Camden Catholic wins Non-Public B state wrestling title

February 12, 2012|By Phil Anastasia, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - The finish was an exclamation point.

Camden Catholic registered pins in six of the final seven bouts to cruise to a 54-18 victory over DePaul Catholic in the Non-Public B state championship Sunday at Toms River North High School.

Chad Walsh (138), T.J. Miller (145), Frank Varallo (152), Collin Pierlot (170), Carmen Iossa (182) and Joe Mazzochette (195) scored pins in a furious flurry as the Irish (25-5) wrapped up their ninth consecutive state title before a crowd of 4,850 in the Pine Belt Arena.

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Camden Catholic has won 14 state titles. The Irish have won the last three titles in Non-Public B after winning the previous six in Non-Public A.

"We wish we were up in 'A' but we can't control that," said Miller, a junior who improved to 30-1 and will turn his attention to trying to won his second consecutive individual state title.

The state title was meaningful for first-year coach Ryan McCormick, a former Irish assistant coach.

"It's always special, because there's a different group of kids every year, a different group of seniors," McCormick said.

The score was tied, 15-15, when Camden Catholic junior Nick Minkiewicz scored a 9-2 victory over Sean Brophy in what McCormick had viewed as a "toss-up" at 132 pounds.

"That really got us going," McCormick said. "Then our big guns took it from there."

Walsh improved to 28-4 with a pin in 56 seconds, while Miller needed just 1 minute, 46 seconds to record his fall and push the Irish lead to 30-15.

"This is the ultimate team goal," Miller said. "From a team standpoint, we start every season with the idea that we're going to win a state championship."

Delsea falls in finals. The Crusaders rallied to score a 36-34 victory over Brearley in the semifinals but lost to Raritan, 30-28, in the final.

Senior 145-pounder Curt Delia won by pin in both matches for the Crusaders, and senior Marshall Brooks (182), junior John Hennelly (138), and sophomore Bryan Dobzanski (195) also won both of their matches.

It was a step forward for Delsea (21-2), which had lost in the state semifinals in three of the previous four seasons.

"We're going to keep banging on that door until we knock it down," Delsea coach Greg Sawyer said.

In the finals, Raritan used three consecutive pins at 113, 120, and 126 to seize command. But earlier, the Rockets got a big win at 220 pounds when Nick Rice scored a 3-2 win over Sean Redden in overtime.

Redden was close to a winning takedown at the end of regulation.

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