Jackson Township’s first wrestling dual meet as a combined program Wednesday night did not provide much evidence about how many dual meets it will win or postseason champions it will have when February and March roll around.
| 12/17 - 6:00 PM Wrestling | Final |
|---|
| Toms River East | 23 |
| Jackson Township | 41 |
However, if the 41-23 victory over an improved Toms River East team were any indication, two hallmarks of head coach Gianni Ghione’s Jaguars will be grit and aggression.
Attacking even when behind, Jackson Township scored five pins and a technical fall and scored victory No. 1 for the team comprised of wrestlers from the former Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty high schools.
“I think it was a statement win and it let people know what we’re all about,” said Jackson senior Tucker Pazinko, who recorded a third-period fall at 150 pounds.
“Whenever you have a new team you always want to start off on the right foot,” said Ghione, the former Brick Memorial star, who was the head coach at Jackson Liberty last season. “When you don’t have the results, it’s hard to get buy-in.
“These kids have good grit. They fight hard. They fight their butts off, in practice and on the mat. I was proud of them for the way they fought I just know we can be better.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” added Ghione when asked how long it’s taken to become a team. “It’s different. We probably have 30 kids, who deserve a varsity spot but we only have 14.”
Jackson (1-0) never trailed in the match. Toms River East (2-2) did close to within 26-18 after a Julius Feliciano at 120 pounds with four bouts to go.
Falls by Noah Kovacs at 126 and Chase Lentze at 138 ended any hopes of an East rally.
Kovacs, known to teammates for his unconventional style, hit a seven-point move at the whistle then finished off East’s Christian Cimino at the one-minute mark.
“I kind of just roll around and see what happens,” Kovacs said. “I just went out aggressive. I tried something and once I got the boot in, that was it.”
Lentze used a roll-through cradle to score his pin in 1:36. Lentze’s fall gave Jackson a 38-23 lead with one bout to go.
In the final bout — the best of the night — Jackson’s Armani McCann fought off nausea and slipped past Jayce Cappello, 6-5, at 144 pounds.
McCann, who is off to a 4-1 start with the only loss a 2-1 decision to Seach Hibler of Paramus Catholic, raced to a 5-0 lead. Cappello, however, tied the score, 5-5, with a takedown with 35 seconds remaining.
On the restart, McCann escaped with 24 seconds left in the bout for the victory. McCann was eighth in the state last March.
While the bonus points were crucial, there were other positive signs throughout the lineup.
At 190, Akbar Nazurdinov, who weighed in at 177 pounds, scored the first three points of the third period and pulled away for a 12-5 decision.
At 113, Anthony Deplome lost to East’s Logan Taylor, 16-12. However, after being thrown to his back off the whistle, Deplome responded with a seven-point headlock. In the third period, behind 17-8, Deplome scored a takedown and escape and forced Taylor to settle for a decision.
“I don’t think people even expected us to win this match,” Pazinko said.
Jackson was without three starters. Veteran Will Hutchko, who is expected to be the starting 120-pounder, is still out with an injury but should return soon. Two other starters are navigating their weight descent plans.
Irshod Nazurdinov (175) and Andrew Chitacappa (285) had the other pins for the Jaguars while Finley Pazinko (157) won by technical fall.
Toms River East’s Richard DeLorenzo, a fourth-place finisher in the state tournament a season ago, won by technical fall at 132 pounds.
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