Fobes peaks at right time, places second in state
Rebel is runner-up at 125; Accardi, Frankel also place
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff Above, Freehold Township's Gene Accardi leans on Camden Catholic's Mike Tully in a 103-pound bout in Atlantic City on Saturday. At right, Freehold Township's Mitch Berger takes a peek at the clock as he puts Nutley's Anthony Cifelli on his back. Below, Howell's Cody Fobes tangles with Bergen Catholic's Joe Trause during the 125-pound final on Sunday.

In Atlantic City, wrestlers either rise to the occasion, or shrink.You can count Howell's Cody Fobes among those who met the challenge.

Saving his best wrestling for the state finals, held Friday through Sunday, Fobes finished second in the state in the 125-pound weight class. The Rebel junior lost the final, 13-5, to Joe Trause of Bergen Catholic, a returning champion (he won at 119 last year).

"He blocked my shots very well and he was very good on top," said Fobes following the match. "I had no idea what to expect down here. I'll come back next year; I'm not satisfied."

While Fobes couldn't end Howell's state championship drought (Carlos Fontanez is the school's only state champion, and he won the title in 1965), he came up with the goods in AC, according to coach John Gagliano.

"He wrestled amazing," said Gagliano. "Cody was totally in every match, totally focused. He peaked at the right time."

"After taking third in the region, I really came down here just thinking about my first match," Fobes said. "I figured it would be very tough down here."

As a non-Region champion, Fobes had to take the long road to the finals, wrestling in Friday night's preliminaries, where he pinned Bergenfield's Chris Rankin in 3:38. In the prequarters, the Rebel junior faced Kris Sigafoos of Delaware Valley, a two-time state place-winner. Fobes was up for the challenge, scoring a convincing 10-5 victory.

That win, Gagliano said, was the key match of the tournament for Fobes.

"That got him going," remarked the Rebels coach. "It was an exciting match and he was comfortable."

Fobes rode that win to a 7-2 decision over previously undefeated Colton Chakley of Lakeland in the quarters.

He took out Shore Conference foe T.J. Mitchell of Raritan, 5-3, in the semifinal to make him the first Rebel since Zac Cunliffe in 2003 to make it to the state finals. The junior, who will surpass 100 career wins next year, was 36-3 this year, equaling the school record for wins in a season, done twice by Cunliffe.

Fobes was one of three Freehold District wrestlers to place in AC. All year long, Freehold Township's Gene Accardi and Marlboro's Charlie Frankel dominated their 103 weight class and they proved they belong with the state's best by finishing sixth and seventh.

Accardi lost his fifth-place consolation match to the wrestler who beat him for the District 21 and Region VI titles, Derrik Russell of Jackson, 2-0.

Frankel beat Camden Catholic's Mike Tully, 8-0, in the seventh-place match.

How loaded was District 21 and Region VI? The top three finishers all went on to place in the state.

"We had three [Region VI] kids place out of my weight class," said Fobes. "It was a privilege to have them to work with to get ready to come down here."

Accardi is the first Patriot to medal at the state championships since 1992, when Anthony Vitola was a runner-up at 171 pounds.

Frankel is the third Mustang to place in the states, joining Livio DiRubbo, who was third at 119 in 1995, and two-time place-winner Nick Parisi, who was a runner-up last year at 189 pounds.

Region VI, made up of the Shore Conference, made the state take notice. The region had 12 finalists and five individual champions. In five weight classes, all three of the region medal winners went on to place last weekend, starting with 103.

Jackson's Scott Winston, the state champion at 152, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He is 101-0 for his career, with one season to go.

Gagliano pointed out that all of the Region VI wrestlers and coaches were pulling for one another.

"We [Region VI] dominated the state tournament," he said. "At this point, everyone roots for each other."

Christian Brother Academy senior James Beshada, the runner-up at 130 pounds, echoed that sentiment.

"It's kind of like we had our own little team down here," he said. "I think there were 42 of us, and we all kind of stuck together. It got to the point where we were knocking each other off in the later rounds here.

"The depth in the Shore is outstanding. It's always a war down there."