UNION COUNTY, NJ — The last state wrestling champion from Union County was Westfield High School senior Christian Barber in 2011 at 152 pounds.
That was 11 years ago.
It’s been that long.
Before that, it was Brearley High School senior Jesse Boyden, winning at 215 pounds in 2008.
In last year’s NJSIAA Tournament at Phillipsburg at the end of April in a unique COVID-19 season that did not commence until March, no Union County wrestlers reached the finals.
Union County has not had a state champion wrestler in the last 10 NJSIAA tournaments, 2012-2021, or in 12 of the last 13.
Eleven Union County wrestlers advanced to this weekend’s NJSIAA Tournament, which, after a one-year absence, is back at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The breakdown is four from Union County Tournament and Union County Conference–Watchung Division winner Cranford High School; four from Westfield High School, which finished third in the county; one from Governor Livingston High School, which finished second in the county; one from Roselle Park High School, which finished fourth in the county; and one from Arthur L. Johnson High School.
Competition commences Thursday, March 3; continues Friday, March 4; and concludes Saturday, March 5, with the finals.
At Region 4 in North Hunterdon last weekend, Westfield junior Michael Murphy was Union County’s only region champion, edging Cranford High School freshman Jordan Chapman 5-4 in the 157 pound final. Murphy was the second seed and Chapman the top seed.
Murphy defeated Chapman 9-7 in the Union County Tournament final on Sunday, Jan. 23, at Arthur L. Johnson High School, and then Chapman bested Murphy 5-3 in Cranford’s 36-27 Union County Conference–Watchung Division–clinching match at Westfield on Saturday, Feb. 5.
Chapman was one of five Union County grapplers to advance as second-place finishers. Four more made it while finishing third, and one more advanced after finishing fourth. The top four place winners in each weight class in each of the eight regions advanced to the NJSIAA Tournament.
Placing second in addition to Chapman were Ethan Composto of Westfield High School at 126 pounds, Mayson Harms of Roselle Park High School at 132 pounds, Luke Jacobs of Westfield High School at 138 pounds and Shane Kanterman of Cranford High School at 190 pounds.
Finishing third were Scott Rayack of Governor Livingston High School at 120 pounds, Joey Ortega of Arthur L. Johnson High School at 144 pounds, Colin Murray of Cranford High School at 165 pounds and Kevin Shriner of Cranford High School at heavyweight. Murray, a UCT and District 13 champion, was undefeated going into Region 4.
Ortega’s father, Rick, is the head coach at Governor Livingston High School. Rick Ortega graduated from Governor Livingston High School in 1993 and, as a senior three months before, won the 130-pound state championship at the NJSIAA Tournament that year. Rick Ortega was also the head coach at Arthur L. Johnson High School, where he was named Union County coach of the year in 2013.
The lone Union County wrestler who made it to Atlantic City after finishing fourth was Brandon Ribiero of Westfield High School at 120 pounds.
Cranford coach says all four of his wrestlers are good enough to reach the podium at AC.
Cranford head coach Pat Gorman has a ton of confidence in the four Cranford wrestlers — Jordan Chapman, Colin Murray, Shane Kanterman and Kevin Shriner — wrestling in this weekend’s NJSIAA Tournament in Atlantic City.
“I can see all four getting to the podium,” said Gorman.
Gorman says his wrestlers have a better-than-average chance of making the top eight in their weight class. The top eight in each of the 14 weight classes get to the podiums and receive medals.
“As long as they don’t get nervous, I think they’ll be fine,” Gorman said. “They are all wrestling their best right now.”
This will be the first experience at Boardwalk Hall for the freshman Chapman, who has a 32-3 record.
“I think it will help Jordan that he had another close match with Murphy, rather than another quick pin,” Gorman said. “Now we can focus on what he needs to learn, such as tweaks in his offense and his mental game.”
Murray is 35-1. After losing in the 165-pound Region 4 semifinals to second-seeded Owen Disbrow of St. Thomas Aquinas 5-2, the third-seeded Murray rebounded to beat fifth-seeded Tyler Balent of South Plainfield 8-6 in the wrestleback semifinals to reach the third-place bout competition.
Murray, a UCT and District 13 champion as a senior this year, did not let his first loss this season affect him.
“It was great to see him bounce back there,” Gorman said.
Murray then edged top-seeded Jack Martin of Pingry, 4-3, to place third.
“He didn’t end up winning a region championship, but he came back and beat the top seed to finish third, which was impressive,” Gorman said.
Murray, at 145 pounds, made it to the NJSIAA Tournament in 2020 and won two matches in Atlantic City. He is closing in on 90 lifetime wins.
Kanterman won by decision in the first round, by major decision in the quarterfinals and by pin in the semifinals to reach the 190-pound final at Region 4. The second seed, Kanterman pinned sixth-seeded Michael Torres of Colonia in 2:33 to advance to the championship match to face top-seeded Alex Uryniak of North Hunterdon. There Kanterman was pinned in 1:25.
Kanterman, a junior, enters NJSIAA Tournament competition with a 28-8 record.
Kanterman made it to last April’s NJSIAA Tournament at Phillipsburg but did not win a match.
Shriner won a 4-2 overtime decision against Brian Moyer of St. Thomas Aquinas High School to place third at heavyweight in Region 4. St. Thomas Aquinas High School, located in North Edison, was previously known as Bishop George Ahr High School.
“In the heavyweight division, you need to play the score and be smarter,” Gorman said. “Kevin is starting to pick up his offense. He got a quick takedown in overtime against the kid from St. Thomas Aquinas.”
Shriner’s record is 31-3.
Gorman said that Cranford and Westfield high schools tied for fourth in the team points totals that are tallied. St. Peter’s Preparatory School came in first, and North Hunterdon High School was second.
“I’m very proud of all four of our wrestlers who will be competing one more time this weekend,” Gorman said.
Union County wrestlers who advanced to the NJSIAA Tournament out of Region 4 at North Hunterdon:
Champions
157: Michael Murphy, Westfield
Second
126: Ethan Composto, Westfield
132: Mayson Harms, Roselle Park
138: Luke Jacobs, Westfield
157: Jordan Chapman, Cranford
190: Shane Kanterman, Cranford
Third
120: Scott Rayack, Gov. Livingston
144: Joey Ortega, Johnson
165: Colin Murray, Cranford
HWT: Kevin Shriner, Cranford
Fourth
120: Brandon Ribiero, Westfield
2022 Region 4 at North Hunterdon
Finals (wrestlers here who placed first or second advanced to states):
106: Logan Wadle, North Hunterdon, dec. Adrian DeJesus, St. Peter’s Prep, 7-6.
113: Jeffrey Jacome, South Plainfield, dec. Jake Talarico, SPP, 7-1.
120: Donovan Chavis, SPP, dec. Jacob DelVecchio, South Plainfield, 5-0.
126: Caedyn Ricciardi, SPP, maj. dec. Ethan Composto, Westfield, 11-2.
132: Jonathan Fuller, SPP, dec. Mayson Harms, Roselle Park, 6-3.
138: Felix Lettini, SPP, pin Luke Jacobs, Westfield, 1:37.
144: J.J. Giordano, South Plainfield, dec. Angelo Pellicci, SPP, 7-2.
150: Nicholas Campagna, South Plainfield, dec. Alexander Martinez, Bound Brook, 2-1.
157: Michael Murphy, Westfield, dec. Jordan Chapman, Cranford, 5-4.
165: Anthony Harris, SPP, dec. Owen Disbrow, St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-3.
175: Jacob Ventura, Pingry, pin Chris Baker, Watchung Hills, 2:46.
190: Alex Uryniak, North Hunterdon, pin Shane Kanterman, Cranford, 1:25.
215: Brendan Raley, North Hunterdon, dec. Carlos Angel, Bound Brook, 9-3.
HWT: Liam Akers, North Hunterdon, dec. Justin Evans-Jenkins, Irvington, 4-1.
Third-place bouts (wrestlers here who placed third and fourth advanced to states):
106: Beniamino DiCocco, STA, dec. Owen Kucharski, Delaware Valley, 6-1.
113: Sean Markey, Bound Brook, dec. Joe Aldrich, Somerville, 4-2.
120: Scott Rayack, Gov. Livingston, dec. Brandon Ribiero, Westfield, 14-9 (SV).
126: Tim Kolshom, Ridge, dec. Daniel Smith, Bridgewater–Raritan, 5-3.
132: Nick DeLorenzo, North Hunterdon, pin Giovanni Maglione, Iselin Kennedy, 3:11.
138: Landon Kearns, STA, dec. Daniel DeLusant, North Hunterdon, 5-2.
144: Joey Ortega, Johnson, maj. dec. Christian Calvo, Watchung Hills, 13-2.
150: Maxwell Nevlin, SPP, dec. Chris Colasurdo, Delaware Valley, 7-0.
157: Roger Diaz, SPP, pin Harry Liu, Watchung Hills, 2:27.
165: Colin Murray, Cranford, dec. Jack Martin, Pingry, 4-3.
175: Luke Yager, North Hunterdon, won by forfeit.
190: Jake Fern, Ridge, won by forfeit.
215: Lensley Therlonge, Irvington, dec. Trevor Bowen, Delaware Valley, 2-1 (TB).
HWT: Kevin Shriner, Cranford, dec. Brian Moyer, STA, 4-2 (SV).
Fifth-place bouts (wrestlers here placed fifth and sixth, but did not advance):
106: Matthew Griffin, Roselle Park, pin Logan Levine, Bridgewater–Raritan, 0:54.
113: Ben Markaritis, North Hunterdon, pin Julian McGarry, Brearley, 3:18.
120: Robert Groogan, Delaware Valley, pin Jordan Bash, Watchung Hills, 3:21.
126: Markus Crespo, Iselin Kennedy, pin Braxton Hanna, North Hunterdon, 5:58.
132: Michael Policarpio, Millburn, won by forfeit.
138: Sean Hunnewell, Bernards, dec. Logan Wiecoreck, Voorhees, 4-2.
144: Angel Mejia, Roselle Park, maj. dec. Tyler Austin, Bernards, 13-5.
150: Connor Hoefling, Cranford, pin Julian Colon, Roselle Park, 0:55.
157: Jake Kreisberg, Gov. Livingston, pin Justin Ziss, Bridgewater–Raritan, 3:01.
165: Tyler Balent, South Plainfield, pin Demo Clenord, Irvington, 4:53.
175: Anderson Olcott, Delaware Valley, won by forfeit.
190: Isaiah Augustin, Irvington, won by forfeit.
215: Martin Martinetti, St. Peter’s Prep, won by forfeit.
HWT: Mathew Ihemesie, Hillside, dec. Chris Huljack, Watchung Hills, 3-2 (UTB).
Union County wrestlers who placed fifth:
106: Matthew Griffin, Roselle Park.
144: Angel Mejia, Roselle Park.
150: Connor Hoefling, Cranford.
157: Jake Kreisberg, Gov. Livingston.
HWT: Mathew Ihemesie, Hillside.
Union County wrestlers who placed sixth:
113: Julian McGarry, Brearley.
150: Julian Colon, Roselle Park.
2022 NJSIAA Tournament schedule at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall
Thursday, March 3
Session 1 begins at 2 p.m. on eight mats.
Preliminary round (round of 32).
Pre-quarterfinal round (round of 16).
Friday, March 4
Session 2 begins at 9 a.m. on eight mats
Wrestleback round 1 on all eight mats.
Quarterfinals at approximately 12 p.m.
on center four mats 3-6.
Wrestleback rounds 2 and 3.
Session 3 begins at 6 p.m. on 6 mats
Semifinals on center mats 3 and 4.
Wrestleback rounds 4 and 5.
Saturday, March 5
Session 4 begins at 10 a.m. on four mats
Wrestleback round 6.
Third-, fifth-, seventh-place medal rounds.
Session 5 begins at 2 p.m. on one mat
Awards, presentations.
Parade of Placewinners.
Finals (not before 3 p.m.).
Photos courtesy of Gene Nann