Sports Shorts

The Metuchen Grapplers Wrestling Club closed out their 2007 season recently by hosting the 25th Annual Metuchen Grapplers Novice Tournament at Metuchen High School.

The event, which gathered together more than 250 novice wrestlers from all over New Jersey, marks the end of the recreational wrestling season.

Many area wrestlers concluded their seasons by earning medals at the tournament. The Grapplers garnered 14 medals in all. In the Peewee Division, Will Hronich won a second place medal in the 46-pound weight class and Grace Schleck earned a fourth place award at 52 pounds. At the Bantam level, first-place medal winners were Jon-Michael Manzo (47), Kenny Karl (49), Joe Hronich (76) and Devin Miller (87). Abu Bakar Mendheim (57) took home a second-place award while Will Dominic (47), Stephen Kenny (56) and Jeffrey Bodnar (61) received fourth-place rewards. Brian Sullivan (79) received second-place honors in the Midget division with Cole Caposino (72) grabbing a fourth-place medal. Joey Stern (81) took top honors in his Junior division weight class while Jacob Lucas (74) collected a second-place award.

The North Edison Mat Hawks gathered six awards. Gregory McCrystal (95) took home a first-place medal in the Junior division. Taking second-place honors were Michael Gelberg (61) in the Bantam division, Jeffrey Ward (96) and Sean Benedict (140) in the Midget division, Brian McCrystal (81) and Anthony Macchia (88) in their Junior division.

The Little Eagles from South Edison collected five decorations. Dominic Zecchino (52) and Nick Nyers (54) earned first-place medals in the PeeWee division, as did Ryan Naiduk (61) at the Bantam level. Mitchell Leonardo (95) and Gavin Monahan (65) both received third-place awards.

Mayor Jun H. Choi, the Edison Township Council and the Edison Recreation Department announced that the 2007 Family Fishing Derby will be held Saturday, May 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lake Papaianni in Edison.

Again this year, there will be a special Children-Only Derby for any registered children up to 15 years of age. This kids-only event will begin at 8 a.m., one hour before the full derby gets under way at 9 a.m.

Lake Papaianni will be stocked with trout for the event, and prizes will be awarded in both derbies to the male or female who catches the first fish, and to all those who catch one of 175 specially tagged fish. A reminder that anyone between the ages of 16 and 70 must have a fishing license and a trout stamp. There is a $5 entry fee; however, the event is free to Edison residents age 65 and over with an Edison-issued senior I.D. card.

The Fishing Derby will have a rain date of Sunday, May 6, in case of inclement weather.

For more information, or anapplications, contact the Edison Recreation Department, 328 Plainfield Ave., Edison, daily between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or call (732) 248-7313.