Paw Prints
Distirct 19 Champs, AgainMonday, March 03, 2008 By Xiomara Yupanqui
The Perth Amboy Wrestling team has ended its regular season with a successful record of 21-9, which was better than last year’s record of only 18 wins. Coach Giordano, head varsity coach, and his coaching staff pushed this year’s grapplers to help make the team beat the standards of last year’s team. “Hard work beats talent, but talent doesn’t work hard,” stated Coach G. Many of the wrestlers contributed lots of their time for the team, and this season’s hard work has surely paid off. For the first time, the team beat old rivals. The team defeated South Plainfield, a team ranked 16th on The Star Ledger Top 20 earlier in the season. Then, the team defeated Old Bridge by one point. According to Coach G, “No one has ever done this before. We were the first team to ever beat both teams in one season.” Hard work paid off for many of the wrestlers at the GMC tournament. As a team, Amboy placed 4th. Heriberto Quintana (103), Jairo Bernal (119), and Craig Batista (160) placed 2nd. Brian Perez (130) took 3rd. Shaun Lockwood (189) placed 4th. “People don’t realize that we have 11 new starters,” according to Coach G. With their All Red Division championship title and a good showing at the GMC tournament, the grapplers went into the Districts with victory on their minds. For the second year in a row, Amboy was named the District 19 champs. Also, Coach G was named the District 19 Coach of the Year. Walking out wearing gold medals were Heriberto Quintana (103), Craig Batista (160), Sammy Morales (171), and Shaun Lockwood (189). Sporting silver medals were Jairo Bernal (112), Jimmy Martinez (135) and Jose Perez (HWT). Brian Perez (130), Mark Torres (145) and Mark Cumber (152) took home bronze medals. All the above wrestlers are heading for the Regional Tournament. Their performances at the Regionals will determine who will go on to the State tournament in Atlantic City. |