By Wayne Witkowski
Brett Blaess of Carl W. Goetz Middle School in Jackson Township was a runner-up two years ago in his weight class at the Tri-County Wrestling championships, a tournament pitting the top wrestlers in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties against each other.
This year, he was determined to be the best in his final year at Goetz before embarking on a high school career.
Blaess rolled through the 75-pound weight class unbeaten in 27 bouts this season and was joined by three other eighth-graders from his school as Tri-County champions in the Feb. 2 tournament at Lake Riviera Middle School in Brick Township.
“I haven’t heard of four Tri-County champions from one school. It’s unheard of, pretty big,” coach Ken Sims said.
To reach that hallmark, wrestlers had to win their weight classes in the Ocean County Intermediate League’s Red Division and then in the Ocean County championships against the champions of the Blue Division — both tournaments stepping stones to the Tri-County Tournament. All three tournaments took place in just six days, starting Jan. 28.
The other three Tri-County champions were Rob LaGravenis, who won the 125-pound weight class and went 25-2 while competing in that and the 120-pound weight class; Damian Lapari, who finished 18-1 in the 132-pound division; and Jaden Persichilli, who used his athleticism to go 17-2 as a heavyweight.
They were part of a typically successful season at Goetz, which finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Red Division regular-season standings with Toms River Intermediate East and Veterans Memorial Middle School in Brick Township. As a team, Goetz finished third in the Red Division tournament that it had won the previous two years.
“Last year, we graduated 12 eighth-graders and we had to come up with a game plan in the offseason with our coaches — a different plan of attack,” said Sims, who was assisted by Nick Farrar, Brian Kelly and new assistant coach Dominick Salerno, who is a former varsity coach at Lakewood High School.
They also were assisted by Derrick Russell and John Temple, who coach the Jackson Recreation team in the Jersey Shore Junior League. Sims said they were instrumental with working with his wrestlers, particularly during the offseason.
“Some kids had to make adjustments in their weight,” Sims said. “We wrestled tough competition, which we’ve tried to do every year.”
Sims feels that this group of wrestlers off a team that finished 10-3 will later have an impact at Jackson Memorial High School, where Goetz students later enroll unless they select a private school. Jackson Memorial again competed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group IV tournament as the No. 1 seed that began Feb. 6, and its wrestlers will compete for individual glory after that in the District 25 tournament at Holy Cross High School with the dream of reaching the state championships at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
“Over the next three years, Jackson Memorial will take a step up with the kids from our program coming up,” Sims said.
“Blaess is a real hard worker, but he has a problem at his weight. He’ll have to wait to get up to 106 pounds (the lowest weight class in high school),” Sims said.
Blaess is one of a number of Goetz wrestlers who excelled in the earlier season tournaments, reigning as two-time champion at the Southern Slam at Southern Regional Middle School over the winter break. Goetz finished fourth as a team in the Garden State Classic in mid-January, with Goetz finishing a close second in the seventh- and eighth-grade division. Its sixth-graders finished first in that division at the Garden State Classic.
Sims said LaGravenis is well-conditioned, running cross-country in the fall and wrestling on a club program like many wrestlers at Goetz do as well as in the Jackson Recreation program, which is one of four teams competing this week in the Jersey Shore Junior League wrestling team championships. The individual championships follow.
LaGravenis won his weight class in the Southern Slam and Garden State Classic.
As for Lapari, who was injured late last season at the heart of the tournament schedule, Sims said, “He’s probably the strongest kid on the team pound-for-pound. He worked really hard in the off season.”
Sims said Persichilli showed great quickness and is expected to have a promising high school career as a multi-sport athlete.
Many other Goetz wrestlers had shining moments. At 185 pounds, Brandon Miccio got a pin with one second left in his bout to clinch a victory over Veterans Memorial, 51-44, in the final meet of the season. That victory clinched a share of the regular season division championship for Goetz.
Among the eighth-graders, Sims said Devon Mark showed tremendous balance on the mats and a lot of ability in a 19-2 season at 110 pounds, as he finished second in the Red Division tournament. Mark won his weight class at the Garden State Classic and was second in the Southern Slam.
Julian Craig finished second in the Red Division tournament and went 14-4 in only his second year of wrestling. Paul Izzo, who was injured all of last season, was runner-up in the Red Division tournament and won the Garden State Classic while going 12-4 at 105 pounds. Luke Temple, a team co-captain with Blaess, was a three-year starter who was fourth in the Red Division and runner-up in the Southern Slam and Garden State Classic tournaments. Aslan Nash, wrestling at 120 and 126 pounds, was runner-up in the Red Division and at the Southern Slam.
Brandon Nicosia was third in the Red Division and fifth in the Southern Slam, going 11-3 at 130. Nick White, competing at 110 and 115 pounds, came back from an early-season injury to finish second in the Southern Slam and Garden State Classic.
Seventh-grader Michael Rauch won his 138-pound weight class at the Garden State Classic and was fourth in the Red Division and fifth at the Southern Slam. Michael Orientale (150) and Aiden Johnson (158) are expected to step into greater contributing roles as eighth-graders next year.
Quinn Bohringer, the last of the outstanding wrestlers from the Bohringer family, led a solid group of sixth-graders, highlighted by a pivotal win in his weight class in the dual-meet victory over Southern Regional. He was fourth in the Southern Slam and won his 85-pound weight class in the sixth-grade division of the Garden State Classic in a 12-8 season. Tai Mann finished third in the Red Division tournament and won his 100-pound weight class at the Garden State Classic’s sixth-grade division. Kyle Fosgreen was fourth in the Red Division tournament at 70 pounds and had a 6-5 record.
Angelo Nicosia wrestled many eighth-graders at 144 pounds and won his weight at the Garden State Classic’s sixth-grade division. Cael Huxford also won his weight class at the Garden State Classic’s sixth-grade division and went 10-8 wrestling mostly at 90 pounds.
Their talents keep Sims eagerly optimistic for next season in the Red Division and for challenging nonleague opponents.
