Slisky’s pin a heartbreaker for Spartans
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Ocean’s Zac Coulas and Jackson’s Rob Swan sprawl for control during the SCT championship match on Saturday in Stafford Township. At left, Ocean’s Maverick Nunes-Vais works on controlling Jackson’s Glenn Booth during the match’s most exciting bout, won by Nunes-Vais, 20-16.

STAFFORD — A win wasn’t going to be good enough. With one bout remaining and the Shore Conference Tournament championship at stake, Jackson High School heavyweight wrestler Joe Slisky needed a pin to give the Jaguars enough bonus points to rally for the crown.

“He knew going in that a victory over his opponent would not be enough to get us over the edge,” Jackson High School coach Scott Goodale said. “It was very clear we needed a pin. It was an exciting moment for him and this squad. Joe put forth a huge effort and got it done for us. It was great to see him get such a big victory.”

Indeed, Slisky managed to pin Ocean Township High School’s Eric Adams in the third period to give Jackson a dramatic 29-27 come-from-behind triumph and its second consecutive Shore Conference Tournament title.

With the score knotted at 2-all after two periods, Slisky got to Adams early in the third to allow Jackson to clinch the championship.

However, it was in the second period where Slisky did the damage. Slisky rode Adams out for the final minute of the period to wear him down.

“I think that second period played a big part in the win,” Goodale said. “Joe rode him hard in the second and took the wind out of his sails. You could sense the kid was getting tired. We were just hoping for an opportunity to get him on his back, and that’s what happened.”

A fatigued Adams put up a valiant effort, but Slisky turned him with a minute to go and sealed the win by shouldering the heavyweight.

“It was a pretty dramatic way to win,” Goodale said. “The atmosphere was great. The matches were even. It was two good teams putting everything they had left out on the line. We were fortunate enough to come away with the win.”

In fact, the Jags trailed 27-17 with just three bouts remaining. But a poised Jackson team responded to the pressure by winning all three bouts to rally for the win.

Bobby Van Volkenberg started it with a 9-2 win over senior Alex Sher at 189 pounds. That was followed by Rob Woods’ narrow 3-2 win over Mike Colalillo at 215 and finally Slisky picking up the bonus points with the pin of Adams to give Jackson its third title in the last six years.

“There was definitely pressure on us at that point,” Goodale said. “We have a lot of confidence in our kids. I knew that we could win all three of those bouts.”

For an Ocean team that has been the Shore’s dominant team this winter, Saturday’s win was as disappointing as it gets. However, they have proved to be every bit as good as anyone in the Shore, and will use the experience gained from the loss to the Jags in the upcoming district tournament.

The Spartans came out looking like the top team in the Shore by winning five of the first seven bouts. Freshman Rob Coulas opened for Ocean with a 6-5 decision over Rob Swan at 105 pounds, before fellow frosh Nick Menditto followed with a 10-2 win over Brian Cohen at 112.

With Ocean up 7-0, Nick Keshicki got the Jags on the board with a pin of Ben Lowry at the 3:10 mark of their 119-pound bout. Matt Bradley then made it two in a row for the Jags with an 18-2 technical fall win over Kyle Piper at 125.

But junior Dan Lopes matched that with a tech fall of his own (20-5) over Sean Byrnes, before junior Maverick Nunes-Vais won the most exciting bout of the match, 20-16, over Glenn Booth at 135 pounds. Nunes-Vais was put on his back several times during the bout, but persevered and came through with a five-point headlock in the final period to capture the win.

At 140, Ocean sophomore Joey Falco beat Frank Zicha, 13-9, before Jackson’s freshman sensation Scott Winston posted a hard-fought 6-5 win over junior Gaetjens Lezin at 145 ponds, to trim the Ocean lead to 18-14.

Russ Wall then made it 18-17 with an 11-5 win over Ocean senior Mike Santini at 152.

At 160, junior Kyle Kiss got a 3-2 win over Jackson’s Ken Carney, before sophomore Jeff Siciliano pinned Dan Hopkins in 52 seconds for Ocean’s final win of the night.

That set the stage for Jackson’s strong finish, as the Jaguars clinched Ocean County’s 26th SCT title in the last 29 years.

A look at the rosters of both teams indicates that next year’s final may well feature the same two teams. Ocean sent just four seniors to the mat on Saturday, and got all of its wins from underclassmen.

But for as young as the Jackson lineup is, it was the seniors that figured in securing the title.

Nick Keshecki (119) Russell Wall (152), Van Volkenberg (189) and Slisky all were victorious for the Jags. Goodale cited his upperclassmen as one of the keys to this championship.

“We have a lot of talented underclassmen on this team, but without these seniors we don’t get this done,” Goodale said. “They all delivered in a key spot and showed tremendous poise and leadership. In a match like this, you need guys who have been there before.”

Next year, Ocean Township will have plenty of them.