Meet the 2024 All-Shore Teams
It was another season of growth in girls scholastic wrestling.
The NJSIAA decided to conduct the entire state tournament at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, alongside the boys tournament for the first time since 2020.
The Shore Conference made its presence known in the state tournament with three state champions in sophomore Kylie Gudewitz (114); junior Thea Rowland (145) and sophomore Liliana Alicea (185). It was the third time in the six seasons the NJSIAA has had girls wrestling that the Shore Conference has had three state champions. The others were in 2019 and 2021.
Overall, the Shore Conference had 18 state medalists - one more than last year. The conference had medalists at every weight with three medalists at 185 and two each at 114, 138, 145 and 165.
For the second straight season, the Shore Conference had 26 state qualifiers.
Let's now meet the All-Shore first and second teams: Congratulations to all wrestlers on a successful season.
FIRST TEAM
Criteria: Head-to-head results; state medalists
100 Ava Bonilla
School: Jackson Memorial
Year: Sophomore
The Skinny: Bonilla finished fourth in the state She advanced to the quarterfinal and then three wrestleback bouts to get to the third-place bout. She also won the Central Region championship with an 11-1 major decision over Marlboro's Nola Allen and also won the Shore Conference Tournament championship with a pin of Manalapan's Daria Easton. Bonilla went 28-6 on the season.
107 Madison Rucci
School: Jackson Memorial
Year: Sophomore
The Skinny: Rucci came from a third-place finish in the Central Region to finish fifth in the state. She defeated Isabella Bonilla of St. Thomas Aquinas 10-5 in the fifth-place bout. Rucci advanced to the quarterfinal before Central Region champion and state thirdplace finisher Princess Woody of Trenton defeated her. Rucci then recorded two pins to advance to the fifth-place bout. Rucci earned her state tournament berth with a win by technical fall over Lakewood's Karen Carreno in the Central Region third-place bout. She won the Shore Conference Tournament championship with a pin of Toms River East's Grace O'Neill. Rucci went 29-7 on the season.
Wrestler of the Year 114 Kylie Gudewitz
School: Howell
Year: Sophomore
The Skinny: Gudewitz, the daughter of former Howell wrestler Mike Gudewitz, dominated the competition in winning the state title. She won her three bouts by a combined 22-0, including a 9-0 major decision over Ramsey's Paige Kirk in the final. Gudewitz defeated state fifth-place finisher Alexandra Tchekounova of Colts Neck 4-0 in the semifinal and state third-place finisher Madison Blumenthal of Bordentown in the quarterfinal. Gudewitz won the Central Region championship with a 7-0 win over Blumenthal and the SCT title with a 7-0 win over Tchekounova. She went 39-1 on the season with only defeat in the final of the Beast of the East on Dec. 15 to Layne Fordyce of Bishop McCort (Pa.).
120
Caitlin O'Reilly
School:
Year:
The Skinny: O'Reilly gets the nod over Jackson Memorial's Brian Dugo even though she did not place and Dugo finished eighth because she went 2-0 against Dugo on the mat during the season with two pins. She pinned Dugo in both the Central Region and Shore Conference tournament championship bouts. O'Reilly won her first bout in the state tournament before she was defeated by eventual state fifthplace finisher Reagan Roxas of Kingsway. O'Reilly then forfeited a wrestleback bout to Dugo. O'Reilly went 27-5 on the season. O'Reilly is a two-time state third-place finisher.
126 Middletown South Junior Dominque Lopez
School: Jackson Memorial Year: Junior
The Skinny:
Lopez finished seventh in the state.
She pinned Nutley's Isabella Bobadilla in the seventh-place bout. She clinched a medal by pinning Lenape Valley's Ava Hosnitz in a wrestleback bout. Lopez had advanced to the quarterfinal win a 14-1 major decision over Howell's Haley Marks. She won the Central Region title by defeating Old Bridge's returning state fifth-place finisher Emma Sagi 9-4. Lopez also defeated Marks 3-1 in the Shore Conference Tournament final. She went 26-11 on the season.
132
Leila Gearl
School: Southern
Year: Freshman
The Skinny: Gearl finished fourth in the state. She won three wrestleback bouts to get to the thirdplace bout before she was defeated 9-8 by Absegami's Lamiah Berry. One of those wins was a pin of Point Pleasant Borough's Central Region champion Charlize Schlam. Berry also defeated Gearl in a firstround bout. Gearl was the South Region runner-up to state champion Shea Aretz of Buena. Gearl was 23-6 on the season.
138 Rosabella Kearns
School:
Year:
The Skinny: Kearns finished fifth in the state with a pin of Bennett in the fifth-place bout. She had advanced to the semifinal by avenging a defeat to North Brunswick's Gabrielle Roberts in the Central Region final with an 8-6 win. Kearns had defeated Metuchen's Celeste Falkovich 6-0 in the first round. Kearns went 11-5 on the season.
Freehold Township Junior Samantha Henrich School: Southern Year: Junior The Skinny:
Henrich, the sister of Southern's twotime boys state champion Matt Henrich, finished seventh in the state. She pinned North Hunterdon's Riley Conaty in the seventh-place bout. Henrich clinched a medal with a pin of Metuchen's Celeste Falkovich. She advanced to the quarterfinal with a pin of Conaty. Henrich won the South Region title with a 10-0 major decision over West Deptford's Jaden Bennett. She won the Shore Conference Tournament title with a 3-0 win over Lakewood's Marily Dominguez. Henrich was 27-6 on the season.
145 Thea Rowland School: Middletown South Year: Junior The Skinny:
Rowland became Middletown South's first state champion - boy or girl - since Glenn Pritzlaff won his third state title in 1994, with an 8-4 win over Boonton's Julia Fongaro. To win the title, Rowland defeated defending state champion Olivia Georges of DePaul 4-3 in the semifinal and Fongaro, who was fourth in the state at 132 last year and is the sister of Indiana University 141-pounder Dan Fongaro and Rutgers University 141-pounder and 2022 144 pound boys state champion Joe Fongaro. Rowland, who is a two-time state top-four finisher, won the Central Region championship with a win by technical fall over Raritan's state eighth-place finisher Brigid Hatton. She also pinned Hatton in the SCT final. Rowland went 29-2 on the season.
152 Danielle Forlenza School: Year: The Skinny:
Forlenza gets the nod over state eighth-place finisher Vanesa Cuate of Lakewood even though she did not medal because she went 2-1 against Cuate on the season. She pinned Cuate in a Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal on her way to winning that title. Forlenza also pinned Cuate in the Central Region final. Cuate then defeated Forlenza 3-1 in a sudden victory in a state wrestleback bout. Forlenza pinned Middletown South's Natalia Rusin in the SCT final. She went 11-5 on the season.
165 Ella Yanuzzelli School: Southern Year: Senior The Skinny:
Yanuzzelli finished fifth in the state. She pinned Jackson Memorial's Kiley Toti in the fifthplace bout. Yanuzzelli had advanced to the semifinal with a pin of Toti. She was third in the South Region. Yanuzzelli clinched her state tournament berth with an 8-0 major decision over Kingsway's Rebecca Dryden. She won the Shore Conference Tournament title with a pin of Kiley and also went up to 185 pounds and pinned 2023 state 185-pound runner-up Jade Hahn of Donovan Catholic in the Shore Conference Showcase on Jan. 20 at Southern. Yanuzzelli went 20-7 on the season.
185 Liliana Alicea School: Year: The Skinny:
Central
Sophomore
Alicea went on a sensational two-week run from regions through the state tournament to become Central's first state champion - boy or girl since Mark Worthy won his third state title in 1999. In the state tournament, Alicea defeated Pennsauken's Macenzie Hunter, who was fifth in the state 185 in 2023, 3-2 in the quarterfinal. She then defeated Gateway's Shaelie Young, the 2022 state 185-pound runner-up 2-1 in the semifinal before pinning North Plainfield's Naylani Delvalle in the final. In the South Region, Alicea came from the No. 5 seed and pinned Hahn in the quarterfinal to avenge a sudden victory defeat in the SCT final, Young 7-5 in the semifinal and pinned Hunter in the final. She went 24-7 on the season.
235 Giavonna Farrell-Byers
School: Howell
Year: Sophomore.
The Skinny: Farrell-Byers finished seventh in the state. She pinned Parsippany Hills Kayla Mena in the seventh-place bout. She clinched a medal by pinning Bayonne's Aayana Roberts in a wrestleback bout. She had advanced to the quarterfinal with a pin of North Brunswick's Rahkai Degrassel. Farrell-Byers was the Central Region runner-up top Ewing's state champion Shellitha Collins. She won the SCT championship with a pin of Raritan's Hope Larnatis.
SECOND TEAM
Criteria: Head-to-head results; State tournament medalist; State tournament qualifier.
100
Nola Allen, Marlboro; Sophomore; Record: 22-9; State Wrestleback 2; 2nd in the Central Region.
114
Alexandra Tchekounova, Colts Neck, Senior; Record: 17-6; State 5th; 3rd in the Central Region.
120
Briana Dugo, Jackson Memorial, Sophomore; Record: 21-12; State 8th; 2nd in the Central Region.
Sophie Babineau, Manalapan; Junior; Record: 25-6; State Wrestleback 2; 3rd in the Central Region.
126
Haley Marks, Howell; Senior; Record: 25-11; State wrestleback 2; 3rd in the Central Region.
132
Charlize Schlam, Point Pleasant Borough; Sophomore; Record: 15-2; State Wrestleback 2; 1st in the Central Region.
138
Marily Dominguez, Lakewood; Junior; Record: 20-3; State Wrestleback 2; 3rd in the Central Region.
145
Brigid Hatton, Raritan; Junior; Record: 27-8; State 8th; 2nd in the Central Region.
152
Vanesa Cuate, Lakewood; Junior; Record: 17-9; State 8th; 2nd in the Central Region.
165
Kiley Toti, Jackson Memorial; Senior; Record: 26-13; State 6th; 3rd in the Central Region.
185
Freehold Township Junior
Daniela Palacios, Lakewood; Junior; Record: 23-6; State 7th; 1st in the Central Region.
Nataly Torres-Miron, Jackson Memorial; Senior; Record: 15-10; State 6th; 3rd in Central Region.
Shannon Glowacka, Marlboro; Senior; Record: 28-7; State Wrestleback 2; 2nd in Central Region.