By Jeff Appelblatt
The start of the season was disappointing for Freehold High School wrestling coach Matthew Shepherd, but it wasn’t because of anything he or his team could control.
“We had our first tournament canceled,” the 11-year coach said. “We [were to] open up at Princeton [High School], and they canceled the tournament.”
Shepherd was prepared for his team to begin the season there Dec. 17. Instead, he first got to see his wrestlers in action Dec. 21 against Christian Brothers Academy (CBA).
“Right out of the gate, we get a quality program like CBA. It’ll be a good test,” Freehold’s coach said a few hours before the season opener. “Last year, they were outstanding. They graduated a bunch. But they’re still good.”
The Colonials had trouble on the mats last year, only winning three of 21 meets.
“Last year, we struggled. We struggled with numbers. We forfeited two weights every match. Going into a bout [down], 12-0, is a difficult thing to do,” Shepherd said.
Starting this year against the defending Shore Conference champions could have been intimidating, but Freehold’s coach was eager for it to happen.
“We improved throughout [last] year. We had a really good offseason to work. I’m very excited,” Shepherd said. “It’s an exciting time.”
Freehold kept it close with CBA, but when all the numbers were added up, the Colts pulled out the win, 32-31. CBA’s wrestlers won eight matches, while Freehold won six.
Nevertheless, Shepherd — once a wrestler at St. John Vianney High School prior to his time on the mats with Rutgers University — has got to be holding his head high. His team kept the competition neck-and-neck with one of last year’s best.
The Colonials got the majority of their points from Nico Messina’s win in less than 80 seconds, John Downey’s win in less than two minutes and Javier Cuatlatl’s two-and-a-half minute victory.
“I have one returning wrestler that qualified in the regions [last year]. That’s John Downey at 182 [pounds],” Shepherd said before the first bout. “[And] I’m looking for a nice year out of Nico Messina.”
Noah Weiss, Reid Osolin and Tony Dushku also got wins against CBA.
“At 126, Tony Dushku had a really good offseason,” the coach said about the sophomore who went 0-5 last year.
A few CBA wrestlers defeated some of the top picks Shepherd had for this year’s squad, starting with Sean Neely. The senior lost an 8-3 decision to Sam LaCorte from CBA. But that likely doesn’t change the thoughts on Neely by the Colonials’ coach.
“At 132 [pounds], he’s one of our leaders,” Shepherd said. “He was a 20-win guy last year. I think that he’s due for a breakout year.”
Shepherd also expects Dominic Theodosatos and Liam Tibbett to have strong seasons, even with their losses to the Colts.
“[Theodosatos] is a senior at 145 [pounds]. I think he’s going to have a pretty big year,” Freehold’s coach said, “Liam Tibbett is at 182 [or] 195 [or] around there.”
With Neely, Messina, Downey, Dushku, Theodosatos and Tibbett leading the way, Shepherd expects his team to contend.
“Those are the guys that I think are going to advance really far,” the coach said.
But truly competing will likely take production from everyone.
“We’ve been working hard as a team. We were 3-18 last year. I really think we could turn that around and be very competitive,” Shepherd said.
The second dual meet for the Colonials is slated for Dec. 29 at 10 a.m. at Holmdel High School.
“We’re looking to get multiple guys out of the district [and] into the regional tournament,” the coach said, thinking ahead toward the end of the season. “And hopefully, we’re wrestling in March in Atlantic City.”
