Long Branch cops first SCT wrestling crown
Green Wave defeats Brick Memorial and Howell en route to title
BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer
The Long Branch High School wrestling team is the best squad in the Shore Conference.

Fans of the GreenWave have been promoting that belief all season long. For the most part, however, it has been met with scoffs, looks of disbelief and a variety of dismissive responses.

Only now, nobody can question the merit of the statement. The Long Branch High School wrestling team is the best squad in the Shore Conference, because on Saturday, they proved it on the mat.

After beating 12-time Shore Conference Tournament champion Brick Memorial in the semifinals, 32- 25, the Green Wave sealed the deal on its first SCT title in school history with a 30-25 win overHowell in the final at Southern RegionalHigh School. Inwhatwas the first all- Monmouth County final since Manalapan beatNeptune in the 1982 final, LongBranch managed to win just enough of the tossup matches to capture the title, ending the title hopes of aHowell teamthat had knocked off the four-time defending SCT champions from Jackson Memorial, 35-27, in the other semifinalmatch earlier in the day.

For head coach Danny George, the championship win validates just how far his program has come at Long Branch, and solidifies its place among the very best programs in the state.

"Anytime a program can hit on such a tremendous accomplishment, it's very special," he said. "It's an incredible feat, and one that radiates through all of the levels of this program."

Ameer Washington got things started for the Wave by beating Howell's Mike Bonfig, 2-1, in the 285-pound bout, only to have the Rebels reel off three straight wins at 103, 112 and 119. Andrew Cornell gave the momentum back to Long Branch with a 4-3 win over Mike Shaughnessy, and Ray Stathum followed with an 18-6 win over Matt Reed at 130. Last year's state runner-up Cody Fobes then beat

Justin Clark via a 12-3 major decision

at 135, before Jon Robertson

scored a technical fall at

140 for the Green Wave. That

set up one of the most important

bouts of the match, when

Doug Cornell scored a onepoint

win over Joe Sulkowski on a rideout in the fourth overtime. Long Branch went on to win the next fourmatches,withAndrewBalina beating Jessie Holzhauer, 7-6, at 152; Nick Visicaro posting a huge 3-2 win over one of Howell's studs, Jason Ecklof, at 160, and Shawn Brown defeatingMattWoodward, 7- 3, at 171.

"We had so many big wins throughout the match - like Andrew Cornell's big win at 125, and Dougie Cornell winning in four overtimes on a rideout, which was huge," George said. "And Visicaro beating the No. 2 seeded kid in the region was amazing. Once that happened I think we all thought 'now it's really doable.'Once he won, I really liked our chances."

With Visicaro's win, Long Branch was in position to seal the match without having to send someone out against Howell's undefeated 215-pounder, Harry Turner. And the coach did not hesitate to send his nephew Billy George's out on the mat to face Colin Murphy in the 189-pound bout.

"The way the strategy of the match played out, we just wanted to get our best guy in that spot," the proud coach said. "It just happened to be my nephew, and I think we all felt we were in good shape when we sent him out there."

Needless to say, the gutty sophomore did not disappoint, beating Murphy, 6-2, at 189 pounds to seal the win for the Green Wave and set off a celebration heard all the way back to Long Branch.

With the head coach making all the right calls with his match-up decisions, and his wrestlers making him look very smart with their performances on the mat, Long Branch was able to quiet all its doubters, becoming just the secondMonmouth County team to win an SCT title.Manalapan won the SCT title in 1981, 1982 and 2003.

There were those, including George, who felt the Green Wave (19-0) deserved the tournament's top seed. However, once Long Branch was seeded third, the Wave simply went about its business, and methodically marched to the championship.

"We thought that we had a darn good chance to contend for this title," George said. " I don't know that the seeding was a rallying cry for this team, we just went into it thinking we were going to show them that we can go with this group of elite teams. We've competed with them in various tournaments in the offseason, but this was the first time we got to do it in the regular season.

"I believe our kids believed that we were going to contend," he added. "I think we were more confident that individually we could go with these guys and have chance to win."

Now that his team has earned its place in history, George, one of the more respected and wellliked coaches in the Shore, is enjoying the aftermath of the accomplishment.

"It's without a doubt one of the greatest accomplishments I have ever been part of," he said. "There are no sections in this tournament; noGroup IV,Group III,Group II or Group I. There are 44 teams in the conference, and it's arguably the best conference in the state. To be able to be the top team in the Shore is very, very special."

Up next for the GreenWave is the Central Jersey Group III team tournament, scheduled to begin on Monday, with quarterfinal action. Long Branch should be the top seed in that tournament, however, even if it is slighted in that regard, few will be surprised if Danny George's history making crew is celebrating another title in the near future.