Next Best Thing: Amato shakes off semifinal loss to place third; 49 total state medalists for the Shore

ATLANTIC CITY — At first, Sonny Amato wanted to quit. The anguish of losing in the state semifinals was too heavy. If he wasn’t a state champion, did it really matter what place he finished?

The Rumson-Fair Haven sophomore sulked in the traditional spot inside Boardwalk Hall, sitting on the cold, hard floor in front of a loading dock door that has absorbed more punches than a heavyweight boxer and watched countless heartbroken kids wonder where it all went wrong. But as the raw emotions wore off, he realized that was not the path he wanted to go down.

A common phrase at the state tournament is “get the next best thing”, a rallying cry for everyone fighting to stay alive in the wrestlebacks, from those emptying the tank for one last shot at a state medal to those trying to shake off the disappointment of no longer being in the running for a state title. As a returning state champion, Amato fell into the latter category, a crossroads where it can quickly go from bad to worse if one can’t match the intensity of an opponent who has been clawing his way back since Friday morning. Nobody wants to experience the dreaded “semis slide”.

So Amato dusted himself off and got back to work, winning his next two bouts without allowing a single point to place third in the state at 144 pounds and conclude an otherwise great season.

“Not going to lie, I was in a real deep mental state (Friday) night. I hardly got any sleep and I didn’t think I was going to wrestle today like I did,” Amato said. “But I honestly feel better that I wrestled. My dad even said, you’ll be happier taking third than forfeiting out and taking sixth.”

“He brushed it off and got back to work and came back to get the next best thing, and that’s what a lot of these (college) programs are looking for,” said Rumson-Fair Haven head coach Eleazar DeLuca, who was a 2018 NCAA qualifier for Rutgers. “They don’t want to see a kid lose and drop out of the bracket or lose and take sixth. They want to see them come back. He showed a lot of character doing so, and I’m proud of him for that.”

In the 144-pound state semifinals, Amato suffered a 3-2 loss to Princeton’s Blase Mele, whom he had defeated 6-3 in the District 18 final and by 11-3 major decision in the Region 5 final. Mele used a takedown in the second period to go up 3-0 and played defense the rest of the way to hold on for the one-point win. Mele then defeated Pope John’s Donny Almeyda, 7-1, to become Princeton’s first boys state champion.

“You can’t let the guy get on your leg,” DeLuca said. “(Mele) had a gameplan to slow Sonny down and keep it close.”

“I was probably up until 1 or 2 in the morning watching that match over and over again, I was even shadow wrestling in my stance,” Amato said. “There are so many things I could have done differently, but I can’t take it back.”

In the wrestlebacks, Amato won by 8-0 major decision over St. John Vianney’s Jake Zaltsman to advance to the third-place bout and closed out his tournament with a 6-0 decision over St. Augustine’s Anthony Depaul. He stood on the medal stand disappointed, but proud of his reaction to a devastating loss.

“He has a good mind on him,” DeLuca said. “He knows what he needs to do, even in a time like this where it’s real hard and it sucks in the moment. You get knocked down, you get back up, and this is going to leave him hungry.”

“Last year I got a little too comfortable at the top, as you can see,” Amato said. “That’s the biggest weakness of an athlete, you get comfortable at the top and you fall off. I can only learn from his mistake and get better.”

 

State finalists valiant in defeat

The Shore Conference had a total of 11 state finalists between boys and girls with five state champions and seven runners-up.

Lacey sophomore Killian Coluccio dropped a tough 4-3 decision to St. Joseph Regional freshman JoJo Burke in the 106-pound state final. Burke scored a takedown late in the first period to take a 3-0 lead and led 3-1 heading into the third period. His advantage increased to 4-1 with an escape, but Coluccio pushed the pace and, after forcing a stalling warning in the second period, forced two more to get two points and cut the lead to 4-3 in the final 36 seconds. He pressured Burke as the crowd voiced its displeasure at the lack of action, but time ran out before Coluccio could score a takedown or force another stalling call.

In his first season at Lacey after transferring from CBA, Coluccio went 32-2 with District 26 and Region 7 titles. His only two losses of the season came to Burke. He is a two-time state medalist after finishing third in the state at 106 as a freshman.

CBA senior AJ Falcone finished second at 165, losing by 12-3 major decision to Delbarton senior Alessio Perentin, who secured his third straight state title to complete one of the best careers in Green Wave history. Falcone had an excellent tournament to earn his first state medal. He won by technical fall in his first two bouts, outlasted St. Joseph Metuchen’s Tyler Whitford 3-2 in ultimate tiebreaker in the quarterfinals, and used a takedown with seven seconds left to defeat Point Boro sophomore Jake Clayton, 4-1, in the semifinals. Falcone finished his career with 102 victories, three district titles, and two region championships. He will wrestle collegiately at Sacred Heart.

On the girls’ side, Jackson Memorial’s Madison Rucci, Howell’s Kylie Gudewitz, Middletown South’s Thea Rowland, and Central’s Jade Hahn each placed second.

Gudewitz was last season’s 114-pound state champion and was involved in the most entertaining bout of the finals versus High Point’s Elle Changaris. The Wildcats freshman jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first period and was up 7-0 heading to the third. She was ahead 14-0 early in the third when Gudewitz hit a reversal and put Changaris to her back. She avoided being pinned with an epic bridge, but the fireworks were far from over. The two combined for 26 points in the third period, and when the buzzer sounded Changaris had held on for a wild 19-14 victory and the state championship. Gudewitz is a three-time state top-three finisher.

It was state champion vs. state champion at 152 pounds with Rowland, last season’s 145-pound state champion, facing High Point sophomore Ella Paolillo, last season’s 138-pound champion who is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 152 pounds by FloWrestling. Paolillo took a 3-1 lead into the second period where she won by fall at the 3:17 mark. Rowland finished her career with three state top-four finishes.

At 100 pounds, Rucci lost by 11-5 decision to Ridgewood junior Francesca Gusfa. Rucci led 3-0 after the first period but Gusfa turned on the jets in the third to score all 11 of her points. She is ranked No. 12 in the country by FloWrestling. Rucci, a junior, is a two-time state medalist who was also fifth in the state at 107 pounds last season.

Hahn earned her second state silver medal as the runner-up at 185 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Hahn took a 2-0 lead with a reversal in the second period. After riding out Gateway/Woodbury’s Shaelie Young for the remaining 1:24 of the second period, she looked to do the same to close out the state title. Young, however, turned the tables when she reversed Hahn to her back and pinned her 41 seconds into the third period.

 

CBA’s Oizerowitz and Kenny, Howell’s Hodgins place third

The 175-pound bracket had two heavy favorites to reach the final, St. Joseph Regional’s Ryan Burton and Cranford’s Jordan Chapman, both of whom are nationally ranked. It played out how many thought with Burton, a Virginia Tech recruit, winning by 20-6 major decision over Chapman, a Rutgers signee, to win his second state title.

Placing third in the bracket should be considered one heck of an accomplishment, and that distinction goes to Christian Brothers Academy sophomore Brock Oizerowitz.

Oizerowitz reached the semifinals where he – like Burton’s three previous opponents – lost by technical fall. He bounced back with an impressive 10-3 decision over Kittatinny senior Ethan Dalling, who had won three of his four bouts with bonus points, in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place bout, Oizerowitz used a pair of tilts in the second period to build an 8-0 lead on his way to an 8-2 decision over Camden Catholic’s Jaden Simpson.

“I thought I wrestled up to my standards,” Oizerowitz said. “I knew even if I didn’t win the semifinal I wanted to come in third, which is the next best thing.”

Oizerowitz is now a two-time state medalist. He finished eighth at 175 as a freshman.

Also placing third were CBA freshman Sean Kenny at 106 pounds and Howell junior Tanner Hodgins at 190.

Kenny lost to Lacey sophomore Killian Coluccio, 5-0, in the semifinals but rebounded with a first-period pin of Howell’s Luke Johnson before a hard-fought 4-2 win over Brick Memorial’s Sonny DiMatteo in the third-place bout.

Hodgins avenged his only loss of the tournament to place third in a deep 190-pound weight class. He dropped a 7-4 decision to Delbarton’s Carl Betz in the quarterfinals but blitzed through the wrestlebacks with technical fall victories over Mount Olive’s Tyler Cumming and Westfield’s Jake Zemsky. He then won by injury default over St. Joseph’s Caleb Jackson in the wrestleback semifinals.

In the rematch with Betz in the third-place bout, Hodgins fell behind 3-1 after the first period but rode out Betz the entire second period and forced two stall calls to pick up a point. He added an escape and a takedown in the third period to win 6-4.

 

Lynch caps career with pin to place fifth

The storybook ending would have been a state title, but winning his final high school match with his father in his corner was a memorable experience for Toms River East senior James Lynch.

Lynch won by fall over Brick Memorial’s Ben Szuba to place fifth in the state at heavyweight, making him a two-time state medalist.

“To have my dad in the corner and to cap off the pinnacle of four years of hard work and putting everything into this sport night and day; it wasn’t easy at times but I’m able to look back and be proud of what I did this season,” Lynch said.

Lynch reached the quarterfinals where he lost 10-3 to Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra, who ended up placing third. He clinched his second state medal with a 17-6 major decision over Pompton Lakes’ Mason Brancato. He then won by fall over West Morris’s Thomas Borgia before a loss to Bergen Catholic’s Benji Shue in the wrestleback semifinals. He then faced Szuba for the third time this season and completed his sweep of the season series.

After his hand was raised, he went right to his corner and hugged his father James, and the two shared a special moment on the floor of Boardwalk Hall. The elder Lynch has been a coach with the Toms River Wrestling Club for many years and coached his son since he got his start in the sport.

“He started choking up a little bit and I almost started choking up,” Lynch said. “He’s been with me the whole ride, from 3 years old until now, the ups and downs, he’s seen everything. I’m happy he went through this journey with me and that he was here for this last ride. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Lynch slowly improved every year until he blossomed into one of the best heavyweights in New Jersey. He went 1-2 at regions his freshman year at 190 but responded the next season to reach the third round of wrestlebacks at the state tournament at 215 pounds. He earned his first state medal last season with a seventh-place finish at heavyweight and placed two spots higher this year.

“This sport is the perfect representation of life. Nothing is given, everything is earned,” Lynch said. “I’ve had to earn everything in this sport, nothing came easy. It’s all about putting your head down and toughing it out. The sun always comes up the next day, you just have to keep your chin up.”

 

Reyes becomes Holmdel’s first two-time state medalist

Holmdel is a program on the rise, and junior Alex Reyes is leading the way.

Reyes made school history on Saturday by becoming the Hornets’ first two-time state medalist with his fifth-place finish at 190 pounds, which is also the highest state tournament finish in program history.

“I feel like I improved a lot from last year and all the hard work paid off,” Reyes said. “I didn’t finish as high as I wanted to and there’s one more year for that, but I felt I wrestled really well.”

Seeded seventh, Reyes won by fall twice on Thursday night to reach the quarterfinals where he dropped a 10-5 decision to the eventual state runner-up, Hanover Park senior Vincenzo LaValle. In the blood round, Reyes locked up another state medal with a third-period pin of Middle Township’s Maximus Adelizzi. He then won 4-0 over Don Bosco Prep’s Nevin Mattesich before dropping a 6-3 decision to Delbarton’s Carl Betz in the consolation semifinals. He placed fifth when St. Joseph Regional’s Kaleb Jackson had to medically forfeit because of an injury sustained in his previous bout.

It was a deep weight class, especially within the Shore Conference where Brick Memorial senior Harvey Ludington won his third state championship and Howell sophomore Tanner Hodgins placed third for his second state medal.

“Coming in, I felt like the underdog but I never feel like I’m going to lose to anybody. The goal was to win a state title,” Reyes said. “It’s such a deep weight with many good competitors, so I feel like I battled pretty well.”

In 2018, Scott DuPont became Holmdel’s first state medalist when he finished sixth at 152 pounds. Five years later, Reyes debuted as a freshman 175-pounder and won a district title, finished second in the region, and reached the fourth round of wrestlebacks in Atlantic City. Last season he became the program’s first Shore Conference Tournament champion, won district and region titles, and placed seventh in the state at 190 pounds. He continued his record-breaking trajectory this season by joining John Mullan as the only three-time district champs in program history and then becoming the Hornets’ first two-time region champion. He also helped Holmdel win its first district team title since 1982. He will enter his senior season with 119 career wins, 27 shy of breaking DuPont’s program record of 146.

“I stayed public and decided I wanted to show the younger generation that this is all possible at your hometown school,” Reyes said. “You can go as far as you want at Holmdel. I want to show guys who look up to me that they could do this, too.”

 

DeAngelo, Szuba earn first state medals

There are countless storylines at the NJSIAA Wrestling Championships, but none are more gripping than a senior trying to earn a state medal in his final attempt. For Point Boro senior Joey DeAngelo, he made his last ride a memorable one.

After losing in the fourth round of wrestlebacks and finishing one victory shy of a state medal each of the past two seasons, DeAngelo finally broke through with an eighth-place finish at 126 pounds.

“This moment means a lot to me,” DeAngelo said Friday night after winning by technical fall over Jackson Liberty’s Tucker Pazinko to clinch a state medal. “The past two years have been heartbreaking in the blood round. Learning from those two times and getting the medal means so much to me.”

DeAngelo had a long road ahead of him after losing in Thursday night’s pre-quarterfinal round. But with a state medal in his sights, he was on the warpath in the wrestlebacks beginning Friday morning. He won by 16-5 major decision over Lacey’s Aidan Flynn in the second round, then won by 18-2 technical fall over DePaul’s Delvan Rotte to get back to the blood round. It was there he faced Pazinko, a wrestler he defeated in both the District 23 and Region 6 final. He hit a Peterson Roll off a scramble early to take a 5-0 lead and was off the races, piling up points on his way to 17-2 technical fall in 5:11. The came a celebration four years in the making.

“I just wanted to come down here and score points and have fun,” DeAngelo said. “I took the pressure off myself and wrestled how I wrestle every day, and the result came.”

Brick Memorial senior Ben Szuba was in a similar spot having reached the state tournament as a sophomore in his first year as a starter and losing in the blood round last season at 215. This year at heavyweight, he advanced to the quarterfinals where he suffered a 4-0 defeat to Bergen Catholic’s Benji Shue, who ended up placing fourth. Back to the blood round he went with St. Peter’s Prep’s Connor Reynolds standing between him and a place on the medal stand.

After a scoreless first period, Reynolds chose defense. Szuba had him right where he wanted him.

The 6-foot-8 Mustang got to his tilt and turned Reynolds for four nearfall points to take a 4-0 lead. He rode Reynolds out the rest of the period, took top in the third, and rode him for the entire two minutes to lock up a state medal.

“It was big getting that tilt on him,” Szuba said. “I know I can turn anybody, I just had to weather the storm and ultimately I’m going to get where I need to be on top.”

When the buzzer sounded, Szuba hugged his cornermen, his two older brothers, Justin and David. Justin was a standout football player at Brick Memorial and Monmouth University who is now a Mustangs’ assistant coach. David was the 2021 NJSIAA heavyweight state champion and is currently taking a redshirt year as the heavyweight at Rider University.

“Both of my brothers are my biggest inspirations,” Szuba said. “Seeing my brother win a state title his senior year, seeing my brother Justin compete in football, seeing the type of people they are and who they’ve become; most people say they don’t want to be in their brothers’ shadow, but I enjoy it. They’re God-fearing men who live a good life and do great things. I’m so grateful for it.”

 

Duque pins his way to 5th in the state

As the No. 17 seed at 126 pounds, Rumson-Fair Haven junior Joaquin Duque had a brutal path, especially considering the top seed at the weight was eventual four-time state champion Anthony Knox.

Duque started his tournament with a first-round pin before losing to Knox via technical fall. Then, he just kept pinning people.

Duque ripped off four straight pins in the wrestlebacks, including falls over returning state medalists Mikey Bautista (St. Joseph Regional, 4th at 120) and Jaden Perez (Delaware Valley, 5th at 126). After losing by technical fall to Washington Township’s Colton Hagerty in the consolation semifinals, he pinned St. Peter’s Prep’s Sal Borrometi to place fifth. Borrometi was third in the state two years ago. Duque’s six pins are believed to have tied a state tournament record.

“Joaquin Duque was really hungry and worked his butt off to get where he is,” DeLuca said. “He had an opportunity and he seized it.”

 

Complete list of state medalists from the Shore Conference

106

2nd: Killian Coluccio, So., Lacey

3rd: Sean Kenny, Fr., CBA

4th: Sonny DiMatteo, So., Brick Memorial

6th: Luke Johnston, So., Howell

7th: Cade Collins, Fr., Southern

 

113

4th: Anthony Mason, Jr., Southern

 

120

CHAMP: Paul Kenny, So., CBA

4th: Ricky DeLorenzo, So., Toms River East

 

126

CHAMP: Anthony Knox, Sr., St. John Vianney

5th: Joaquin Duque, Jr., Rumson-Fair Haven

8th: Joey DeAngelo, Sr., Point Boro

 

132

5th: Bobby Duffy, Jr., CBA

6th: Patrick O’Keefe, Sr., St. John Vianney

 

138

6th: Scottie Sari, Sr., Southern

8th: Armani McCann, Jr., Jackson Liberty

 

144

3rd: Sonny Amato, So., Rumson-Fair Haven

5th: Jake Zaltsman, Sr., St. John Vianney

 

150

5th: Dezmond Lenaghan, Sr., St. John Vianney

 

157

CHAMP: Wyatt Stout, Sr., Southern

7th: Ryan Gavrish, So., St. John Vianney

 

165

2nd: AJ Falcone, Sr., CBA

4th: Jake Clayton, So., Point Boro

6th: Cole Stangle, Sr., St. John Vianney

7th: Jordan Ayyash, Sr., Jackson Liberty

 

175

3rd: Brock Oizerowitz, So., CBA

 

190

CHAMP: Harvey Ludington, Sr., Brick Memorial

3rd: Tanner Hodgins, So., Howell

5th: Alex Reyes, Jr., Holmdel

 

215

6th: Tyler Palumbo, Jr., CBA

 

HWT

CHAMP: Rocco Dellagatta, Sr., St. John Vianney

5th: James Lynch, Sr., Toms River East

6th: Ben Szuba, Sr., Brick Memorial

 

Girls State Medalists

100

2nd: Madison Rucci, Jr., Jackson Memorial

4th: Nola Allen, Jr., Marlboro – first girls state medalist in school history

8th: Elizabeth Avila, Sr., Brick

 

107

3rd: Ava Bonilla, Jr., Jackson Memorial

 

114

2nd: Kylie Gudewitz, Jr., Howell

5th: Marlowe Donato, Jr., Jackson Memorial

 

120

8th: Jada Figueroa, So., Jackson Memorial

 

126

4th: Briana Dugo, Jr., Jackson Memorial

 

145

5th: Charlize Schlam, Jr., Point Boro – highest state medal in girls program history

8th: Natalia Rusin, Jr., Middletown South

 

152

2nd: Thea Rowland, Sr., Middletown South

8th: Eliza Toth, So., Point Boro

 

165

3rd: Liliana Alicea, Jr., Central

8th: Emily Breen, Sr., Point Boro

 

185

2nd: Jade Hahn, Jr., Central

3rd: Daniela Palacios, Sr., Lakewood

 

235

4th: Giovanna Farrell-Byers, Jr., Howell