By Jeff Appelblatt
Sitting with four wins in the books, Freehold High School wrestling coach Matt Shepherd was excited. Not only was his team above the .500 mark, but the Colonials also already had one win more than last year’s team.
The coach was certain things were going to turn around this season.
“We’ve been working hard all year,” Shepherd said the day before his team went to Red Bank Regional High School for the Buc Classic. “You could really see the fruits of our labor.”
He continued to say his team was looking to do really well at the Buc Classic, which took place Jan. 14.
“I want to see my guys wrestle multiple matches and compete at a high level,” Shepherd said.
When the event took place, Freehold certainly competed at a high level. In fact, it won the 14-team tournament. The Colonials stacked up 165.5 points on the mats, thanks largely to a first-place finish by Sean Neely. New Brunswick High School finished a distant second with a score of 123, and Pinelands Regional High School landed in third with 118.5 points.
From the start of his day, Neely dominated once it was his turn to wrestle. When he finally had a chance, he took down New Brunswick’s Steven Almanzar with a technical fall in just over five minutes. Neely followed that win up with a 15-5 major decision over Luke Devine from Red Bank Regional. Finally, Neely closed things out with a 15-4 major decision over Chris Little from Metuchen High School, earning the 132-pound title.
John Downey was a win away from winning his weight class, but Christopher Nielsen from Pinelands Regional took home the 182-pound title, getting a 13-2 major decision over Downey in the finals.
Jake Mostowsky (138 pounds), Michael Gagliardo (113), Nico Messina (106 pounds) and Reid Oslin (220 pounds) each finished third in their respective weight classes. William Theodosatos (152) finished fourth, and Jerry Torres (170), Joe Cavaliere (160), Liam Tibbit (195), Noah Weiss (145) and Tony Dushku (126) each got fifth-place medals.
Shepherd said the tournament would be a test for his guys, and there wasn’t too much more he could have possibly asked for.
“The tournament [was] a real good gauge to see where we are,” the coach said.
Meanwhile, the next test for the Colonials will be Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., when they make the trip to Freehold Township High School (3-6) for a matchup with their local rival.
“We’ve never beat our crosstown rival since I’ve been here,” the 11-year coach said. “[But] we’re a quarter of the way through the season, and I like where we are. A lot of guys are starting to come into their own.
“As long as we keep progressing, we should be good to go.”
