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Spanning the Garden State: Wrestling Edition - March 10
Manchester Township senior Jimmy Lawson entered Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City over the weekend as a favorite to win his third straight NJSIAA heavyweight title at the Individual Wrestling Championships.
He exited Boardwalk Hall as a legend.
Lawson became the first three-time state heavyweight champion since Newton’s Harry Lanzi did it from 1946-48, when the state wrestling landscape was much less competitive than it is now. Not only did Lawson accomplish that feat, he did it by pinning every single opponent he faced from the District 24 Tournament all the way through Atlantic City, ending with a pin over North Hunterson’s Jack Delia in 43 seconds in the final.
He finished the season with a 39-0 record and went 141-11 for his career as one of the greatest heavyweights the state has ever seen alongside former two-time NCAA champion Steve Mocco, who wrestled for Blair Academy, which does not participate in the NJSIAA Tournament.
"I feel great ending my career on a good note," Lawson said. "It's still hard to believe what I've accomplished in a short amount of time."
"He's accomplished things that many have tried but couldn't get done," said Manchester head coach Tom Scheffler. "People will be talking about it for years and he deserves it."
Lawson also helped the Hawks to team success with a Shore Conference Class B South title and a District 24 team title in addition to his outstanding run as an individual. In four state tournament bouts in Atlantic City, he wrestled for a total of 3:58 in pinning all four opponents at a stage of the tournament when most heavyweight bouts are one-point affairs that go to double overtime and beyond.
Lawson also is believed to be the first heavyweight to ever earn Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at Boardwalk Hall, which was a no-brainer given his dominating performance. By winning his third state title, he also joined a group of Shore Conference legends that include fellow three-time state champs Luke Skove (Long Branch); Mark Worthy (Central); Glenn Pritzlaff (Middletown South); Damion Hahn (Lakewood); Scott Winston (Jackson Memorial) and Frank Molinaro (Southern Regional). Lawson also accomplished the milestone despite not picking up wrestling until he was an eighth-grader.
"I'm happy my name can be said in the same breath as those guys," Lawson said. "I just started wrestling five years ago, and now I've done all this. I can thank my coaches for that."
"It brings chills," Scheffler said. "The fact that it's someone coming from Manchester that is being talked about like this and the fact that it's happening to such a great kid, it's amazing."
The championship victory also marked the final bout of Lawson’s legendary career, as he is committed to play football at Monmouth University, choosing the Hawks after initially making a verbal commitment to Rutgers for wrestling. A 290-pound defensive lineman, Lawson wants to pursue his dream of one day playing in the NFL and feels he has unfinished business on the football field as opposed to the closure that his unforgettable run through Atlantic City provided to his wrestling career.
Bound Brook’s Campolattano Bound for History
After being down 1-0 early in the second period and having a piece of his tooth knocked out early in the bout, Bound Brook junior Andrew Campolattano set himself up to duplicate a feat accomplished only once before in state history when he beat South Plainfield’s Mike Wagner, 9-4, to win the 189-pound title in the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships.
It was Campolattano’s third state title, meaning that he can now become just the second wrestler in state history after Delbarton’s Mike Grey to win four state titles in his four years if he can bring it home next season. Campolattano finished the year with a 42-1 mark, suffering his first high school loss to a non-NJSIAA wrestler, Blair Academy’s Mike Evans, on December 29 and then not losing again.
Wagner finished the season 40-2, and his only two losses were to a wrestler who is carving out a legendary career. Campolattano escaped to tie the bout at one in the second period and then ripped off three third-period takedowns to comfortably wrap up the victory. He became the first wrestler in Bound Brook history to win three straight state titles in the process and is 131-1 in his career.
Fraley Makes School History for Colts Neck
Tyler Fraley made school history by becoming the first Colts Neck wrestler to make it all the way to a state final, and the junior came up just short of becoming the Cougars’ first state champion when he dropped a 6-5 decision to South Plainfield’s Anthony Ashnault in the 103-pound final at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Fraley became the first wrestler in program history to be a two-time state place-winner at the NJSIAA Individual Championships, as he also took fifth in the state at 103 pounds in 2009. He also is just the second wrestler in Cougars’ history to even place in the state, as Jimmy Somma took sixth place at 135 in 2008.
Fraley finished the season with a 37-2 record and 22 pins, and his 108 career victories are already a school record with a full season left in his career. He won the NJSIAA Region VI title at 103 pounds by beating Toms River South’s Kyle McNulty, 5-1, to join Somma as the only wrestlers in Colts Neck history to win Region titles in one of the toughest regions in New Jersey. Fraley also captured his second straight District 21 title with a 1-0 win over Jackson Memorial’s Brian Hamann, who went on to finish fourth overall in New Jersey at 103 pounds.
The Cougars finished 12-11 during the dual meet season and had a six-match winning streak, while also finishing second in the Haddon Township Tournament over the holidays.
Long Branch Duo Takes Home a Pair of Titles
Long Branch senior 135-pounder Scott Festejo thrilled the crowd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and ended his career on the highest note possible when he captured a state title at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships.
Festejo defeated defending state champion Mike Morales of Brick Memorial, 7-6, in the final bout of the afternoon in Atlantic City to draw a roar from the crowd. Morales tied the bout at six with a takedown with 35 seconds left, but he cut Festejo loose for what proved to be the winning point on an escape, as Festejo fought off any takedown attempts by Morales in the final 30 seconds to become the ninth state champion in Long Branch history.
Festejo joined senior teammate Nick Visicaro, who won his second straight 160-pound state title to become only the second Long Branch wrestler to win multiple state titles after Luke Skove won three straight from 1979-81. During his run to the title, Festejo also knocked off previously undefeated Nick Heilmann of South Plainfield, 5-3, in the quarterfinals. He finished his career with 141 career wins, while Visicaro finished with a school-record 153 wins.
"I still can't believe it," Festejo said. "Three or four years ago I wasn't thinking about a state championship at all, but I"m here and I did it."
Passaic Valley’s Crocco Finishes Second in the State
Passaic Valley’s Frank Crocco may have come up just short of his goal of a state title in the 145-pound bracket in the NJSIAA Individual Championships, but it was a memorable ride to the final before he fell 8-2 to Camden Catholic’s Taylor Walsh.
Crocco stunned two-time defending state champion Anthony Baldasaro of Eastern, who was the No. 1 seed, 9-5, in the quarterfinals to send a shockwave through the state and then became Passaic Valley’s first state finalist since 1982 when he beat North Hunterdon’s C.J. Cobb, who went on to take third in the state, 8-1 in the semifinals.
Crocco finished the season 39-1, as Walsh handed him his only loss by hitting a four-point move in the first period and not looking back to wrap up the win. It still was a tremendous state tournament for Crocco, who also won a Passaic County title as well as district and region titles.
St. Peter’s Prep’s Innis Becomes the School’s First State Finalist
Despite falling just short of his goal of a 215-pound title at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships, St. Peter’s Prep senior Kevin Innis still made his mark as the first state finalist in school history.
Innis, who placed fifth in the state as a junior and was the No. 1 seed at 215 this season, lost a 3-1 heartbreaker in overtime after Paulsboro’s Zach Greenwald scored a takedown to clinch the title after losing 3-1 to Innis at the Mustang Classic at Brick Memorial early in the season.
No St. Peter’s Prep wrestler had ever finished higher than fourth in the state in program history, and that came in 1998, so Innis was bidding to become the school’s first state champion. He finished the season 39-2 and will continue his wrestling career at Boston University.
Jackson Memorial’s Brian Hamann Takes Fourth in the State
In his first year down at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships in Atlantic City, Jackson Memorial freshman Brian Hamann earned a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish at 103 pounds.
Hamann made it all the way to the semifinals, pinning Buena’s Billy Ward in the quarterfinals, before dropping a 7-4 decision to eventual undefeated state champion Anthony Ashnault of South Plainfield. He then lost 1-0 to Toms River North’s Kyle McNulty in the consolation final.
The Rest of the Champions
Also capturing titles at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships were South Plainfield’s Anthony Ashnault (103); High Point’s Nick Francavilla (112); Hunterdon Central’s Alex Shaffer (119); Paulsboro’s Joe Duca (125); Queen of Peace’s Frank Cagnina (130); Eastern’s Hank Stinson (140); High Point’s Ethan Orr (152); and Wallkill Valley’s Ryan Callahan (171). Ashnault, Shaffer, Duca, Cagnina and Callahan all finished the season undefeated, and Cagnina won his third state title.
Rottingen is a State Place-winner for Ramsey
After earning the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award for the NJSIAA District 5 Tournament, Ramsey’s Jeff Rottingen went on to finish the season 39-6 and take his place on the podium as an eighth-place finisher at 112 pounds at the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships in Atlantic City.
Rottingen also won a Region II title as well this season, major-decisioning Old Tappan’s Anthony Miuccio 16-3 in the final.
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