By Jeff Appelblatt
The long weekend of wrestling in Atlantic City wore down Woodbridge High School coach Mike Carbone a bit. He left Boardwalk Hall with his voice fading. Still, it was a great weekend for him and his team.
Alex LaGrippo, Woodbridge’s top heavyweight the last three years, made it to the finals, finishing second when he was pinned by top-ranked eventual champion Eric Chakonis from Don Bosco Preparatory High School.
“It was very shocking at first [to see LaGrippo] up there,” Carbone said. “We didn’t believe it right away.”
For the first time in his three years of varsity wrestling, LaGrippo made it onto the podium as a second-place wrestler.
“It was great to see him finally beat a Sayreville kid,” Carbone said, referring to Michael Porcaro from Sayreville War Memorial High School, who LaGrippo defeated in the semifinals when an “ultimate tiebreaker” worked in LaGrippo’s favor.
Before the match, not only had Porcaro beaten LaGrippo twice this season, but Porcaro’s older brother, Anthony, had beaten him five times over the years.
“The growth was crazy [for LaGrippo],” Woodbridge’s coach said about the wrestler who wanted nothing to do with the sport when it was suggested to him as a freshman. “[But now] he enjoys it. He’s definitely excited [about the wins].”
Then there’s Bryan McLaughlin, a top wrestler over the years for Woodbridge. He was also on the infamous podium in Atlantic City. He earned a third-place medal in the 170-pound weight class. He ran into a familiar foe, but unlike LaGrippo, McLaughlin still couldn’t outdo his opponent. Bill Janzer from Delsea Regional High School defeated McLaughlin on a 3-1 sudden victory, leaving McLaughlin to finish in third while Janzer moved on to win the weight class.
Carbone and McLaughlin would have enjoyed it more if McLaughlin could have defeated Janzer and made it to the final round. But the coach admitted he appreciates Janzer, who is headed to Rutgers University.
“In the sport of wrestling, everyone knows who’s good,” Woodbridge’s coach said. “Good wrestlers respect good wrestlers.
“[McLaughlin and Janzer] don’t really know each other, but they have respect for one another. Their matches have been very close, and they’re both ranked.”
They’ll both be at NCAA Division I schools for wrestling next year. While Janzer will be at Rutgers, McLaughlin will be at Drexel University.
For now, though, Carbone appreciates the rest of the time he has with his standout wrestlers and the accomplishments his seniors are capping off their high school careers with, ending with trips onto the podium at the state championships.
“It was definitely nice,” Woodbridge’s coach said about having two wrestlers up there this year in Atlantic City. “Woodbridge hadn’t had two guys place since 2004.”
