Wrestling For Danny

There is no doubt that Ocean County has been a hot-bed for high school wrestling over the years. Rabid fans eagerly fill gyms for big matches and the wrestling community in general is a tight-knit group formed by mutual respect for what it takes to compete in a sport filled with sacrifices.
This same community will join forces to help one of their own on Saturday, May 22nd when Toms River High School East hosts “Wrestling for Danny.”
The evening will bring together current and former wrestling greats for the benefit of former East grappler Danny Peoples. The 25-year old is suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and all proceeds will go to help with his treatments as Peoples does not have insurance.

Event organizers are still working on finalizing the matchups which will feature wrestlers from all three Toms River high schools as well as others from the shore. Two-time state champion Vinny Dellafave, who is now at Rutgers will meet former state champion Terrance Clendenin…Devin Mesanko, a two-time college national qualifier will oppose former state high school champion Vinnie Salek and others scheduled to wrestle include Andy Chencharik, Jeff Gauthier, Kyle Billquist, Billy Wilbert, Kevin Corrigan and many others. Next Saturday’s fundraising event will feature a special appearance by Ultimate Fighting Champion Frankie Edgar, who will be signing autographs and also performing a wrestling clinic. Edgar is a former East great who is currently an assistant coach at Rutgers in addition to world champion in another sport. Doors open at 5pm.

It seems fitting that Toms River South and Jackson Memorial should meet in the finals of the Ocean County Baseball Tournament. The teams had identical records at the time the tournament was seeded but the Jaguars got the #1 spot by virtue of a coin toss. They also got quite a scare from surging Brick Memorial in Tuesday’s semifinals before prevailing 6-5 on Joe Ogren’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the 11th inning. As a side note, Jackson’s Bryan Solomon saw his streak of 9 consecutive games with a home run come to an end one shy of the national record.

In the second semifinal at Ken Frank Stadium the two-time defending champion South Indians topped Toms River East 5-2 behind a four-hit, 11 strikeout performance from Rich Gabriel. Jackson & South meet Saturday night at Toms River North in the OCT Finals. It will be the third meeting between the teams as they split two games during the regular season.