3/14/2008 - Valenti's Title Caps Banner Year for SCIL Wrestling
When the rough-and tumble union guys whose job is to set up Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City get the call to do an event, they use a very colorful phrase when describing the drafty old building.
“It is time to dress up the old lady,” they say. But they don’t use the word lady, if you know what I mean. The word they use is what makes the phrase colorful, and I will leave it at that.
But the point is that the old Hall has seen and hosted its fair share of historic events over the years. From the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen rocking the house to Bert Parks warbling “Miss America.” The Hall also has a spot in American political history as it played host to the 1964 Democratic Convention which nominated Lyndon B. Johnson for his first full term.
So it is needless to say the venerable old building, which has had a few nips, tucks and facelifts over the years, is an historic venue. Although it may not rank up there with John, George, Paul and Ringo taking the stage, Sussex County Interscholastic League wrestling played second banana to no one last weekend at the New Jersey State Interscholastic
Athletic Association Individual Wrestling Finals in Atlantic City.
The three-day affair, which drew close to 40,000 rabid wrestling fans (are there any other?) maybe be remembered most for 160-pounder Scott Winston of Jackson capping his wonderful career with a perfect 137-0 record and three state titles. But for SCIL wrestling fans, that was a side note.
The SCIL had one champ and brought home 10 medals all together, while High Point was named the top team in the state by the New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association and its coach John Gardner the Coach of the Year.
Pretty impressive, huh? For a small league made up of mostly Group 2 and 3 schools, albeit with a marvelous and rich wrestling tradition, what the SCIL accomplished should be applauded. Yes, the Shore Conference and Region 6 dominated, but you have to take into account the monstrosity that is the Shore Conference with its 40-plus schools, many of which are
large Group 3s and 4s.
The SCIL was the only other conference besides the Shore to have two of its own square off in a final in the same weight class. Derek Valenti of Kittatinny and Kodie Silvestri of Wallkill Valley did battle in the 130 final with Valenti posting a hard-fought 2-0 win to join his older brother Matt, a two-time high school and two-time NCAA Division I champ from University of Pennsylvania, as one of the state’s finest.
Valenti (44-2) was most efficient in his time down in A.C. and won the title coming out of the preliminary round after losing to Silvestri in the Region 1 final a week prior. He scored just two takedowns all weekend, but still managed to walk away with a gold medal after winning his quarterfinal and semifinals matches by 1-0 scores.
Valenti, just like the teams in the SCIL this year, wasn’t flashy, but hard-nosed and technically sound. Valenti, who will wrestle at the University of Virginia next year, and Silvestri (41-4) are good buddies off the mat. Their rivalry was based on mutual respect, not hatred, which was very refreshing to see. A lot of times in wrestling, if one kid has the other’s number on the mat, you don’t see them hanging out after a match. Valenti is 6-1 against his junior counterpart since 2006.
Watching the two do battle made me think about the last time two SCIL wrestlers squared off in the final. To the best of my knowledge it hadn’t happened since Gardner, who was wrestling for High Point, topped current Lenape Valley coach and former Patriots star Doug Vetter in the 189 final at Jadwin Gym in Princeton to help Gardner post an impressive season sweep over powerfully-built Vetter in 1990.
I don’t know if Gardner and Vetter are buddies off the mat, but you don’t get the impression they are exchanging Christmas cards.
Prior to Vetter and Gardner, you would have to go back to 1978 for the last time two locals squared off. Rick Zandarski of Newton and Jan Michaels of Vernon made 148 pounds their own private battleground and butted heads all season until Zandarski topped Michaels in the final. The silver lining for Michaels was that he was just a junior and he used the experience to roll to the state crown the next year and was named the tourney’s Outstanding Wrestler before going onto an All-American career at University of North Carolina.
Hopefully, Silvestri can learn the same lesson after his first appearance in the Big Show and follow suit with a state title, which would be Wallkill’s first since Chris Skretkowicz won the 171 title his junior year in 2000 and second in school history.
Having two locals in the final was great for the league, but as Kittatinny coach John Gill put it, “It is great for the league, great for the region, but bad for the coaches’ hearts.” Valenti’s title now gives Gill eight individual state championships since taking over the program in 1981. Steve Dalling (1990-91 at 140), Roman Fleszar (1994 and 1996 at 103 and 119) and Matt Valenti (2001-02 at 112 and 119) all won two titles, while Will Livingston (2006 at 130) and Derek Valenti were solo winners.
All the medal-winners from the SCIL should also be proud. Kittatinny junior Troy Hernandez (43-3) placed third after topping Nick Bach of Parsippany 6-2 in 140 consolation match. Hernandez, whose only loss in A.C. was to eventual state champ Anthony Baldosaro of Delsea, along with Silvestri, should be the SCIL’s top candidates to strike gold in 2009.
Promising freshmen Dan Haines of Hopatcong (36-9) and Nick Francavilla of High Point (39-5) did well at 103 and are sure to make several trips back to A.C. Haines placed fifth/sixth and Francavilla seventh/eighth.
Senior Gabe Ramos of Hopatcong (36-8) and junior Andrew Wrede of Lenape Valley (37-4) squared off all season like Valenti and Silvestri as Ramos capped his career with a 6-3 win over Wrede in the 119 seventh/eighth-pace consolation bout. Also look for Wrede to be back battling for a crown next season as will High Point junior Tyler Forbeck (38-7), who fell in the seventh/eighth bout at 125.
Austin Alpaugh of Newton (39-4) capped his fine career with a wild 6-5 win over Kevin Brown of North Warren (34-12) in the 152 seventh/eighth consolation. Alpaugh finishes his tenure as Newton’s all-time wins leader with 129, which is quite an accomplishment considering Newton’s amazing history.
Trevor Salvatore of Jefferson (37-8) displayed his never-say-die attitude and battled back to win the seventh/eighth place consolation match after falling in the prequarterfinals. And although he didn’t medal, junior heavyweight Ed Mattice of Newton (40-2) won a match and should be a contender again next year.
Plus youngsters like sophomores Ryan Callahan of Wallkill Valley (160) and Billy Gould of High Point (112) as well as the rest of High Point’s “Fab Five” freshmen will also make some noise next March.
This past season has been one for the books for the SCIL with High Point winning its first-ever Group 3 state crown and finishing the season the consensus No. 1 team in the state. It is the first time that has happened since Jefferson was the top dog in the early 1990s.
And for those Long Branch fans who feel slighted, let’s say the only chance you had of knocking off the Wildcats this year was if all the Skove brothers came back and wrestled and even then I think the Wildcats would have come out on top.
This was also the first season since 1994 that two SCIL teams (High Point and Kittatinny in Group 1) have won group titles in the same season. All in all, it has been a magical ride for the SCIL.
So with all the returning talent, this season just might have been a glimpse of what is ahead for the SCIL. And if that is the case, better make your hotel arrangements now for A.C. and let the guys know, it is time to dress up the old lady yet again.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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