Siciliano leads the way in Atlantic City
BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, Ocean Township’s Jeff Siciliano is congratulated by his coaching staff after winning a 171-pound semifinal over unbeaten Rob Damon, of Piscataway, on Saturday in Atlantic City. At left, Ocean’s Kyle Kiss gets set to lock up with Southern’s Greg Miele during a 160-pound quarterfinal bout.

If you weren’t impressed with the Ocean Township wrestling team before last weekend, the team’s showing at the state championships in Atlantic City had to convince you.

The Ocean team advanced five of its wrestlers to the tournament, and had four out of the five place, lending further credence to the strength of head coach Ken Hoff’s program.

“This was our best finish in team history,” the coach said.

The Ocean effort was led by sophomore Jeff Siciliano, the 171-pound Region VI champ, who finished second this past weekend in what was a loaded bracket.

Siciliano lost to Overbrook’s Mark Peiffer, 9-2, in the final, but not before proving himself to be among the top grapplers in the state.

Siciliano, who had not lost since Jan. 19, finished the year at 35-3.

One person who was not surprised by the sophomore’s strong showing in A.C. was his coach.

“We knew he had the capabilities to get into the finals,” said Hoff. “For him to do it was just great.”

Siciliano’s run started with a 6-4 win over Riverside’s Brendon Griffin in the pre-quarterfinals on Friday. From there, he beat Lenape Valley’s D.J. Russo (34-1 at the time), 10-6, in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, he beat Piscataway’s Rob Damon (undefeated at the time), 4-2, to advance to the title match. Once there, he ran into a more experienced grappler in Peiffer, and was unable to overcome the senior’s wrestling savvy.

But just a sophomore, you can bank on Siciliano making the return trip next year, with some valuable experience under his belt.

The Spartans also got a fourth-place finish from freshman Nick Menditto at 112.

Menditto, who took third in Region VI, just continues to get better with each match, and proved to be another guy to watch over the next few seasons.

“Nick just never gives up; he was our freshman phenom,” said Hoff. “He’s calm and mature for a freshman.”

After pinning Hamilton East’s Dustin Renelt in the preliminaries (1:59), he dropped his pre-quarterfinal-round bout to St. Joseph’s John Trubetti, 7-2. But he responded with a vengeance.

The first victim was Roxbury’s John Paxos, whom the Spartan beat 7-2 in the first round of wrestlebacks. From there, he beat Jefferson’s Tyler Milonas on a rideout in overtime for the 2-1 win. In the third round of wrestlebacks, Menditto beat Bishop Ahr’s Matt Pagan, 6-2, then won his fourth match of the day with a 6-3 win over Passaic Valley’s Michael Bastante in the consolation semifinals.

On Sunday, Menditto had another shot at Trumbetti in the third-place bout, but fell 4-2 to end his freshman season at 38-3.

Earning a fifth-place finish was sophomore Kyle Kiss. Kiss, last year’s region champion, lost this year in the 160-pound region finals, but proved himself with a strong state showing.

“He wrestled a good tournament, and it was nice to see him come back,” said Hoff.

Kiss opened with a pin of Clifton’s Jamal Frasier at 1:42 in their preliminary bout, then beat Winslow’s Matt Trainor with a 13-3 major decision in the pre-quarterfinals.

On Saturday, Kiss continued his winning ways with a 7-2 win over Southern’s Greg Miele in the quarterfinals. But in the semifinals, he ran into Camden Catholic’s Randy Moore, and was pinned at the 1:41 mark. He then fell to Warren Hills’ Dave Richmond, 8-4, in the consolation semifinals.

Kiss came back on Sunday to win his fifth-place consolation bout with a pin of Pascack Valley’s Rick Eichenlaub at the 3:07 mark, finishing his sophomore campaign at 35-4.

Junior Dan Lopes, who finished eighth in the state last year, improved that finish by taking sixth at 130 this time around.

Lopes beat Willingboro’s Jonathon Watford, 19-9, in the preliminaries on Friday, then fell to Rutherford’s Cory Dunn, 6-5, in the pre-quarterfinals.

On Saturday Lopes redeemed himself by three consecutive matches — 6-5 over Watchung Hills’ Tyler Riccio, 12-6 over Camden Catholic’s David Gill, and 11-7 over Don Bosco’s Dale Falva — before falling in the consolation semifinals to Rutherford’s Dunn once again, 7-6.

In Sunday’s fifth-place consolations, Lopes then lost to Lakewood’s Matt Rizzo, 7-5, to finish his season at 36-6.

“He lost some really close matches and beat some really good wrestlers this season,” said Hoff.

Also making the tournament was Joey Falco, another sophomore, who dropped his 140-pound preliminary round bout to Waldwick’s John Biango, 7-3, to finish the year at 26-9.

“Joey got a little taste of the tournament and will be sure to back next year,” said Hoff.

With such a strong showing in the books, it’s easy to see why Hoff is looking forward to next season with so much enthusiasm.

“These guys all love wrestling and are into the sport. They are dedicated and committed,” said Hoff. “And they’re all back next year.”