Case in point again on Saturday, as they became just the second duo in school history to win titles in the same tournament with their victories in Region 3 at West Orange High School. They also punched their tickets to the 85th State Championships that begin on Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Carida continued his march toward a state championship with a 2-1 victory over Delbarton senior Travis Tavoso in the 145-pound final, while Andes became the first heavyweight at the Warren County school to win a region title by decking Randolph junior Ryan Knox in 1:54.
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| Alex Carida stands atop the podium for a second straight year. |
"This is a tough tournament and I'm glad to have won twice," said Carida (40-1), the 138-pound champion last season and only the third Hackettstown wrestler to capture consecutive titles, joining Doug Blake (1967-68) and Corey Kozimor (2009-10), the lone three-time winner.
"This is a big confidence booster and a stepping stone to [the state tournament] in AC."
Carida, who shared the Outstanding Wrestler honors with Delbarton state champ Patrick Glory (126), took a familiar path to his second championship -- knocking off Hanover Park senior Sean Conley, 8-3, in the semifinals in a rematch of their 138-pound final in 2017 en route to another rematch with Tavoso, who dropped an 8-3 decision to Carida in last year's semis.
Despite prior history, Carida was seeded -- due to number of appearances and furthest advancement in recent years -- behind both in the No. 3 spot, with Conley the No. 2 seed and Tavoso the top seed. Needless to say, that added a little fuel to Carida's championship fire. A third-period reversal proved to be the difference this time against Tavoso (30-5), a District 10 champion.
"It definitely did, I know what I'm capable of," said Carida, a two-time District 9 champion and the Tigers' all-time wins leader with a career mark of 136-27. "[Tavoso] is a tough wrestler, he definitely got better."
Andes (39-1) was virtually untested in his title run with three pins, including two in the first period. He put on quite the display in the finals, using a power half to finish off Knox. After the win, Andes was pleased to learn he's the Tigers' first big man to win a region title. The program has produced some fine heavies in the past, including district champions Maris Grinvalds, Warren Wilson, Jamie Becker, Matt Leitner and two-time winner Steve Giraldo.
"That's good, put it on my resume," Andes said with a smile. "The power half is my go to."
Andes, now 84-29 overall, credits the work he's done in the practice room with new partner and assistant coach Marcus Gurdineer, who also served as Andes' line coach in football.
"He really helped me work on my [takedowns], it's all because of him," said Andes, who has come a long way since a 14-16 sophomore campaign in his first introduction to the sport. "I knew if I kept working, I'd get better and better. It was hard work and dedication. I stuck with it."
Hackettstown has now won 11 of its 16 region titles since 2007. Kozimor and Cory Vernon are the only others to win in the same year -- at 103 and 145, respectively, in 2007.
Championships
120 -- 1-Jr. Travis Jones (37-4, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-So. Alex Strashinsky (21-3, D10-1), Delbarton, 6-5.
126 -- 1-Sr. Patrick Glory (35-0, D10-1), Delbarton, tf. 2-Jr. Domenic DiFrancescantonio (33-7, D11-1), Hanover Park, 17-2, 3:26.
132 -- 1-Jr. Nick Raimo (37-0, D11-1), Hanover Park, tf. 6-Jr. Kyle Tino (24-9, D9-1), Phillipsburg, 21-6, 4:09.
138 -- 1-Jr. Cody Harrison (32-3, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-Sr. Frank Gabriele (36-3, D10-1), Verona, 6-5.
145 -- 3-Sr. Alex Carida (40-1, D9-1), Hackettstown, d. 1-Sr. Travis Tavoso (30-5, D10-1), Delbarton, 2-1.
152 -- 1-Sr. Brian Meyer (35-2, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-Sr. Gerald Jones (33-3, D9-2), Caldwell, 2-1.
160 -- 2-So. Kieran Calvetti (27-8, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 1-Sr. Matthew Liberato (26-5, D11-1), Hanover Park, 5-4.
170 -- 1-Sr. Marco Gaita (33-2, D11-1), West Morris, d. 2-Jr. AJ Lonski (26-11, D10-1), Delbarton, 7-6.
182 -- 1-Sr. Cole Kreshpane (27-8, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Sr. Jarod Ostir (27-2, D12-1), Warren Hills, 7-3.
195 -- 2-So. Gage Armijo (35-2, D9-2), Mendham, d. 4-Sr. Anthony Siragusa (18-10, D10-1), Delbarton, 5-0.
220 -- 1-Sr. Trey Zgombic (19-6, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Jr. Nick Galka (24-4, D12-1), Warren Hills, 10-7.
285 -- 1-Sr. Joe Andes (39-1, D9-1), Hackettstown, p. 2-Jr. Ryan Knox (25-15, D12-1), Randolph, 1:54.
106 -- 1-Fr. Joey Olivieri (37-3, D11-1), Hanover Park, d. 2-Jr. Quinn Melofchik (36-3, D11-2), Belvidere, 3-1.
113 -- 1-So. Anthony Clark (31-2, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Sr. Cullen Day (29-10, D9-1), Phillipsburg, 5-0.
Outstanding Wrestler Awards -- Patrick Glory, Delbarton and Alex Carida, Hackettstown.
Coach of the Year Award -- Dave Post, Phillipsburg.
Assistant Coach of the Year Award -- Mark Delia, Belleville.
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