Wrestling program earns first states invites

The Highland Park High School varsity wrestling team finishes 11-11 on the season and earned a lot of accolades along the way.

The Owls came up one position short of placing into the Group 1 sectional tournament, finishing seventh, but were led by a number of young and seasoned grapplers who showed their merit and strength in on the mat and off.

Leading the way at 130 pounds is senior D'Andre Bell, who finished third in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and second in District 19 tournament. Bell competed to a silver medal in Region Five championships at Hunterdon Central High School last weekend, and owns a 32-6 record on the season. "D'Andre is the heart and soul of our team," said fourth-year head coach Craig Girvan.

 

At 189 pounds, sophomore Tyler Rios finished fifth in the GMC Tournament and was the champion in his weight class at the District 19 tournament. He has a 28-8 record and earned bronze in the Region 5 tournament, falling in the quarterfinals before wrestling back to a third-place finish.

"Both D'Andre (Bell) and Tyler (Rios) [are now] the first wrestlers from Highland Park to qualify for the states," exclaimed Girvan.

Another accomplished star is junior Anthony Lanni at 112 pounds, who was fourth in District 19 and finished with a 16-12 record. "Anthony works very hard and has improved a lot. He hopes to have a great season next year," said Girvan.

Senior Matt MacKinney completed a fine four-year career at 135 pounds with a 16-8 record. After a two-year hiatus from the mat, senior Louis Middleton returned to the squad at 152 pounds and showed no signs of rust, finishing fourth in the GMC tournament and second in the District 19 tournament. Middleton posted a 28-6 mark on the season. "Louis (Middleton) did an outstanding job and it was great having him back," said Girvan.

Junior Noah Kendall competed in the heavyweight class. He had a 27-7 mark, finishing fourth in the GMC and second in District 19. "Noah was a great addition to the Highland Park High School athletic program in football and wrestling," said Girvan. "He adjusted pretty well this season and gained a lot of experience."

Girvan was very happy with many of the freshmen and sophomore grapplers who had never wrestled before.

Leading the way for the freshmen were Boning Zhao (103), Alex Vana rthos (112), Freddy Cacace (125), Mike Ehrlich (130), who also kicked for the Owls football team this past season, Angelo Odato (135), David Segal (171), and Casey Horne (215). The sophomores included Ruben Lopez (119), Nisam Ponery (140), Johnny Unger (145) and Dennis Safan (160).

"This group provided depth for us," said Girvan. "For being a small school and competing against larger schools, I was very pleased with the season." And being named District 9 Coach of the Year in February "was a nice honor for me" as well.

The main competition that Girvan's squad competed against in the GMC Blue Division included the likes of Spotswood, South River and Metuchen. The coach was proud of the support the team received this past season.

"It was a great accomplishment," Girvan says. "We competed in the middle school gym and not only received a good turnout but solid support from our community," Girvan stated.