Sons of Liberty: McCann, Ayyash, Pazinko give Jackson Liberty 3 state quarterfinalists to headline day one of NJSIAA Wrestling Championships
ATLANTIC CITY — Armani McCann would rather not have his feet to the fire with time winding down, but he’s more than comfortable pulling out a dramatic win if he has to. He did it twice on the biggest stage Thursday evening.
The Jackson Liberty junior advanced to the 138-pound NJSIAA state quarterfinals at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall with two exhilarating comeback victories, putting himself on the cusp of a coveted state medal. Seeded 11th, McCann was trailing Ridge’s Gavin Duran, the No. 6 seed, 10-7, with just over a minute remaining in the third period of their pre-quarterfinal bout when he hit a reversal and put Duran to his back. The 6-point move gave McCann a 13-10 victory and a spot in Friday morning’s quarterfinals.
“It was kinda just a trip/throw,” McCann said. “I’m down in almost every match, but that’s my style to come back and fight hard, and I don’t stop until that six minutes is done.”
McCann had to pull out an even tighter win in the preliminary round when he used a takedown with one second left for a 7-5 win over St. John Vianney junior Abraham Adu-Amoako.
“If it happens, I’m ready for it,” McCann said. “I’m comfortable.”
Jackson Liberty junior Armani McCann sprints off the mat after a dramatic 13-10 victory in the NJSIAA 138-pound state quarterfinals. (Bob Badders | rpbphotography.com)
McCann will face St. Joseph Regional senior Adrian DeJesus in the quarterfinals. DeJesus, the No. 3 seed, is a two-time state champion and a three-time top-three finisher. He was the state champ at 132 pounds last season. A win there would be seismic and guarantee a top-6 finish, while a loss would mean he has to win two bouts in the wrestleback rounds to clinch a spot on the medal stand.
It will be McCann’s toughest match to date, but considering his season was in doubt two months ago, he’s not overthinking anything. McCann missed the final five weeks of the team portion of the season with a broken and dislocated wrist. He was cleared in time for the individual postseason and alleviated any fears of re-injury or rust when he dominated the District 23 Tournament and then won his first Region 6 title. Now he’s back in Atlantic City for the second time where his mentality suits the bright lights of Boardwalk Hall.
“Last year was my first time down here and I was cutting 12 pounds every night in the hotel (to make 120),” McCann said. “That was my biggest downfall. Now I’m not cutting a single pound. I just have to let it fly. I didn’t come this far just to come this far.”
“In the purest sense of the word, he’s a wrestler,” Jackson Liberty head coach Gianni Ghione said. “All he wants to do is scrap and score 100 points, and he has the perfect mentality for it. He has the mindset where the only thing that matters is the next point.”
McCann’s win was part of a fantastic day one for Jackson Liberty, which advanced three wrestlers to the quarterfinals with junior Tucker Pazinko at 126 and senior Jordan Ayyash at 165 also winning both their bouts.
Pazinko, the No. 12 seed, won by fall over Delbarton’s Braden Jones in the preliminary round and pinned 28 seed Andrew Bonita of Don Bosco Prep in the pre-quarterfinals. Bonita had upset No. 5 seed and former state third-place finisher Sal Borrometi (St. Peter’s Prep) in the first round. Pazinko will face the No. 4 seed, Washington Township junior Colton Hagerty, in the quarterfinals. Hagerty was seventh in the state at 113 last season.
Part of a deep Shore Conference contingent at 165, Ayyash, also seeded 11th, scored the only offensive points of the bout with a takedown in the first and another in the third for a 7-3 win over Governor Livingston’s Cristian Gioia, the No. 6 seed, in their pre-quarterfinal bout. Ayyash gets a rematch with Point Boro sophomore Jake Clayton, a returning state eighth-place finisher who defeated him 6-2 in the District 23 final.
“What an incredible day for these kids, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Ghione said. “They are 11 and 12 seeds but anyone who knows these kids knows that’s not what they are. We wrestle with them every day and I tell them they have to believe how good they are. They’re really good and dedicated and hard-working.”
Another marquee win came at 120 pounds where Toms River East sophomore Ricky DeLorenzo II avenged a pair of losses to St. John Vianney junior two-time state medalist Matt Gould with a 5-3 victory in the pre-quarterfinals. DeLorenzo scored a takedown in the first period and held off a late charge by Gould to reach the quarterfinals where he will face Christian Brothers Academy sophomore Paul Kenny, the No. 1 seed.
Gould defeated DeLorenzo 4-1 in both the Shore Conference Tournament final and the Region 7 semifinals with both winning takedowns occurring in the final minute of the match.
Bob Badders | rpbphotography.com
“I wanted to get this one back badly, “DeLorenzo said. “I knew he wanted to wait for the end of the match to score so I just wanted to score as soon as possible. I was more aggressive.”
Gould nearly had a go-ahead takedown in the closing seconds but DeLorenzo was able to hold him off with a whizzer as they went out of bounds with a handful of seconds left.
“I felt the dump and my coach said if I feel that just keep the whizzer in,” DeLorenzo said. “I didn’t think he got (the takedown). He almost got the leg in but I was still whizzering.”
A total of 31 Shore Conference wrestlers reached the quarterfinal round, led by returning state champions Anthony Knox (St. John Vianney, 126), Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven, 144), Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial, 190), and Rocco Dellagatta (St. John Vianney, Hwt.). Outside of the Jackson Liberty trio and DeLorenzo, the seeds held for the rest of the Shore Conference’s wrestlers.
Marquee quarterfinal matchups include:
-Brick Memorial’s Sonny DiMatteo vs. Howell’s Luke Johnston at 106
-St. John Vianney’s Patrick O’Keefe vs. St. Joseph Regional’s Vincent Paino at 132
-Jake Zaltsman vs. Pope John’s Donny Almeyda at 144
-Southern’s Wyatt Stout vs. St. John Vianney’s Ryan Gavrish at 157
-St. John Vianney’s Cole Stangle vs. Don Bosco Prep’s Santino Rodriguez at 165
-CBA’s Brock Oizerowitz vs. St. Peter’s Prep’s Anthony Verdi at 175
-Howell’s Tanner Hodgins vs. Delbarton’s Carl Betz at 190
-Holmdel’s Alex Reyes vs. Hanover Park’s Vincenzo LaValle at 190
-Toms River East’s James Lynch vs. Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra at heavyweight
-Brick Memorial’s Ben Szuba vs. Bergen Catholic’s Benji Shue at heavyweight.
Nine Shore Conference girls reach state semifinals
Defending state champions Kylie Gudewitz of Howell and Thea Rowland of Middletown South led a group of nine Shore Conference girls who reached the state semifinals and clinched a state medal on Thursday afternoon.
Gudewitz, a junior, had a bye in the first round and won by 7-0 decision over Paulsboro’s Sheyna Cruz in the 114-pound quarterfinals. Rowland also had a bye in the first round before pinning Gloucester City’s Catalina Santiago in the 152-pound quarterfinals.
Joining them in the semifinals are Jackson Memorial’s Madison Rucci and Marlboro’s Nola Allen at 100, Jackson Memorial’s Ava Bonilla at 107, Jackson Memorial’s Marlowe Donato at 114, Point Boro’s Charlize Schlam at 145, and Central’s Jade Hahn and Lakewood’s Daniela Palacios at 185.
Schlam, the No. 7 seed, won 5-3 over Freehold Township two-time state medalist Rosabella Kearns to avenge three prior defeats to her this season. Kearns suffered an injury and battled through the match, but had to medically forfeit her wrestleback bout, ending her tournament.
Tournament notes
Ludington became Brick Memorial’s all-time wins leader with his victory in the pre-quarterfinals. The two-time state champ and University of Iowa signee is now up to 151 wins, passing the former record of 149 set by state champ and NCAA 3rd-place finisher Steve Santos (Columbia) in 2009.
Szuba hit 100 career wins with a technical fall over Rumson-Fair Haven’s Matt Smith and CBA’s AJ Falcone reached 100 career wins with a technical fall over West Deptford’s Caleb Jackson.
NJSIAA boys state quarterfinalists by school
CBA (6)
St. John Vianney (6)
Brick Memorial (3)
Jackson Liberty (3)
Southern (3)
Howell (2)
Rumson-Fair Haven (2)
Toms River East (2)
Holmdel (1)
Lacey (1)
Point Boro (1)
Raritan (1)
