JFK wrestling team is still perfect on the year
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

ISELIN - The John F. Kennedy High School wrestling team picked up three wins over the weekend to improve its record to 12-0.

The Mustangs tallied wins over North Brunswick, 74-4, South River, 66-9, and Perth Amboy, 48-23. The Perth Amboy match proved to be the most difficult as the Mustangs fell behind early 23-9.

After JFK's Tommy Hogan won his bout at 103 pounds by an 8-2 score, teammates Ray Eckel and Matt Hart lost at 112 and 119 pounds, respectively. Eckel lost to Perth Amboy's Jairo Bernal, 14-0, while Hart fell to Gabriel Roman 11-3.

"We went down 23-9, but we could have been in a deeper hole," Kennedy head coach Bill Deniz said. "Ray and Matt were able to stay off their backs and just lost by points. That usually helps you out in the close matches."

Kennedy's Peter Buttitta broke up the losing streak with a pin over Danny Roman, but Perth Amboy won the next two bouts at 130 and 135 to build a 14-point lead. JFK responded to the deficit by winning the next seven bouts to put the match out of reach.

John Lemongelli started the streak at 140 pounds with a pin over Joey Morales in 3:39 to improve his record to 13-4 on the season.

"That was a close match, but John came back to get the pin," Deniz said. "His win really turned things around for us."

At 145 pounds, JFK's Anthony Howard needed just over 30 seconds to put Perth Amboy's Matt Cumber on his back, while teammate Dustin Rudy pinned Perth Amboy's Danny Dominguez in 1:55 at 152 pounds.

Also recording pins in the win was Isais Rodriguez at 160 and Vin Maglione at 215 pounds. JFK's Pete Simon won his bout at 189 pounds with a 12-5 decision over Shaun Lockwood.

"All of our seniors from 135 pounds and up have been winning a lot this season," Deniz said. "Every senior has a pretty good record, and they've all contributed in every match."

Prior to the trifecta over the weekend, the Mustangs scored a huge win over Bridgewater-Raritan earlier last week 46-32.

"Last year we had a good season but we lost to some of the bigger schools like Bridgewater and Edison," Deniz said. "Beating Bridgewater this time around was a big win for us. Everybody wrestled really well."

The highlight in the Bridgewater match came at 189 pounds when Kennedy's Rich Bonhomme pinned this year's Somerset County Champion Andrew Hampton in just under a minute.

"His win put the stamp on the match and gave us a nice lead," Deniz said. "We have some momentum heading into this week's match with Edison. Edison is always a tough team."

After hosting Edison tomorrow, the Mustangs will welcome Woodbridge and Colonia to town Saturday.

"This season everyone is healthy, and we only lost one wrestler from last year's team," Deniz said. "We'd like to defend our Blue Division title and make a run for another top-three finish in the county tournament."