Ocean Twp. wrestling will have a new look

It is said that the truly strong high school wrestling programs never rebuild. They simply reload.

That appears to be the case with this year's Ocean Township High School team, which will have a vastly different look from last year's 18-8 Central Jersey Group III and District 22 championship squad.

Ocean graduated four of the top wrestlers in the Shore Conference in the quartet of Zac Coulas, Mike Berardesco, Andrew Van Dyk and Nick Menditto. Led by Menditto's backto back state championships, those four grapplers combined for 11 state medals, six region titles and 12 district titles, and helped anchor what has routinely been one of the Shore's elite programs in recent years.

When you add the losses of Ben Lowy and Mike Recchia, Ocean graduated 182 wins from 2008, making this season's version of the Spartans very much a new team.

However, head coach Ken Hoff has plenty of talent returning, in addition to a new wave of promising newcomers ready to fill those aforementioned voids. Last year's Ocean Township Intermediate School team went undefeated, sending a slew of grapplers already familiar with success to infiltrate Hoff's traditionally strong program.

The lower weights will be led by senior J.P. Palandrano (29-10 a year ago), who is a fouryear starter and a three-time Region 6 qualifier. Palandrano will start at 135, right behind junior Mike LeCompte, who returns to the team after missing a year due to injury. LeCompte was 19-8 in 2007.

Freshman Jason DaCruz is expected to have an immediate impact at 119, while junior John Sagona looks to pick up where he left off last year when he went 10-16 but finished strong and took third in the district. Seniors J.T. Turbeville, Anthony Parrino and Matt Dalton will also help bring some experience to the lower half of the lineup.

Another strong returner for the Spartans will be junior 145-pounder Andrew Lee, who was 19-13 last year and finished second in the district. Along with senior heavyweight Ricky Lyster (23-12, second in the district) and senior 189-pounder Scott Weldon (10-19, second place in the district), Lee will look to anchor the upper half of the line-up.

Senior 171-pounder Shane Vilanova's return to the lineup after missing last year with an injury should also solidify the upper weights, while newcomers such as junior Eric Nelson (152), sophomore Tyler Lyster (171) and freshmanBen Palandrano (152) are also expected to make an impact.

This past weekend, Ocean was to get its first look at a Long Branch team that many are calling the best in the state when both squads participated in the Neptune Classic. Palandrano, Weldon and Lyster were among the high seeds in their respective weight classes, and were looking to start their seasons off with a medal.