Jackson’s dominance reaches new heights
Marlboro’s Parisi is tournament’s most outstanding wrestler
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Jackson’s Corey Biscaha celebrates his win over Howell’s Justin Morello in the 125-pound final at the District 21 Tournament at Manalapan High School on Saturday.

Right before the NJSIAA District 21 Wrestling Tournament started, Jackson coach Scott Goodale told his team that it had not had its last practice as a team.

The District championships begin the weeding-out process on the way to the state championships in Atlantic City. If a wrestler doesn’t finish in the top three in his weight class, his season is over, and if he’s a senior, so is his career.

Goodale anticipated that when the District 21 tournament in Manalapan was over on Saturday, all 14 of his Jaguars would be alive and headed to this weekend’s Region VI championships. It’s a daunting thought, but when you have the No. 1 team in the state, you can raise the bar that high.

“When we saw the seedings, the opportunity was there for us to get everyone through,” said Goodale. “These guys are still motivated and want to go on.

“I told them on Friday that this was not our last practice as a team,” he added.

It wasn’t. Jackson took its domination of District 21 to a new level Saturday as all 14 of their wrestlers advanced to the finals. They held a dual meet against the District and won. The Jaguars rolled up 291 points on the way to their ninth straight championship and crowned eight individual champions.

“It’s a great way to cap being the No. 1 team,” said Goodale. “They want to be remembered as the school’s best team.”

Glen Booth, who won his first District title at 140, said the idea of getting all 14 Jaguars to the final was added motivation to top off the greatest season in school history.

“We thought after our last dual meet [winning the State Group IV title] that might be it,” he said. “Coach Goodale talked about this [putting all 14 wrestlers in the final], and we said there’s no other way to go out.”

One of the happiest Jaguars was their most formidable wrestler, sophomore Scott Winston, who raised his career record to 54-0 with his win at 145. Last year, Winston was on the sidelines, his season finished by a broken arm when the Districts came around. He more than made up for what he missed out on pinning defending champion Lenny Sasso, of St. John Vianney, in 2:59. Winston raised his 2006 record to 32-0 by pinning all three opponents.

“It felt real good,” he said. “I waited such a long time for this. I wrestled well.”

Winston said he had been preparing for this moment for a year.

“Last season never really ended,” he noted. “I’ve been working toward these three weeks [District, Region and state championships].”

As for Jackson’s dominance over the weekend, “It felt like it was a regular dual meet,” Winston said. “It’s a great accomplishment. It was great to share it with 13 others.”

Another Jaguar whose championship was a year in the making was senior Booth. He was beaten in last year’s 135 final by Howell’s Tom Tuminelli. Both went up to the 140 weight class this year, all but assuring a rematch that did take place. Booth has had Tuminelli in his sights since he stepped off the mat last year.

“I knew I’d have to wrestle him again,” Booth said. “I trained for this all year. I tried to wrestle smart.”

When opportunity knocked, he seized it, catching Tuminelli and scoring a pin.

“He shoots with his arms wide, and I went in underneath tight around his head,” said Booth.

Booth’s win was popular with Goodale and the rest of the Jaguars.

“I’m so happy to see a senior like Booth win his first District title,” said Goodale, the District 21 Coach of the Year. “It means so much to them. This is the best senior class in school history.”

Don’t cry for Jackson, which wrapped up the state’s No. 1 ranking with its Group IV win. Of the Jaguars eight champions, only three were seniors. In addition to Booth, they were Matt Bradley (130) and Ken Carney (160), who became two-time champions. Bradley scored a 21-6 technical win over Marlboro’s Eric Stoffer and Carney, beat Howell’s Frank Mormino, 17-6.

Jackson’s other champions were: Rob Swan (119), who also joined the two-time champion club, Corey Biscaha (125), Dan Hopkins (171) and Joe Cella (215).

Swan, beat host Manalapan’s Vinny Lynch, 9-0. Biscaha edged Howell’s top seed Justin Morello, 3-2. Hopkins worked out a 4-3 decision over Marlboro’s Steve Pellicione, while Cella bested returning champion Anthony Panzarino, of Freehold Borough, 3-2.