FrancoBandiero, Simon finish fifth in the state
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff Above, Bishop Ahr's Joe McAuley battles with Raritan's Dave Seidenberg during their consolation bout on Saturday in Atlantic City. At right, J.P.Stevens' Dan Keiser squares up against Parsippany's Kyle Hussey in a 125-pound bout on Friday. Below, Edison's Mikey FrancoBandiero makes a move against Vernon's Brian Hoyt during a 112-pound match on Saturday.

Atlantic City can be a cruel place. It can also be a place where dreams come true.

The top wrestlers in the state had an opportunity to experience the wide spectrum of emotions that a season's final tournament offers when they converged on Boardwalk Hall this past weekend to compete in the NJSIAA's state championships.

For a handful of local grapplers, there were plenty of highs and lows over the course of the weekend.

Edison's Mikey FrancoBandiero left Atlantic City disappointed on Sunday, not with himself, but rather with the way his first trip to the state finals was tarnished by an unfortunate incident.

The talented sophomore came home with a strong fifth-place finish, but couldn't help but feel like he should have finished third.

After winning his first two bouts on Friday night, 16-9 over Camden Catholic's Taylor Walsh, and 17-4 over High Point's Tyler Forbeck, FrancoBandiero lost 12-1 in the quarterfinals to South Plainfield's Patrick Hunter, the Region V champ and the second overall seed.

FrancoBandiero then entered the wrestlebacks, where he posted wins over Hopatcong's Gabe Ramos (8-3), and Vernon's Brian Hoyt (5-3), to reach the wrestleback semifinals.

In that bout, against Delran's Dan Hughes, FrancoBandiero inadvertently drove Hughes headfirst into the mat with a near-fall combination. Emergency technicians immediately tended to Hughes, who was placed on an immobilizer and transports to Atlantic City Medical Center as a precaution, according to NJSIAA officials.

As a result, the Edison grappler was disqualified, since he didn't bring his opponent to the mat safely while making the move.

FrancoBandiero was upset with the call, but managed to maintain his focus enough to come back the next day (Sunday) and beat Don Bosco Prep's Vinny Fava, 6-4, in overtime to claim fifth place.

Trailing 3-1 in the third period, FrancoBandiero scored a quick escape and a takedown to take a 4-3 lead. He then let his opponent go with just under a minute left to tie the score at 4-4, knowing that he could score another takedown in overtime, if needed, to secure the win.

"I just wanted to keep grinding. I was down the whole match, but I always try to keep going at the person," he said. "Once it went to OT, I knew I was going to win. I always get a burst of energy in OT."

That burst of energy allowed him to score the winning takedown with an outside single.

Hughes was unable to wrestle in his third-place match, giving Toms River East's Vinnie DellaFave the third-place medal via forfeit.

JFK's Pete Simon also left A.C. with a fifth-place medal - another one to add to his collection after finishing fifth last year as well.

Simon won his two bouts on Friday - 12-6 over Jefferson's Trevor Salvatore and a pin at 2:22 over Lenape's Karl Reed - before dropping his quarterfinal bout against Lodi's Dan Rinaldi, 5-2.

Simon then came back to beat Point Boro's Skylar Engelken, 6-3, in his first wrestleback on Saturday, then knocked off Hackettstown's Zach Ulm, 8-4, later in the day. He then fell to Kittatinny's Tommy Spellman, 10-6, putting him in the fifth-place match against Bergen Catholic's Jonathon Becker.

Simon, wrestling in what would be the final match of his stellar career at JFK, then pinned Becker in 2:43 to take fifth, and end his senior season with a 37-7 record.

Simon's teammate, Vin Maglione won his 215-pound opener on Friday, 17-7, over Montville's Arjan Leka, then beat West Essex's Anthony Hayek with a pin at 3:22, before falling to Bergen Catholic's George Kocher via a pin at 1:23 of their quarterfinal match.

Maglione was then eliminated Saturday morning with a 13-2 loss to Mitch Sparks of Cinnaminson.

Like Simon, Bishop Ahr's Joe McAuley also won his final match of the year, beating Haddonfield's Andrew Hassert, 17-6, in their seventh-place match at 140 pounds. McAuley, a sophomore, lost his first match on Friday to Northern Highlands' Derek Steuben, 6-4, but came back to win two straight wrestlebacks on Saturday - 8-6 over St. Augustine's Mike DiGalbo, and 17-6 over Parsippany's Nick Bach, before falling to Raritan sophomore Dave Seidenberg, 8-2, in their wrestleback quarterfinal.

J.P Stevens' Dan Keiser won his opening match on Friday, beating Parisppany's Kyle Hussey, 7-6, at 125 pounds, before falling to Kittatiny's Derek Valenti in the next round, 8-4. Keiser was then eliminated in the wrestlebacks, falling to St. Mary's Matt Fusco, 14-6.