Area Wrestlers Compete For Former Raider

By Justin Worsley

"You're not recruiting there are you now, Goody?" a spectator asked Rutgers head wrestling coach Scott Goodale.

"We'll see, we'll see," said Goodale.

Goodale had plenty to see as wrestlers from around the Shore took the mat on Saturday in an effort to raise money for former Toms River East wrestler Dan Peoples. Peoples, 25, was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and does not have health insurance.

Along with Goodale, several former wrestlers from the Shore Conference were in attendance including 2007 119-pound state champion Matt Oliver, who currently wrestles at Newberry College, current Raritan head coach Rob Nucci along with former Raritan wrestlers Mike Mason and Brian Whalen.

All of the wrestlers wore t-shirts saying "I Wrestled for Danny" while warming up. Fourteen matches took place overall, including two former state champions and five state finalists.

Prior to the matches, current UFC Lightweight Champion Frank "The Answer" Edgar held a mixed-martial arts clinic for several young grapplers. Edgar was a two-time state placewinner while wrestling for Toms River East.

Though all wrestlers showed a competitive spirit, having fun was a top priority, and the referees involved themselves too. Don Murphy, of Hazlet, showed the crowded gymnasium at Toms River East High School that he is still nimble on his feet, taking down former Toms River South wrestler Billy Wilbert after Wilbert disputed a takedown that Murphy ruled was out of bounds. Wilbert, who placed fifth in the state tournament in 2001, quickly recovered to defeated Anthony Allocca 8-2.

Vinnie Salek, the 2003 state champion at 160 for Toms River East squared off against former teammate Devin Mesanko, East's only four-time district champion. Mesanko, however, got the best of Salek, hitting a five-point move on the current Newberry wrestler to earn a 5-1 decision.

Also wrestling for Newberry is Brian Newman, who wrestled against his former coach, Andy Chencarik, the 1997 135-pound state champion for Toms River East. Newman gave up an early takedown to his mentor and couldn't recover, dropping a close 2-0 decision.

Some of the best matches of the night came near the end. Jordan Beverly, a high school senior who finished third in the state last season got the best of Cody Fobes, a Howell alumnus who is also wrestling at Newberry, cruising to a 9-0 victory. Beverly will be wrestling for Goodale at Rutgers next year.

Two current state finalists also faced one another, Southern Regional's Kyle Casaletto, who is currently a junior, outwrestled Colts Neck's Tyler Fraley also a junior 7-2. Casaletto, who was merely seconds away from winning the 112-pound state title over High Point's Nick Francavilla, took down Fraley twice and earned a late set of back-points to control the match.

While the event did help, donations are still needed for Peoples. Those who are interested in making a donation can write a check payable to "Wrestling Raiders" and mail it to Mike Sternleib at 1059 Kells Court, Toms River, NJ 08753. For more information, contact Sternleib at hoboshouse@comcast.net.