Slammy Time! Fort runs down a wild season
Here we go — again. It’s time to end the Trentonian’s high school wrestling season with our annual Slammy Awards and AllArea Team.
Actually, the All-Colonial Valley Conference team will also appear this week, but in the meantime we present the worst, best and most hilarious moments from another fun-filled season of New Jersey wrestling.
Believing no one is immune, this year we have even slammed ourselves. With that in mind, if you don’t like your award keep in mind the old saying misery loves company. DUMBEST PERSON >> Yours truly for not taking out a copyright on the “Slammy Awards” 35 years ago and charging Vince McMahon a fortune to use it. WHERE’S WALDO AWARD I >> To referee Alan Maloney, who as far as can be determined was not at this year’s state tourney. Perhaps he was back in Berlin fixing radiators.
WHERE’S WALDO AWARD II >> To Bound Brook’s Marty Gleeson, who seems to have gone underground after being disbarred by the New Jersey Supreme Court for ethics violations, including the misappropriation of funds.
MOST SUSPICIOUS FIRING >> When Becahi canned “Slick” Rick Thompson the day after his team lost to “G.I.” Jody Karam’s Bethlehem Liberty team. Throw in the three times he was fired at Phillispburg and that’s four times Thompson has gotten the boot. “I was stunned,” said Thompson in a published report “They called me and said: ‘You’re done as coach. We’re going a different way; turn in your keys.’” And who replaced Thompson the same day? You got it, Jeff Karam of course.
MOST SUSPICIOUS WEIGHIN>> The quad at Randolph in which 25 visiting wrestlers were over weight. Oh, well, unlike the district at Ramapo one year at least they had a scale in the building. BIGGEST BLOW-UP AT STATES >> When a Bergen Catholic assistant cut across High Point’s corner to get to another mat during a bout between the two schools. This understandably drew the ire of classy Hillbilly coach John Gardner and before long two High Point assistants got into it with BC coach Dave Bell. The best was at this point even Newton and P-Burg coach Dave Post were cheering for the High Point wrestler. FUNNIEST SCENE AT STATES >> When the Bergen Catholic fans went wild cheering against one of their former wrestlers, who transferred out and had some negative things to say about the Crusader program on his way out the door. BIGGEST SMILE AT STATES >> The one Raritan coach Rob Nucci was sporting after a girl won the school’s first state championship. Nucci is part of the annoying Shore Conference crowd, but he is a good guy. “We’re No. 1 in the state,” said Nucci in reference to his girls’ team. It’s not entirely clear what that’s based on, but it sounds good to us.
MOST SICKENING THING AT THE STATES >> Listening to the PA announcers repeatedly extolling the virtues of the NJSIAA, which is supposed to be a nonprofit organization. Shut up already.
WISHFUL THINKING AWARD >> To the Paulsboro fans who showed up in force at Philadelphia’s Palestra actually thinking their team had a chance to beat Bergen Catholic.
MOST FAMOUS (MAKE THAT INFAMOUS) PICTURE AWARD: >> The one in which a Bergen Catholic wrestler salutes the Paulsboro fans after recording a pin. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps in all the excitement he just got confused and accidentally raised the wrong finger while indicating his team is No. 1.
BIGGEST WASTE OF GAS >> The NJSIAA making teams travel an average of 49 miles to drive to the district at Howell. Heck, one team had to go over 65 miles to get splattered on the Rebel mats. BIGGEST HYPOCRITES >> The Shore Conference people complaining about how far they had to travel for districts and regions when they were the ones who created this mess in the first place in order to advance more of their wrestlers to states. By the way, out of 81 Shore Conference wrestlers this year at states, 16 of them placed. While this number isn’t awful, was it really worth blowing up the whole state for that?
STILL THE WORST CHANGE TO NEW JERSEY WRESTLING >> The realignment of districts and regions
BEST CHANGE TO NEW JERSEY WRESTLING >> Girls. BIGGEST NON-CHANGE IN NEW JERSEY WRESTLING >> The state emphasizing during the pre-season how it wanted the refs to crack down on stalling. That lasted about two hours on opening day and it was back to business as usual. Actually, it was almost like there were even less stalling calls.
BEST NICKNAME >> The High Point girl wrestler who has a MMA background and goes by the name of “Tap Out.”
Worst Realignment in New Jersey Wrestling: The Skyland Conference breaking up the best division in the state, resulting in some brutal beatings between the haves and the have nots. BEST OLD MIKE ROSETTI STORY I >> The time Rosetti was the freshman baseball coach at Jefferson and sandbagged the head coach by telling him his ninth-grade pitching phe-
nom wasn’t ready for the varsity. While the Jefferson varsity struggled, Rosetti’s freshmen team went undefeated with the player who later pitched professional baseball.
BEST OLD MIKE ROSETTI STORY II >> The time Rosetti was an assistant baseball coach at Phillipsburg and was reportedly caught having a guy stand behind the center field fence with binoculars to steal the other team’s signals.
BEST NEW TROPHY >> The one that is now awarded to the winner of the Delaware Valley-Hopewell Valley match. So what if the 6-inch-wide, 6-inch-high piece of hardware reminds of the Stonehenge prop from This is Spinal Tap.
MOST CLUELESS E-MAIL: >> The one in which the NJSIAA asked the coaches to verify what section they are listed in when it sent out its first edition of the power points. How lazy can you get. Why not just look at the chart on your own website. FOUNTAIN OF MISINFORMATION AWARD I >> Once again to a certain North Jersey website that identified Steve Hendershot as a former region champion for Phillipsburg. There was only one small problem: Hendershot was from North Hunterdon. FOUNTAIN OF MISINFORMATION AWARD II >> The North Jersey website that reported how a New Brunswick wrestler was the first from his school to qualify for states. There was only one small problem: He was not the first and the school had one in 1971.
MOST DISORGANIZED EVENT I >> The NJSIAA handing out the media award at states a day earlier than planned. As a result, the guy who received the award wasn’t even on the floor to receive it and he had made plans for his family to be there the following day.
MOST DISORGANIZED EVENT II >> Making the girls hang around for hours on end to receive their medals at states. Give them them their awards prior to the boys’ finals on the mat and let them go home rather than later
stand on the medal platform that looks like it might collapse at any moment.
BEST WRESTLING ATMOSPHERE >> Trenton’s loud and cozy Junior 3 gym. Straight out of the movie Hoosiers, there are no seats and the fans look on from a balcony nearly right above the mat. “I don’t know,” said Trenton coach Rob Prunetti when asked if his team would continue to wrestle at Junior 3 or move to Trenton’s beautiful new high school when it opens next year. Our recommendation: Stay where you are. BEST SCOREKEEPER >> Trenton’s Taina Arguedas.
FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD >> To former Mat Pack member Mark
Trible, who straightened out an athletic director at a Christmas tournament after he was initially denied access to the Buena team following the hair cutting incident involving Maloney. MOST HELPFUL FAN >> Steve Anuszewski, who clued us in on the fact Hunterdon Central crushed Paulsboro twice during the early 1960s.
IT MAN OF THE YEAR >> Phillipsburg’s Kyle Purdy. This guy is to computers what Alexander Graham Bell was to the telephone. YOU CAN ONLY FOOL ME ONCE AWARD >> To Delaware Valley coach Andy Fitz, who made it very clear he will not participate in any more of Phillipsburg’s “Back to the Pit Nights” and wear a t-shirt provided by the Stateliners. Whether P-Burg tried to get Kittatinny coach John Gill to trade in his trademark blue shirt for a t-shirt this year is unclear.
BEST MUSICAL CHANGE >> Allentown’s switching to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck for warm-ups after playing rap in the past. Apparently, Mitch Nock’s musical tastes now extend beyond Allentown residents RZA and the WuTang Clan. By the way, is it true YouTube is begging Mitch Nock to make more wrestling videos because the hits on its website have dropped dramatically with him no longer teaching takedowns.
BEST MULTIPLE SPORT ATHLETE >> North Hunterdon heavyweight Francis Vitelli, who used to wrestle for the Lions before deciding to concentrate on bowling. Vitelli then proceeded to bowl a 300.
WORST MATCH >> Howell 84, Allentown 0 with nine forfeits. Let’s hope they gave anyone who paid to watch this farce their their money back. Making matters worse, it was Howell’s senior night and the introductions actually took longer than the match.
BEST MATCH >> Rancocas Valley’s thrilling one-point comeback win over Northern Burlington in which the Red Devil faithful went absolutely nuts. For those who haven’t experienced it, RVNBC is one of the great rivalries in local sports.
BEST OLD BURLINGTON COUNTY QUOTE >> The time former Rancocas Valley coach Brian Bowker said: “There’s a lot of crossbreeding going on between Mt. Holly and Browns Mills.”
BEST WATERING HOLE IN THE SUMMER >> Pt. Pleasant’s Jenks North Inlet bar where “Diver” Dan O’Cone continues to unsuccessfully try each summer to exonerate himself in the North Hunterdon weigh-in sheet scandal. BEST WATERING HOLE IN THE WINTER >> Phillipsburg’s Brass Rail. The place is so popular even Howell fans go there.
BEST WRESTLING FEED >> Phillipsburg’s Stateliner Broadcasting Network.
LONGEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH >> The time former Steinert heavyweight “Big” Dom Cuniglio was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. His lengthy speech was so moving it brought people to tears. Or maybe they were crying because they just wanted him to stop. And while we’re on the subject, why isn’t Marc Cuniglio in the Steinert Hall of Fame. LAMEST EXCUSE >> The coach who blamed a 35-point loss on his school having to go into lockdown two days earlier. MOST ANTICIPATED COMEBACK >> Hunterdon Central assistant Leigh Hall announcing he is coming out of retirement to play softball in Easton. How many of his former Holiday Jaxx teammates will join him is not known.
IT’S ABOUT TIME AWARD: >> Angelina Romero making former Irish coach Gary “The Brain” Dambro proud by becoming the first Notre Dame wrestler to place at states.
MOST IRONIC APPOINTMENT >> Joe Derillo serving as a referee administrator after years of getting his chops busted by the state.
MOST UNFORTUNATE SCREW UP AT GROUPS I >> High Point sending out the wrong wrestler to take a forfeit in the Group III final against South Plainfield. MOST UNFORTUNATE SCREW UP AT GROUPS II >> Kittatinny having a wrestler DQ’d on the mat after he presented himself at weighins at the wrong weight. FUNNIEST SIGNS >> The ones you see on the Franklin Township border identifying it as the “fifth best place to live in the United States.” Huh? Are they really saying Franklin Township is a nicer place to live than, say, Maui or the Monteray Peninsula. And move the region back to Hunterdon Central. Franklin may have the more fan-friendly facility, but it’s like holding a Super Bowl in Billings, Montana. BOYS WILL BE BOYS AWARD: >> No need to get into specifics, but this goes to the wrestlers on a team that were out partying one night and panicked when they saw a car’s lights approaching. Mistakenly thinking it was a cop, they started running and one of them broke his ankle while running through a field. Ironically, when an ambulance was called this time the police actually did show up.