Sports

Bridgewater Rec Wrestling Team 2nd in the League

Joe Casey, Ben Hines and Matt Sacco each win tournament titles.

Bridgewater's Central Jersey Wrestling League A team was a very talented bunch of wrestlers, competing in a 23-team league with some of the best teams in the state. The team's record was 12-3, and the boys were runners up in the league tournament.

Tournament champions were Joe Casey, Ben Hines and Matt Sacco. Runners up were EJ Mathewson, Paul Hamilton and Greg Verano. Third-place finishers included Rob Strano and Mike Winchock, and fifth-place finishes went to Brett Wolin and Alan Choy.

Joe Casey—2012 NJ State USA Wrestling Junior, 75-pound champion

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Sixth grader Joe Casey became a NJ State Champion on March 11 in the Junior Division.

Casey started wrestling in kindergarten at the age of 6. He started wrestling with the Bridgewater Recreation wrestling program from the start, wrestling in the novice program and participating in tournaments. In his second year, Casey wrestled for Bridgewater on the Raritan Valley League team, and, in second grade, his first year in the Central Jersey Wrestling League wrestling for the Bridgewater "A" Team, he finished third in the league tournament.

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During the next four years, Casey's record was one of the best ever in a league which had some of the top performers in the state. His Central Jersey League record stands at two losses and three undefeated seasons in the last four years, including four Central Jersey League First place championships and the Outstanding Wrestler award in 2011 and 2012 in the league.

The Bridgewater Central Jersey League “A” team won the team championship in 2008 and 2009 in the team league tournament. This year, Casey's final year in the Central Jersey league, he earned his fourth championship. Casey also wrestled matches for the Bridgewater Grade School Team this past season, and looks forward to wrestling on the team in seventh and eighth grades.    

Since he has qualified to participate in the USAW NJ Kids States, Casey placed third in 2009, second in 2010 and 2011 and became State Champ March 11 in the Junior 75 division.

Nick Sacco—2012 NJ State USA Wrestling Bantam, 75-pound Champion

Third-grader Nick Sacco became a NJ State Champion on March 17 in the Bantam division.

Sacco started wrestling in first grade. He started wrestling with the Bridgewater Recreation wrestling program from the start.

In Sacco's first two years, he wrestled on the Raritan Valley Wrestling Team, and this year was his first wrestling for the Central Jersey Wrestling League for the Bridgewater “B” Team where he had an impressive 8-3 record. This was also his first attempt wrestling in the USAWNJ Scholastic Kids tournament, where Sacco qualified and won four matches in the State Tournament all by pins to win the championship.

Mike Winchock—2012 NJ State USA Wrestling 2012 Novice, 80-pound Runner Up

Fifth-grader Mike Winchock placed second in NJ States on March 18 in the Novice Division.

Winchock started wrestling in first grade, and he started wrestling with the Bridgewater Recreation wrestling program from the start.

In Winchock's first two years, he wrestled on the Novice Team and, on the Raritan Valley Wrestling Team, he did very well. He has also wrestled two years on the Central Jersey League “B” Team, and this past year on the “A” Team.

This year, while wrestling on the “A” Team, Winchock compiled an impressive 14-1 record, and finished third in the league tournament. He has also wrestled in the USAWNJ Scholastic Kids tournament for the past three years—he was the runner up in 2010 and also the runner up this year.

—Bridgewater Recreation


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