Old Bridge gets back to the sectional final

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Old Bridge’s Charlie Fradella works Middletown North’s Garret Marron for a pin at 215 to seal the victory for the Knights in Tuesday’s Central Jersey Group IV first-round action at Brick Memorial High School.

While the Old Bridge Knights entered Tuesday night’s Central Jersey Group IV wrestling tournament action as the third seed, nobody was calling them underdogs.

The Knights have proved themselves too many times under the spotlight to sneak up on anyone, and entered Tuesday night’s action at Brick Memorial High School as the 14th-ranked team in the state, and a squad expected to be tough to beat.

And they proved to be just that, winning a pair of hard-fought matches over Middletown North and the host Mustangs to advance to tonight’s sectional final at Jackson High School.

In their first match against the Lions, the Knights were hoping to avenge an earlier loss to North in a match that was decided on criteria. Old Bridge knew what to expect from North, and was ready to battle from the start.

The Knights topped North this time, 30-27, and got pins from Justin Obrusniak at 119, Mike Caruso at 130, Charlie Fradella at 215 and Frank Lillis at heavyweight. Those pins were the key to the Knights’ victory, as the Lions actually won more bouts (8) than the Knights (6) but failed to score enough bonus points. Fradella’s pin over Garrett Marron at the 53-second mark of the first period sealed the win for the Knights, setting off a wild celebration.

Old Bridge had a somewhat easier time against Brick Memorial, despite a valiant effort from the Mustangs. This time around, the bouts were split 7-7, with the Knights once again getting the edge in bonus points.

Among the big winners for Old Bridge were John Pagnotta and Justin Obrusniak, who both scored major decisions at 112 and 119, respectively, and Vinny Iodaci (145), Joel Scarano (171) and Frank Lillis (HW), who all scored pinfalls to win. Mike Caruso (130) and Mike VanderValk were the other winners for Old Bridge, with Caruso scoring an 11-7 win and VanderValk winning a tough 2-1 win over Chris Newland.

Next up for the Knights is a date with top-seeded Jackson tonight, a team that has dominated the Shore Conference this season, and recorded a resounding 41-19 win over Hunterdon Central on Tuesday. The Jaguars, who are 19-0 on the season and ranked fifth in the state, are loaded at every weight and are chasing their first sectional title.

Old Bridge will need to wrestle its best bout of the year if it has any hopes of upsetting Jackson tonight.

Notes... The Sayreville Bombers were also in action on Tuesday, suffering a 44-15 loss to Livingston in the Central Jersey Group III tournament. The Bombers won just four matches on the night, with Eric Tsang scoring a 5-2 win at 112, Tom Danielsen recording a pin at 130, Mike Velardi recording a 3-2 win at 145, and Vince Otero winning a 4-0 bout at 160.