Wrestling: Vikings gain experience in tough loss

TOMS RIVER -- The only disappointment for a Voorhees wrestling team over what had been a championship week came in the final bout of a 50-26 loss to heavily-favored South Plainfield in the Group 3 semifinals on Sunday at RWJBarnabas Health Arena.

With everyone anticipating a matchup at 220 pounds between unbeaten Vikings junior Lewis Fernandes and two-time state placewinner Zach DelVecchio, Tigers coach Bill Pavlak took the air out of the crowd by giving the forfeit signal to referee Lou Ricciardi to end the match.

Fernandes (32-0), who has declared he will enter at 285 in next weekend's District 16 Tournament at Millburn High School, will likely not see DelVecchio (31-0), who placed fourth in the state at 220 last season, in the postseason.

Voorhees celebrates its sectional title. (Courtesy of Brian Baumann)

"I'm a little bit disappointed. I always want to challenge myself," Fernandes said. "There aren't a lot of people who can give me a challenge in my area. It would have been nice to get one before [the postseason]."

Voorhees coach Eric Hall, whose team was coming off a 33-27 victory over defending champion Cranford in the North 2, Group 3 sectional title match on Friday, was also disappointed when Fernandes was awarded a forfeit.

"I really don't want to comment," Hall said. "We came here to wrestle and unfortunately not everyone got that opportunity. We knew what we were up against [as a team]. We just wanted all of our kids to wrestle."

The Vikings (22-9) won just four contested bouts against the defending Group 3 champs, including a big 5-2 decision from senior Scott Fernandes over Luke Niemeyer -- both were fourth-place finishers in their regions last season at 195.

After trading reversals in the second period, Scott Fernandes (31-3) got an escape and a takedown in the third to pull away.

"That was one of his better matches of the season," Hall said of his senior. "He's only had a couple of losses [including Sparta's Robert Gennat and Hunterdon Central's Lukas Bakerian]."

Colby Koshinski (113), Matt Brandner (170) and Sam Huff (285) were the other winners for Voorhees. Huff started it off with a 23-second pin at 285 -- one of nine falls in the match and among five in 44 seconds or fewer.

The loss didn't detract from the fact that Voorhees earned its first trip to the Group 3 semifinals since 2015.

"It's huge for us," Fernandes said of winning the sectional title. "It's special. The guys work really hard, not everyone has a perfect record, but they push to their limits and don't give up. We were kind of the underdogs all season, according to the media and others."

In winning the program's 17th sectional title, the Vikes gained the opportunity to get a taste of the big stage in Toms River with only three seniors in Sunday's lineup.

"I thought it would be tough for us, but we got better once January progressed into February," Hall said. "Our role wrestlers stepped up and wrestled hard. They didn't give up bonus points and we got some unexpected falls [against Cranford]. The whole day was exciting and they wrestled to the occasion and the moment.

"South Plainfield is a great team," added Hall, who credited assistant coaches Ricky Kurtz, Dylan Thorsen, Mike Flynn, Ed Russell and Bob Baker for playing a key role in the team's success this season. "You're only going to get better by losing to a team like this. It was nice to get the opportunity to come back down here."

SOUTH PLAINFIELD 50, VOORHEES 26

285 -- Jr. Sam Huff (28-6), V, p. Fr. Julian Medina (15-8), :23.
106 -- Fr. Anthony White (31-1), SP, p. So. Josh Rich (15-19), :44.
113 -- Sr. Colby Koshinski (23-11), V, p. Sr. Frank Mannino (3-23), 5:43.
120 -- Jr. David Loniewski (16-3), SP, md. Jr. Aidan Taylor (24-10), 12-1.
126 -- Sr. Joe Heilmann (33-0), SP, p. So. Kyle Bryan (3-1), :18.
132 -- Jr. Thomas Fierro (23-7), SP, p. Jr. Hunter Rinehart (22-9), 2:45.
138 -- Jr. Alex Amato (19-12), SP, md. So. Joe Swiston (11-23), 12-4.
145 -- Jr. Joe Sacco (28-5), SP, p. So. Garrett Loescher (9-25), :15.
152 -- Sr. Mike Marrero (19-12), SP, p. So. Ben Hemberger (2-8), 3:42.
160 -- Jr. Marc Giordano (20-13), SP, p. Sr. Brad Kalinchak (14-20), :43.
170 -- Jr. Matt Brandner (19-15), V, tf. Sr. Joseph Nardacci (10-12), 15-0, 4:49.
182 -- Jr. Brenden Hedden (21-11), SP, p. Jr. Charlie Eberle (8-17), 1:19.
195 -- Sr. Scott Fernandes (31-3), V, d. Jr. Luke Niemeyer (29-3), 5-2.
220 -- Jr. Lewis Fernandes (32-0), V, forfeit.
Records -- South Plainfield 19-7, Voorhees 22-9.