Eagles wrestle their way to spot in Edison Classic
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
Thanks to all of its wrestlers placing among the top three in all 14 weight classes, Edison High School wrestling cruised to a first-place finish at the Edison Classic over the weekend to open the new season.

With 243 total points, the Eagles easily outdistanced second-place Franklin (185) and third-place Metuchen (164).

Sophomore Anthony Peterson returned to 103 pounds, where he took third in the district tournament last season to capture the Edison Classic title. Peterson knocked off his opponent from Franklin in the finals with a 4-3 victory.

"Anthony wrestled the same kid in the finals last season, but came up a bit short last year," Edison head coach Gerry Nisivoccia said. "It was nice to see him avenge that loss and start the year off with a title."

Brother Jeff Peterson also took home a title. Jeff Peterson won the event at 119 pounds last season and didn't skip a beat with a first-place finish at 125 pounds.

"Jeff has really improved overall," Nisivoccia said. "He's progressed nicely and he continues to move in the right direction."

At 112 pounds, Ray De La Nuez used a pair of pins, with his first pin coming in just seven seconds to win the title.

"He's got a lot of natural ability, and the key will be his attitude," Nisivoccia said. "He's really dedicated himself to the sport, and he's coming off a nice season at the JV level, where he was a runner-up in the country tournament."

The tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, Mike FrancoBandiero, won the event for a third straight year. This year his title came at 119 pounds after taking top honors last season at 112 pounds. FrancoBandiero finished fifth in the state a year ago.

"He looks good, which is expected at this time of year for him," Nisivoccia said. "He's not a cocky kid, but he exudes confidence and composure. He's looking to get back to Atlantic City and to improve upon his state status."

Devon Coates, a sophomore transfer from Highland Park, took second place for the Eagles at 130 pounds. Coates posted 17 wins for Highland Park his freshman season.

"Devon did a great job, and he's shown nice improvement with technique," Nisivoccia said. "He's a very impressive wrestler with a lot of potential."

Senior Taylor Donovan took third at 135. Competing in a weight class with no shortage of talent in the area, Donovan may see time at 140 as well this season.

"His field was very tough," Nisivoccia said. "Taylor is one of the best examples on our team in terms of what you want in a wrestler. He exemplifies hard work."

Bryan Duran took home a title at 140 pounds. The sophomore grappler saw very limited time at the varsity level last season but appears poised to give his team some consistency at the middleweights.

Junior Brendan Donovan is expected to compete for a spot in the lineup with Duran.

"The two of them will probably battle it out all season," Nisivoccia said. "The competition will be good for both of them in the long run."

Mike Semenas took third place at 145 pounds, as did Edison's Anthony Calello at 152 pounds.

"Anthony is light and small for a 152- pounder," Nisivoccia said. "You may see him either at 140 or 145 at different points in the season. I think Mike Semenas is finally coming into his own as a wrestler, and we should see good things from him this season."

Edison's Travis Urban and Matt Kouyoumtjian both took second-place honors, at 160 and 189 pounds, respectively. Teammate Keith Pierce won the event at 171 pounds.

At 215, senior Jeremy Klempner lost to defending district champion Marek Szwast of Metuchen in the finals to finish second. Heavyweight Dan Walker won the event for a second straight season.

"It was a good start for both the varsity and junior varsity programs," Nisivoccia said. "We had eight champions at the varsity tournament and seven at the JV level."

The Eagles' schedule resumes this week with a home match against Colonia Dec. 19 before traveling to Monroe to compete against the host school and Notre Dame. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. Dec. 22 in Monroe.