Jackson wins eighth straight District 21 title
Howell’s Woodward tabbed MOW; Parisi, Slisky win third titles
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Manalapan’s Carmin Roth looks skyward as he controls St. John Vainney’s Tracy Gennusa during their 112-pound semifinal bout at Saturday’s District 21 championships at Manalapan High School.

It was a precarious night to be a defending champion, unless you were the Jackson Jaguars.

With two returning champions going down to defeat and six top-seeds falling, Scott Goodale’s Jackson Jaguars maintained their stranglehold on the NJSIAA District 21 Wrestling Tournament held at Manalapan High School Saturday.

The Jaguars captured their eighth straight District championship in typical dominating fashion. It was Jackson against everyone else as the Jaguars put 10 wrestlers into the finals and crowned seven champions.

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Howell’s Cody Fobes bends Marlboro’s Charlie Frankel during their 103-pound semifinal bout on Saturday in Manalapan.

One of those champions, heavyweight Joe Slisky, won his third individual title and said after the match that Jackson peaks as a team in late February.

“It’s this time of the year when we start to peak, we start to come together and flow, and everything builds up,” he said. “For us seniors, this has been a goal.”

Slisky added that after Jackson’s loss in the State Group IV semifinals to Phillipsburg, the team needed to put it behind them, and the District 21 championships gave them the opportunity.

“It was good to bounce back from that loss,” he said.

This was supposed to be the year that everyone closed the gap on Jackson, with the Jaguars bringing a team with just four seniors and minus their best wrestler this year, freshman Scott Winston (140), out with an injury. Instead, it was more business as usual with Jackson out-scoring runner-up Howell by more than 100 points, 236-132.

“I’m very happy for our seniors,” said Goodale. “I’m happy that Matt Bradley and Russ Wall got on the board [winning District titles]. We take a lot of pride in this tournament.”

Pride was a big factor in Slisky’s double overtime win over Marlboro Brian Tiscia in the heavyweight final. Up against a much bigger and heavier opponent, Slisky discovered early in the match that he wasn’t going to be able to get Tiscia off his feet.

“He was locking up a lot,” he said.

Both wrestlers scored on escapes during regulation, sending the match into overtime. When neither could score after one minute of overtime, the match when into a 30-second overtime. Slisky chose the bottom in the referee’s position. He could escape or score a reversal in those 30 seconds to win, but if Tiscia could ride him out, the Mustang would be the champion. It took less than five seconds for Slisky to explode out of Tiscia’s hold and win his third district crown.

“I wasn’t going to let it slip away,” he said. “This is my tournament.”

Rob Swann got the victory started at 103 for the Jaguars, upsetting top-seed Cody Fobes of Howell, 4-3. Brian Cohen followed with a 12-10 overtime win over Manalapan’s Carmin Roth at 119.

Matt Bradley (125), Russ Wall (152), Ken Carney (160) and Bobby Van Volkenberg (189) were Jackson’s other individual champions.

Howell’s Bobby Woodward was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after his 14-2 dismantling of defending champion and top seeded Kyle Pardun at 145. Woodward was a man on a mission Saturday.

“I wanted to wrestle him again after last year,” he said.

Pardun nipped Woodward, 6-5, in last year’s 135 final. It was a loss that stayed with Woodward throughout the off-season and into this year. He’s been focused since Day One of the season on reversing that 2004 final, and when the chance came, he never gave Pardun a chance. A takedown in the first 10 seconds was the beginning of an impressive mauling administered by the Rebel junior.

“My goal was to get the first takedown,” said Woodward. “I wrestled aggressive.”

Pardun, a senior, had won his 100th career match in the semifinals — a pin of Holmdel’s Jon O’Donnell. Win 101 will to wait until this week’s Region VI Tournament in the Ritacco Center at Toms River North High School.

Like his teammate, Woodward, Howell’s Tom Tuminelli, also moved up one step on the podium. A runner-up at 119 as a freshman, Tuminelli joined the ever-growing list of Howell District champions living up to his No. 1 seed. He topped Jackson’s Glenn Booth, 2-0, in the 135 final.

Victories by Woodward and Tuminelli, and the runner-up performances by Fobes, helped Howell finish second to Jackson.

Don’t look now, but here comes Freehold Borough. Scott Pressman’s Colonials were the biggest surprise of the tournament. They jumped from sixth place in 2004 with 66.5 points to third place and 94.5 points in ’05. Pressman, who led the Colonials to 15 wins during the dual meet season and the team’s first state playoff appearance, was named by his peers as the District 21 Coach of the Year.

For the second straight year, the Colonials had an individual champion. Anthony Panzarino was only seeded fourth at 215, but he beat top-seed Rob Wood of Jackson in the semifinal and then scored a late takedown to beat Joe Moschella of Holmdel, 6-5. 2005 NJSIAA District 21 Wrestling Tournament

Team standings:

1Jackson236

2Howell132

3Freehold Borough94.5

4St. John Vianney92

5Manalapan78

6Marlboro73

7Freehold Township72.5

8Matawan61

9Colts Neck51

10Holmdel28

Individual:

103Rob Swann, Jackson, dec. Cody Fobes, Howell, 4-3

112Brian Cohen, Jackson, dec. Carmin Roth Manalapan, 12-10 (OT)

119Efrain Morales, Freehold Township, dec. Nick Keshecki, Jackson, 8-6

125Matt Bradley, Jackson, dec. Justin Morello, Howell, 11-1

130Anthony Accardi, Manalapan dec. Sean Byrnes, Jackson, 4-2 (2 OT)

135Tom Tuminelli, Howell, dec. Glenn Booth, Jackson, 2-0.

140Lenny Sasso, St. John Vianney, pinned Ed Bachar, Freehold Boro, 2:22

145Billy Woodward, Howell, dec. Kyle Pardun, St. John Vianney, 14-2

152Russ Wall, Jackson, dec. George Cuevas, Freehold Borough, 11-6

160Ken Carney, Jackson, dec. Tom Gallicchio, Freehold Township, 3-1 (OT)

171Nick Parisi, Marlboro, dec. Jon Panek, Colts Neck, 12-1

189Bobby Van Volkenberg, Jackson, dec. Ben Shappee, Manalapan, 7-6

215Anthony Panzarino, Freehold Borough, dec. Joe Moschella, Holmdel, 6-5

Hwt.Joe Slisky, Jackson, dec. Brian Tiscia, Marlboro, 2-1 (2 OT)

“I thought positive throughout the tournament,” said Panzarino, who pointed out that he is wrestling up weight at 185 pounds.

Trailing 5-4 and the second ticking off the clock, Panzarino said he had no choice but to go for broke and a takedown.

“I had nothing to lose at that point,” he said. “What difference did it make if I lost by a point or a pin if it was a loss. I knew I had to take him down.”

The Colonials George Cuevas was the top-seed at 152, but was upset by Jackson’s Wall, 11-6. It was the second straight year the Colonial was a runner-up. Ed Bachar (140) also made it to the finals for Freehold.

Slisky was not the only three-time winner to grace the Manalapan gymnasium. Marlboro’s Nick Parisi stayed on course to becoming a rare four-time champion by winning his third District 21 crown. Wrestling at 171 this year, the junior decisioned Colts Neck’s Jon Panek, 12-1, in the final

“It always feels good to win,” he said. “You have bigger goals as the years go by, but it’s always good to win.”

Parisi improved to 29-1 this year and 83-8 for his career, and will be looking to win his first Region title this weekend (he was a runner-up last year) and place in the states for the first time.

The most popular winners Saturday was Manalapan’s Anthony Accardi.

He had the home fans behind him as he got by Jackson’s Sean Byrnes, 4-2 in double overtime.

“It [the crowd] helped me a tremendous amount, it gave me a lot of heart,” he said. “He [Byrnes] was tough.”

Accardi had the bottom in the second overtime needing to do something to pick up his first District title.

“I was going to try whatever it took,” he said.

Accardi worked out of Byrnes hold and scored a two-point reversal for the win.

Freehold Township’s Efrain Morales had a career-making win at 119. The senior, seeded third, upset defending champion Nick Keshecki of Jackson, 8-6 in the final.

He thanked a vocal Freehold Township rooting section.

“The chanting kept me going,” he said.

Morales had hooked up earlier this year in a dual meet against Jackson and lost to Keshecki. He left no stone unturned for the rematch going to the videotape.

“I watched the tap of that match,” he said. “I made a lot of mistakes. I fixed them. It feels good to be a District champion. I love it.”

Top seed Lenny Sasso of St. John Vianney pinned the Colonials’ Bachar in the 140 final.

The District finalists and the third-place consolation round winners all extended their wrestling seasons to this week’s Regions at TRN. The opening round pitting second and third-place finishers was last night with the quarterfinals Friday and semifinals, consolations and finals on Saturday.

The top three from the Region are Atlantic City bound (host site of the NJSIAA championships).