Wrestling: Soldano makes title statement in AC

ATLANTIC CITY -- As far as impressive first state finals appearances go, High Point sophomore Brian Soldano has to rank right up there with some of the best.

Soldano left no doubt as to who was the best at 160 pounds and took what many felt was his rightful place atop the podium with a blistering 9-0 major of Delbarton senior Dante Stefanelli in their title bout in the 87th New Jersey State Championships on Saturday afternoon at Boardwalk Arena.

Brian Soldano is the second HP sophomore to win a title. 

"I've trained all year for this," said Soldano, who is the 11th state champion in High Point history and first since Nick Francavilla, Drew Wagenhoffer, Ethan Orr and current assistant coach Billy Smith all won titles here in 2011. "The last few weeks, I wrote in my headgear [on pieces of tape] where I'm going to be. I'm going to be a state champ. Every single day, I saw that and I always repeated it to myself. This year was my year. That's what I came here for."

In what was a tough tournament as far as medals go for the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area, Sussex led the way with seven of the 10 placewinners -- including 'Cats junior Josh Gervey (sixth at 132) and senior Billy Talmadge (eighth at 138), who earned his second medal. Pope John junior Shane Percelay (120) and senior Kaya Sement were the next highest finishers after Soldano with third-place medals.

"Brian has so much potential and he works really hard to get better at what he does," said coach John Gardner, who has coached all nine of the 'Cats state champs since becoming the second in program history with his title run at 189 pounds in 1990. "He makes a lot of it look easy, but he's got a lot of ability. When you have kids with a lot of ability who work as hard as he does usually good things are going to happen. I think tonight is just the beginning of that. He has a unique style, no question, but he's confident in his abilities and he's not afraid to let things fly."

Smith, who sat in the corner with Gardner, was happy to see Soldano end the 'Cats title drought.

"I think I was more nervous for this one," said Smith, who led off that incredible championship run by he and his teammates that had this arena buzzing nine years ago. "I can control it when I'm on the mat. He's always confident, always poised and calm. He was ready for this match."

Seizing control

Soldano (38-1), a two-time district and region champion who finished one win shy of a medal here as a freshman, took it right to Stefanelli, fourth at this weight last season, from the opening whistle. He kept pressing the action and converted the first of three takedowns with 46 seconds left in the first period. In the second period, Soldano escaped and got another takedown where he went to work on top -- turning Stefanelli for two back points and a commanding 7-0 lead by using a move that has a rather unusual name.

Brian Soldano (back 2nd from left) with all the champs. 

"We call it "scissors me timbers," Soldano said of his move on top where he pulls the opponent back into him to get a turn and near-fall points. "Once you get him to his back, you kind of squeeze into their hips."

Stefanelli (36-9) took neutral -- his only option at that point in the bout -- to start the third period and even that didn't go well as Soldano got his third takedown off a deep double-leg attack just 10 seconds into the period to get back on top. He rode out Stefanelli the rest of the way.

"My goal was to get a takedown and be able to ride him for the whole match," said Soldano, who got in real deep on the takedown attempts and one other that he didn't convert early on. "I think I was able to do that.

"He was reaching real heavy and I was watching him warm up, too, he was real heavy on his feet so every time he'd reach, I'd see an opening and I just went for it."

Eyes on the prize

Soldano watched the clock tick off the final seconds, and when it was over, he raised his arms briefly to acknowledge the many High Point fans in attendance. That's about as big as it gets as far as showing any kind of emotion for the mild-mannered and classy young man.

"My dad always told me to act like you've been there. It's a business trip," Soldano said. "Don't be a showboater. Don't get cocky over anything. Anybody can win any given day."

Soldano, who will enter his junior season with a career mark of 79-5, said his freestyle training in the offseason -- he was a placewinner at the Cadet National Championships in Fargo, N.D. -- made him a more complete wrestler. Soldano went 11-0 this postseason with seven pins, one technical fall and one major decision, as well as a victory by injury default, while going all six minutes just twice, including a 4-1 win over Manalapan senior Matt Bendetti in the state semifinals.

"Last year, I would have never imagined to [take shots] in the finals," he said. "Now, I'm shooting left and right so it's helped me a lot in my neutral [position]. It's made me tougher."

The goal for Soldano now is to join Francavilla, the school's all-time wins leader with 156, as the program's only three-time champions. Gardner, who has reached legendary status for the 'Cats as a wrestler and an accomplished coach, said this could be just a taste of what is to come.

"He had a great performance out there," Gardner said. "First time [in the finals] was very special -- something he will remember. He's got a lot of potential. For as good as he is, he can still be better. We're kind of scratching the surface."

CHAMPIONSHIPS 

182: John Poznanski (Colonia) p.  Luke Rada (Colts Neck), 3:31.

195: Martin Cosgrove (Camden Catholic) d. David Szuba (Brick Memorial), 9-7.

220: P.J. Casale (Delbarton) d. Kyle Jacob (Paramus), 4-2.

285: Jim Mullen (St. Joe Montvale) d. JT Cornelius (Southern Regional), 7-3.

106: Evan Mougalian (Kinnelon) d. Anthony Santaniello (Brick Memorial), 3-1.

113: Tyler Klinsky (Middletown North) d. Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco), 6-3.

120: Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney) d.   Vincent Santaniello (Brick Memorial), 1-0.

126: Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) d. McKenzie Bell (Kingsway), 12-7.

132: Joey Olivieri (Hanover Park) d. Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic), 1-0.

138: Anthony Clark (Delbarton) d. William Grater (Bergen Catholic), 4-0.

145: Andrew Clark (Collingswood) d. Andrew Troczynski (Delbarton), 8-5. 

152: Nick Boggiano (Toms River North) d.  Aaron Ayzerov (Paramus), 7-3.

160: Brian Soldano (High Point) md. Dante Stefanelli (Delbarton), 9-0.

170: Connor O`Neill (DePaul) d. Shane Reitsma (Howell), 3-1.

Outstanding Wrestler Award -- John Poznanski, Colonia.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

106: Tyler Vazquez (Delbarton) d. Evan Tallmadge (Brick Twp.), 5-2.

113: Joseph Cangro (Bergen Catholic) d. Ty Whalen (Clearview), 3-2.

120: Shane Percelay (Pope John XXIII) d. Ethan Fernandez (Westwood), 5-4.

126: Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton) md. Alex Almeyda (St. Joe Montvale), 14-3.

132: Simon Ruiz (Delbarton) d. Anthony White (South Plainfield), 2-1, UTB.

138: Eddie Hummel (Southern Regional) d. Ryan Zimmerman (Long Branch), 4-2.

145: Kaya Sement (Pope John XXIII) d. Michael Dellagatta (St. Joe Montvale), 4-1.

152: Brandon Mooney (Camden Catholic) p. Dylan Weaver (Lyndhurst/North Arlington), 0:34.

160: Robert Woodcock (Southern Regional) d. Matt Benedetti (Manalapan), 6-4.

170: Jacob Vega (Carteret) d. Noah Fox (Montville), 6-2.

182: Blake Clayton (St. John Vianney) d. Joe Colon (Brick Memorial), 5-1.

195: Mike Misita (St. Augustine Prep) d. Luke Chakonis (Delbarton), 4-0.

220: Zane Coles (Pitman) d. Robert Damerjian (Moorestown), 1-0.

285: Marcus Estevez (Franklin) p. Bardhyl Gashi (West Essex), 3:43.

FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES

106: Jack Zaleski (Middletown South) md. Luke Stanich (Roxbury), 10-2.

113: Cooper Stewart (Sparta) d. Ryan Rosenthal (Toms River North), 5-2.

120: Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic) by forfeit over Nick Babin (Emerson/Park Ridge).

126: Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII) md. Nico Messina (Freehold Boro), 15-2.

132: Justin Bierdumpfel (St. Joe Montvale) d. Josh Gervey (High Point), 6-3.

138: Jacob Perez-Eli (Paulsboro) d. Michael Cetta (St. Joe Montvale), 3-1, SV.

145: Gabe Onorato (Paulsboro) p. Colton Washleski (Hunterdon Central), 5:03.

152: Colin Calvetti (Delbarton) by forfeit over Alex Strashinsky (Bergen Catholic).

160: Shay Addison (Rumson-Fair Haven) p. Blake Bahna (Watchung Hills), 5:13.

170: Jack Kelly (Rumson-Fair Haven) p. Luke Benedict (Haddonfield), 1:34.

182: Benjamin Liss (Fair Lawn) by forfeit over Jacob Whitworth (Wall).

195: Kyle Epperly (Jackson Memorial) d. Michael Massa (Seton Hall), 7-0.

220: Gage Armijo (West Morris Mendham) d. Michael Toranzo (St. Joe Montvale), 12-11.

285: Hector Lebron (Dwight Morrow) d. Justin Wright (Howell), 6-5.

SEVENTH-PLACE MATCHES

106: Aiden Wallace (Bergen Catholic) d. Jared Brunner (Eastern), 8-2.

113: Garrett Totten (Northern Burlington) d. Brady Conlin (Williamstown), 7-6.

120: Joey Lamparelli (Allentown) d. Fred Luchs (Middletown North), 3-1.

126: Luke Hoerle (Westfield) d. Andre Ruiz (Bogota/Ridgefield Park), 6-4.

132: Jack Nies (Ocean Twp.) d. Austin Jack (Jefferson Twp.), 3-0.

138: Al De Santis (Shore Regional) d. Billy Talmadge (High Point), 3-2.

145: Dakota Morris (Kingsway) d. Max Brignola (Rumson-Fair Haven), 7-4.

152: Stefano Sgambellone (St. Joe Montvale) p. Jared Schoppe (Delsea), 4:31.

160: Nate Camiscioli (Bergen Catholic) d. Norman Cella (Hunterdon Central), 3-0.

170: Marcus Petite (Piscataway) d. Colin Loughney (West Morris Central), 4-2.

182: Jason Sherlock (Point Pleasant Beach) p. Kevin Pandorf (Kingsway), 2:20.

195: Thomas Renna (South Plainfield) p. Patrick O`Dwyer (Long Branch), 2:44.

220: Joshua Darisme (Rahway) d. Cody Thurston (West Deptford), 3-2.

285: Liam Akers (North Hunterdon) d. Griffin Jackstadt (Barnegat), 2-0.