It wasn’t the way the St. Peter’s Prep wrestling team dominated the NJSIAA District 16 championships for a seventh straight year that startled most.
It was that the Marauders could actually win seven straight District team titles that was frankly amazing.
“I guess it’s just consistency,” said Prep head wrestling coach Anthony Verdi. “We’ve had a lot of kids come in and have success. But to have it last for seven years in a row is remarkable. It goes to show the strength of our program. Our kids consistently push each other.”
It was also worth noting that the Marauders suffered an emotional setback to Bergen Catholic in the NJSIAA Non-Public A sectional final last Friday night and had to bounce back a week later to compete in the District 16 tourney.
“It’s tough to lose in the sectional finals, but Bergen Catholic has a great team,” Verdi said. “That’s how we have to look at it. It was a tough loss, but we had to come back on Monday and go back to work. I wasn’t too concerned about our kids bouncing back. You have to have a short memory in this sport.”
The Marauders only entered 13 wrestlers into the District 16 tourney because of injury. Manny Ramirez broke his hand, requiring surgery, and Dan Splendorio needs elbow surgery after tearing ligaments.
“That all happened in the last two weeks of the season,” Verdi said.
But the injuries didn’t prevent the Marauders from crowning an astounding 11 champions, the same total that they had two years ago.
Leading the champions are the Burkert twins, Connor and Ryan. Both brothers won medals at the NJSIAA state championships last year in Atlantic City (Ryan was second last year, Connor was fourth).
Connor Burkert, the 138-pounder, won his fourth District 16 gold medal to improve to 28-7 this season. Ryan Burkert was the state finalist at 145 pounds last year and remained at the same weight this season, winning his third District 16 gold and improving his seasonal mark to 31-3.
“Both were able to stay at the same weight they wrestled at last year,” Verdi said. “That’s a big plus.”
Junior Alec Kelly, who was third in the state last year, won District 16 gold for the third time at 113 pounds. Kelly is a two-time Region 4 champion who could very well be the top seed at the state tournament at that weight class. Kelly has a 30-5 mark.
Senior Christian Colucci won his third District 16 title, taking home the crown at 220 pounds. Colucci now owns a 25-3 record this season.
Heavyweight Jose Palomino, who never wrestled before high school, won his second District 16 title. He won two years ago, but missed last year’s tourney due to injury.
“I think he’s one of the best heavyweights in the state,” Verdi said.
Senior Stephen Kellner captured his second District 16 championship at 160 pounds.
Junior Michael Simonetti won his first District 16 title at 106 pounds. This is Simonetti’s first year in the regular lineup. His older brother, senior Sonny, won his first District title at 132 pounds. For the prior two years, the elder Simonetti had to play second fiddle at District 16 to two-time state champion Anthony Giraldo of North Bergen, who has since graduated and is wrestling at Rutgers University.
A pair of sophomores, 126-pounder Nick Santos and 120-pounder Matthew Russo, were two overachievers at District 16. Russo, the younger brother of state medalist Michael, currently wrestling at Brown University, entered the District 16 tourney with a 15-15 record, yet won a District title.
Another overachiever was senior Isaiah McGowan, who had knee surgery earlier in the season, only to return long enough to post a 6-6 record. McGowan got the chance to crack the Marauders’ lineup thanks to the injury to Ramirez – and he won a District 16 gold.
Having his entire lineup intact makes things easier for Verdi as a coach.
“It’s business as usual,” Verdi said. “The kids are comfortable with each other. I remember the days when we had only a handful of kids after the Districts and we had to go find a place to practice. Not anymore. I feel good about the Region and our chances. We’ve wrestled as tough of a schedule you’ll find. I think we’ll be ready. I knew we had potential, but it’s so unpredictable. We’re just taking it one match at a time.”…
North Bergen suffered a gigantic loss last week, when Department of Recreation assistant director John “Digger” O’Dell passed away after a short battle with cancer. “Digger” was the driving force behind the township’s thriving Pop Warner football program for more than 40 years. Any kid who played football in North Bergen had to thank O’Dell for that opportunity.
Sure, O’Dell helped to coordinate other sports in the township in his four decades of work in the great North Bergen recreation department, getting help from so many great people, especially fellow assistant John Cellini.
But it was O’Dell’s love of football that put him in a class by himself. He was clearly the “Father of Football” in North Bergen.
It’s almost too amazing to think that the two most important people in the sport of football in North Bergen, namely long-time legendary North Bergen High School coach Vince Ascolese and Digger O’Dell, died just two months apart. These are two mammoth losses that the township may never recover from…
Marist was set to face Hudson Catholic for the Hudson County Tournament boys’ title and undefeated Secaucus was ready to tackle Lincoln for the girls’ title. Both Hudson Catholic and Lincoln have won their respective three championships in a row. It should lead to some good drama at St. Peter’s University. We will have more about the county championships next week…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (22-1). 2. Hudson Catholic (21-3). 3. Marist (20-4). 4. Union City (17-7). 5. Dickinson (15-8)…
Hudson Reporter Girls High School Basketball Top Five: 1. Secaucus (25-0). 2. Lincoln (20-4). 3. North Bergen (15-7). 4. Ferris (15-6). 5. Marist (14-7). – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.