia twice nearly had a takedown on Oizerowitz on the edge of the mat, but Oizerowitz stayed balanced and fought them both off. The second one came in the waning seconds of the second period, preserving Oizerowitz’s 1-0 lead.

“We were on the edge the whole time,” Kajaia said. “I should’ve kept it more in the center. I was trying to get a stall, and I didn’t get one.”

Oizerowitz finishes strong

Clinging to a 1-0 lead when the opponent can choose defense to start the third period isn’t usually the most comfortable position for most wrestlers. However, Oizerowitz felt like he was in the driver’s seat after fighting off Kajaia’s late takedown attempt in the second period.

“Once I got on top I knew I was in a good spot to win the match,” he said. “I just put together a good ride and got the ‘W.’”

It almost got a little hairy in the last 10 seconds when it appeared Kajaia might have a headlock for a potential reversal or pin, but Oizerowitz fought right through it.

“It was a little scary at first, but I got back up on top,” he said.

“I was looking at the film after and I was like, ‘I should’ve stepped over,’” Kajaia said about the potential headlock. “It was a good match. Both of us are really good.”

Oizerowitz has also been sharpened by CBA’s relentless dual meet schedule, which is one of the toughest in the state.

“Not every team wrestles the same level of schedule we do, so coming into this, I felt pretty prepared to win,” he said.

He also has handled the pressure after bursting on the scene last season as the rare freshman in the upperweights to reach the podium in Atlantic City. He also won district and Region titles.

“Obviously winning your freshman year, you do have a target on your back when you place in the state,” he said. “It’s a pretty big thing. This entire year I’ve just been trying to get better.”

Will they wrestle again this season? 

This may only be round one this season between Oizerowitz and Kajaia because CBA and Long Branch are both in Region 6. If Kajaia, who made it to the second round of wrestlebacks in Atlantic City last season, wants to win his first Region title, he most likely will have to go through Oizerowitz.

“I’m right there with him,” Kajaia said. “I feel like I dominated neutral the whole time, it was just he had me stuck on bottom. So that’s one thing to work on that I have to get better at.

“I know I’m going to see him at Regions, and I know what I have to work on, so I’m going to beat him when it matters.”

Scott Stump is a freelance reporter, newsletter writer and editor who first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

You can contact Scott at [email protected]