For Brick Memorial it was mostly unexpected and thorough joy while for Long Branch it was expected and in some ways a thorough relief. Both schools won NJSIAA Group Wrestling Championships Sunday on a day when thousands of fans came through the doors of the Ritacco Center to watch the best teams in the state which included the Mustangs and Green Wave along with Southern and Brick.
Memorial’s 7th state title and second straight Group 4 crown came via wins over North Hunterdon in the semifinals and then rival Southern in the final.
It was a bitter defeat for the Rams who had beaten Memorial just three weeks earlier and most expected a repeat on Sunday. However Southern has now lost in the Group 4 Finals the last four years including back-to-back defeats at the hands of Brick Memorial and coach Dan O’Cone.
Long Branch had never won a state group title before last February and when this season started the Green Wave found the bar had been raised. Not only were they expected to repeat as Group 2 champions but many predicted they would finish as the #1 team in the state. That’s quite a bit of pressure on a team and especially its head coach Danny George but they did not disappoint. Long Branch beat Parsippany and then a very good David Brearley team to put in its claim as the best team in all of New Jersey and around the shore they certainly won’t find many arguments.
What Sunday did show once again is that wrestling is alive and very much kicking especially in Ocean and Monmouth counties.
Speaking of shore dominance how about the job done at Monday’s NJSIAA Girls Bowling Championships in North Brunswick. Toms River East, Brick, Manchester and Keyport claimed the four group titles making it a clean sweep for teams from the Shore Conference. It was an even bigger story though for Manchester as they went on to claim the Tournament of Champions by later defeating first Brick and then Keyport. Sophomore Amanda DeMauro sparked the Hawks championship effort.
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