Every holiday season, we get to relive a little history on the mats at the John Goles Invitational -- the granddaddy of tourneys in the Open Mike area. The 56th edition on Friday was full of surprises and milestones. Let's take a look at some of what went down at Warren Hills Regional High School:
1. The host Blue Streaks repeated as teams champions for the first time since 1996-97 -- the program's 22nd overall since the event's inception 1958. Freshman Matt Valli (113), along with junior John Fluck (120) and senior Steve Cleaver (182) won individual titles, while juniors Max Nauta and Andrew Pacheco (285) and seniors Ryan Ostir (170) and Ryan Witner (220) were runners-up.
Valli was especially impressive in racking up four takedowns in a 9-3 win over Edison's Fernando Encarnacion. There have only been six wrestlers to win four Goles titles and Valli is one-quarter of the way home.
Fluck and Cleaver also won their first titles, while Cleaver also earned the most team points award with a total of 25.
2. North Hunterdon recovered from a rough semifinals round to go 5-for-5 in the championship finals. Paul Robinson (106), Ryan Pomrinca (126) and Mike Ciavarro (152) were all repeat winners, while Mike Sicola (160) and Joe Guzzo (170) claimed their first gold medals.
Pomrinca joined an exlusive list -- becoming just the 33rd wrestler to win at least three Goles championships -- with his impressive 13-4 major of two-time District 1 medalist Dylan Luciano of West Morris.
Coach Tim Flynn's Lions, who went 4-5 in the semis, closed the gap on the Blue Streaks (182-174 in the team standings) with a strong finish, including Guzzo's 8-4 win over Ostir in the only head-to-head matchup between the top two teams. The Hunterdon County school has produced at least one finalist every year since re-joining the tournament on a full-time basis in 2008, while crowning at least one champion every year but '08.
It was the closest team race since 2002, when Delaware Valley beat Scotch Plains by a half point (161.5 to 161).
3. Edison hasn't made much noise in recent years since winning its last team title in 2006, but the Eagles managed a fourth-place finish behind a stunning 7-1 win in the 138-pound final, as junior Billy Povalac knocked off two-time champion Max Nauta of Warren Hills.
Povalac was simply too big and strong for Nauta, who won a Region 1 title at 113 pounds last season. The victory also netted the Outstanding Wrestler Award -- Edison's first since Mike Franco-Bandiero won it back-to-back in 2007-08. Joe Duhigg (1987, '89), Mike Malinconico ('95) and Griff Banos ('98) are the other Eagles to earn OW honors.
4. Despite finishing a distant seventh, Newton had cause to celebrate with junior Gus Protogeropoulos winning the 195-pound title -- 3-0 over Edison's Kevin Karvaski. A first-period takedown was the highlight, as the Braves celebrated a champion after not producing a finalist a year ago for the first time in coach Eric Bollette's 13 seasons. Protogeropoulos, who won the Ryan Storm Memorial Award for most pins in the least total time by a tournament champion, was the lone winner among six Newton wrestlers in the quarterfinals.
Assistant coaches Andy Iliff (1985-86) and Ted Sibblies (1987-88) are among the 84 champions for Newton, which trails only Warren Hills (174).
5. You have to wonder what kind of tournament it might have been had Delaware Valley been at full strength. Coach Andy Fitz's Terriers were without the services of Luke Zehnbauer (170) and Kody Eichlin (182) due to injuries. Both wrestlers would have been top seeds and favorites to win titles.
Del Val finished third without them -- 26 points behind second-place North Hunterdon and 34 in back of first-place Warren Hills. Nour Mays (170) did finish third by avenging an earlier loss in the quarterfinals to Ben Schulman of West Windsor South (5-4 in UTB), with a 1-0 victory in their third-place bout. Schulman is the son of West Windsor South coach Darren Schulman, who won the 123-pound state title for East Brunswick in 1986.
Senior heavyweight Marek Tomanek set the place on its ear with a stunning 3-2 upset-win over Pacheco in the 285-pound final. A reversal with 56 seconds left won it, as Tomanek (7-0) rode tough on top to secure the title.
Other notables:
In a touching gesture by the John Goles Invitational staff, the fastest pin award was named after longtime Warren Hills fan Alonzo Widenor, who died shortly before the Streaks' 76th season. Pacheco became the fourth Warren Hills wrestler in five years to win the award with his 27-second pin of Newton's Tyler Pittenger in the quarterfinals. The nine-second fall by Pope John's Anthony Koert in 2004 remains the fastest in John Goles history.
There were a number of former Goles champions on hand, including former Warren Hills greats Julius DiRisio (1985, '87 and '88) and Barry Van Scoten (1988-89). Also spotted in the crowd were former Blue Streaks Bob Leh (1962-63) and Rob Rhinehart (1973, '74, '75). Current Del Val assistant coach Gregg Wiseburn was a two-time winner for Warren Hills in 1999 and 2000, while Millburn coach Mike Artigliere won a titles for Madison in 1985 and '86.
Interestingly, Pomrinca and Mike Ciavarro recorded the only technical falls in the tournament. Pomrinca scored a 19-3 win in 3:52 over Del Val freshman Rhys Zigich, while Ciavarro posted a 19-4 victory in 5:03 over Caleb Isemann of West Morris.
Warren Hills pulled away in the team race by going 7-for-7 in the semifinals, holding a slim half-point lead over North Hunterdon entering that round. The Streaks also registered a tournament-best 14 pins, two more than Delaware Valley.
In the previous three seasons, the team that finished higher at the Goles between Del Val and North Hunterdon lost the dual meet. Last year, Warren Hills finished higher than Del Val, but lost the dual meet in Alexandria Township.
In all, nine underclassmen won titles, including three juniors from North Hunterdon. Pomrinca will try to become only the seventh wrestler to win four in 2014 -- joining Steve Kasza of Belvidere/Warren Hills (1981-84), Joe Duhigg of Edison (1986-89), Ryan Kanewski of Warren Hills (1993-96), Dan Hutchins of Delaware Valley (1998-2001), Mike Franco-Bandiero of Edison (2005-08) and Kevin Churchill of Newton (2006-09).
Results from the 56th John Goles Invitational
Team standings: 1. Warren Hills 182; 2. North Hunterdon 174; 3. Delaware Valley 148; 4. Edison 138; 5. West Morris 115; 6. Scotch Plains 96; 7. Newton 55; 8. West Windsor South 46; 9. South Brunswick 36; 10. Millburn 16.
Championships
106 -- 1-Jr. Paul Robinson (4-1), North Hunterdon, md. 3-Fr. Robert Cleary (5-1), Edison, 10-2.
113 -- 5-Fr. Matt Valli (4-2), Warren Hills, d. 2-Sr. Fernando Encarnacion (5-1), Edison, 9-3.
120 -- 3-Jr. John Fluck (4-2), Warren Hills, p. 8-Sr. Tyler Smith (3-3), Delaware Valley, 1:23.
126 -- 1-Jr. Ryan Pomrinca (6-0), North Hunterdon, md. 2-Jr. Dylan Luciano (4-1), West Morris, 13-4.
132 -- 5-Jr. Ryan Erwin (5-2), Delaware Valley, d. 3-Sr. Ryan Moshman (5-2), West Windsor South, 9-4.
138 -- 2-Jr. Billy Povalac (6-0), Edison, d. 1-Jr. Max Nauta (5-1), Warren Hills, 7-1.
145 -- 2-Jr. Brian Lapham (4-0), Scotch Plains, d. 1-Jr. David Migliaccio (2-1), West Morris, 3-1 SV.
152 -- 1-Sr. Mike Ciavarro (6-0), North Hunterdon, md. 2-Sr. Dom Natale (3-1), Scotch Plains, 12-4.
160 -- 1-Jr. Mike Sicola (5-2), North Hunterdon, d. 2-Sr. Dino Gagula (4-1), Edison, 5-1.
170 -- 2-Sr. Joe Guzzo (6-1), North Hunterdon, d. 1-Sr. Ryan Ostir (3-3), Warren Hills, 8-4.
182 -- 2-Sr. Steve Cleaver (5-1), Warren Hills, p. 1-Sr. Matt Ridge (3-1), Scotch Plains, 2:38.
195 -- 2-Jr. Gus Protogeropoulos (5-1), Newton, d. 4-Sr. Kevin Karvaski (4-2), Edison, 3-0.
220 -- 2-Sr. Jesse Windt (5-0), West Morris, d. 4-Sr. Ryan Witner (5-1), Warren Hills, 7-1.
285 -- 2-Sr. Marek Tomanek (7-0), Delaware Valley, d. 1-Jr. Andrew Pacheco (5-1), Warren Hills, 3-2.
Third-place consolations
106 -- 5-Fr. Shane Metzler (4-2), West Morris, d. 2-So. Vito Intili (2-3), Delaware Valley, 1-0.
113 -- 3-Fr. Matt Kolonia (6-1), Delaware Valley, d. 4-Fr. Kade Loughney (4-2), West Morris, 4-0.
120 -- 1-Sr. John Schade (3-1), West Morris, d. 4-Jr. Trevor Morales (4-2), Newton, 4-3.
126 -- 4-So. Austin Pidoto (5-2), Warren Hills, d. 5-Jr. JT Beirne (3-2), Scotch Plains, 12-5.
132 -- 2-Sr. Eric Martin (6-2), North Hunterdon, md. 1-Jr. Tommy Cunningham (3-2), Scotch Plains, 12-0.
138 -- 4-So. Derek Ciavarro (6-2), North Hunterdon, d. 3-So. John Serruto (3-3), Millburn.
145 -- 4-So. Brian Smolinsky (6-2), North Hunterdon, md. 9-So. Anthony Roessner (3-5), Warren Hills, 12-4.
152 -- 3-Jr. Cory Lightner (7-1), Delaware Valley, md. 7-Jr. Eric Nolan (4-3), Edison, 16-4.
160 -- 4-So. Kyle Schlittler (6-2), Delaware Valley, injury default over 5-So. Shane Deemer (3-4), Warren Hills, 2:48.
170 -- 6-Sr. Nour Mays (7-1), Delaware Valley, d. 3-Jr. Ben Schulman (3-4), West Windsor South, 1-0.
182 -- 3-Sr. Noah Kreutter (5-3), West Windsor South, p. 7-So. Tyler Gapas (3-3), North Hunterdon, 1:26.
195 -- 1-Sr. Danny VanBrunt (4-1), Scotch Plains, p. 6-Fr. Taylor Parkinson-Gee (3-3), West Morris, 2:34.
220 -- 1-Jr. Carlos Botero (3-1), Edison, p. 3-Sr. Brian Baehr (2-2), Delaware Valley, 2:50.
285 -- 4-Sr. Gordon Thompson (5-2), South Brunswick, p. 3-Jr. Keith Serio (4-2), Edison, 1:34.
Outstanding Wrestler Award -- Billy Povalac, Edison.
Ryan Storm Memorial Award (most falls least total time by a champion) -- Gus Protogeropoulos, Newton (two pins in 2:24).
Alonzo Widenor Award (fastest fall) -- Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills (:27)
Most team points -- Steve Cleaver, Warren Hills (25).
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