Woodstown, Pennsville compete in tournaments in Delaware over the weekend
By Riverview Sports News
NEWARK, Del. – Woodstown heavyweight Mateo Vinciguerra reached the quarterfinals of the main draw and then finished seventh in the Beast of the East Tournament that concluded Sunday.
Vinciguerra had an opening-round bye, then won by pin and a decision before losing in a technical fall (23-7) to Mark Effendian of team champion Faith Christian Academy in the quarterfinals.
He won by decision and was pinned in his first two consolation round matches, then pinned Dante Donaldson of The Hill School in 2:21 in the seventh-place match.
Travis Balback (126) and Greyson Hyland (175) both went 1-2 in the tournament.
Howdy Duncan Classic
NEW CASTLE, Del. – Gabe Supernavage was the highest placing Pennsville wrestler in the Howdy Duncan Classic when he finished sixth at 138 in the weekend tournament.
Supernavage went 3-3 in the tournament with two pins in the consolation rounds. He lost a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match.
Pennsville wrestlers won 15 matches in the tournament. Nathaniel Mason (132), Joseph Halstead (190) and Jacob Hand (285) also won three matches in the tournament. Brett Land (113), Travis Hagan (144) and Halstead all reached the quarterfinals of the championship bracket.
Woodstown girls turn 32 steals into 39 points, rout Highland Regional in SJIBT opener; Wolverines have eye-popping 87 steals in their three wins
SJIBT FIRST-ROUND Woodstown 77, Highland 38
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – When the Woodstown girls basketball team posted 43 steals in their season opener last week folks might have thought it was some anomaly or miscount. Even new coach Matt Smart had to do a double-take and then double-checked that. It’s gotta be some kind of record, right?
There was no mistake. That’s just how the Wolverines have been playing.
They’ve been picking opponents’ pockets all season, and even more impressively, usually without drawing a reaching foul.
They did have 43 steals in that opener against Salem and they had 32 more Saturday on their way to a 77-38 rout of Highland Regional in their South Jersey Invitational (SJIBT) opener. They now host the winner of the Jan. 11 Shawnee-Medford Tech game in the second round to be completed by Jan. 25.
Unofficially, the Wolverines (3-0) had 29 steals over 61 possessions for 39 points in the three quarters the regulars played against Highland. Megan Donelson was credited with 11 (she had 10 in the Salem game). Talia Battavio and Lauren Hengel each had five. Eight players had at least one.
The Women of Steal now have 87 in their first three games, nearly a third of the number they had in 28 games last season (265).
“It definitely is very impressive,” Smart said. “Those girls just have a knack for the ball. It’s just natural instinct for some of them.”
The Wolverines were good at it out of the 2-3 last year and now it’s translating to their man. Even when they called off the press they still got steals off the trap and front-court defense. They had 18 steals in the first half, then came out of the break and turned over the Tartans on 12 of their first 14 possessions with nine more steals, scoring 19 points.
“We don’t specifically practice it, it’s just the way we play our game,” said senior Gianna Miorini, who added four to the steal total. “We are a fast-motion, quick point team. Megan and Talia are there for the layups and we’re there to make those steals and send them up the court.”
“We wouldn’t be able to get the (number of) steals without everyone else on the team, the shifting and everything,” Battavio said. “I think we’re amazing at it and we attack it well.”
Battavio and Donelson led the offense with 26 and 19 points, respectively, with a lot of layups between them, but they’re in there mixing it up on the defensive end, too. There are plenty of frames on the highlight reel where one will tip the ball away and then get out on a 2-on-1 break with the other and no one can tell who’s going to finish off the play.
“They’re really good at attacking loose balls,” Smart said. “If they tip it, they have that mindset that ball’s mine. My favorite part of this is like one girl will make a steal and they’ll be running with her and she passes the ball off for a layup, giving up a shot for a better shot.”
Of course, the Wolverines know there are some risks associated with such an aggressive approach. If the officials want to call a less physical game they might be in trouble, but it hasn’t been an issue so far.
The Wolverines have picked it and gotten clean away.
Penns Grove turns back several Woodstown rallies, wins a thriller; Salem remains unbeaten, Pennsville, Schalick fall
FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES Penns Grove 63, Woodstown 55 Salem 67, Salem Tech 27 Glassboro 65, Pennsville 51 Overbrook 75, Schalick 41
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Without an experienced senior who plays appreciative minutes, several new players to incorporate into its style of play and an otherwise athletic but young roster, the Penns Grove basketball team is “learning on the fly” this early portion of the season.
Last year with a senior-laden team it took a while to find the right combination and coach Damian Ware’s lineups changed virtually every game. What the Red Devils learned Friday night was how to handle business down the stretch in a close game of a high-intensity rivalry.
Penns Grove withstood several charges from Woodstown, including a stretch in which the Wolverines took a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to two with a little more than two minutes to play, before finally putting them away 63-55 for its first win of the season.
“That’s just the maturation process of a team that’s learning how to play varsity basketball on the fly,” Ware said. “Only two of my guys have played varsity minutes so we’re learning on the fly.
“We grew up a little bit tonight. What I learned (about his team) tonight is we can make some clutch plays down the stretch.”
The Red Devils (1-1) built leads in every quarter with fast starts on the restarts, but each time the Wolverines (0-2) came back.
Penns Grove scored the first seven points of the game, but it was tied 13-all at quarter’s end and was only 26-25 at halftime. The Red Devils opened the second half with a 13-2 run, but by the end of the third quarter led only 45-44.
They had a 10-point lead after Robbins’ flying follow with 6:02 to play, but Woodstown chipped away again and got it back to 56-54 with two minutes left when Blake Bialecki hit two technical free throws after Ware was teed up for being out on the floor all because the officials couldn’t/didn’t hear his frantic pleas for a time out.
The tech got Woodstown with a bucket and it had a shot on the ensuing possession, but it also fired up the Red Devils. They outscored the Wolverines 7-1 the rest of the way.
“When our coach got the tech, that’s when everything started getting fired up,” Ceaser said. “We started getting our coach’s back because we’re a family, a brotherhood. It put more fire in the team to get the win. As a team we back each other’s play.”
“I’m not going to make that a habit,” Ware said of his T as a tool of motivation.
Brandin Robbins led Penns Grove with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Roman Gipson had 12, including a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left that put the Red Devils up six. KaRon Ceaser had nine points and led the Red Devils’ defensive effort down the stretch.
In every case the Red Devils used the press, a smothering trap and quick hands to create turnovers that they turned into baskets.
“My defense was great,” Ware said. “I don’t know what the numbers were, but I know we didn’t give up many shots. We let (Rocco) String get some putbacks, but he’s 6-7, he’s a big, strong kid, so he’s going to get that. What I told my guys was we wanted to limit that as much as possible.”
String did everything he could to bring the Wolverines back when they fell behind. He finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He blocked back-to-back shots, grabbed a rebound off a missed Penns Grove free throw and had a putback basket all in the space of about 30 seconds late in the third quarter rally.
Braydon Hall had 16 points and hit four big 3-pointers during the Wolverines’ various rallies.
“We played hard, we just didn’t make enough plays in the end,” said Woodstown coach Ramon Roots, still looking for his first win as a head coach. “If we made just a few more plays we would have won the game today, but we played tough. We played very tough today.”
PENNS GROVE (1-1) – Brandin Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 4 3-4 12, KaRon Ceaser 4 1-2 9, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 3 2-6 9, Geonni Conrad 1 0-0 3, Antoine Robinson 1 0-2 2, Haneef Frisbee 5 1-2 11. Totals 25 7-14 63. WOODSTOWN (0-2) – Garrett Leyman 0 2-2 2, Eli Caesar 4 0-1 8, Rocco String 9 0-0 18, Blake Bialecki 3 2-2 9, Braydon Hall 6 0-0 16, M.J. Hall 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-12 55.
Penns Grove
13
13
19
18-
63
Woodstown
13
12
18
11-
55
3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Robbins 3, Gipson, Conrad, Horace); Woodstown 5 (Bialecki, B. Hall 4). Rebounds: Woodstown 55 (String 15). Technical fouls: Horace, B. Hall, PG coach Ware. Fouled out: Frisbee, B. Hall. Total fouls: Penns Grove 18, Woodstown 21.
SALEM 67, SALEM TECH 27: Tymere Lecator and Neziah Spence each scored 15 points and dished seven assists as the Rams won their third straight game. Deshaan Williams added 10 points and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.
3-point goals: Salem Tech (Dougan); Salem 3 (Lecator, Spence 2). Rebounds: Salem 34 (Rogers 10). Total fouls: Salem Tech 10, Salem 12.
GLASSBORO 65, PENNSVILLE 51: Xavier Sabb scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, highlighted by three spectacular dunks, to stake the Bulldogs to a lead they maintained the rest of the game. Glassboro’s Maurice Davis led all scorers with 20 points. After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to seven with four minutes to play. Giovanni Rios led Pennsville with 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
GLASSBORO (1-2) – Hakim Theresa 1 0-0 2, Xavier Sabb 8 2-4 18, Aiden Harris 4 3-4 11, Maurice Davis 10 0-2 20, Davon Barr 2 4-6 8, Alex Adeleye 2 0-0 4, Marley Crowl 1 2-2 4. Totals 28 11-18 65. PENNSVILLE (0-2) – Giovanni Rios 6 1-2 13, Perry Meranti 3 1-2 7, Cole Johnston 3 1-3 8, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 2 2-3 7, Daniel Knight 2 0-0 5, Shiloh Jefferson 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 5-10 51.
OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 41: Lamar Little led three Overbrook scorers in double figures with 15 points as the Rams picked up their first win of the season. Zair Green added 14 and Xavier Wright 12. Sherrod Jones led Schalick with 14 points.
Woodstown power pair, Battavio and Donelson, have another big game; Pennsville, Schalick, Salem Tech score first wins of the year
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Woodstown 70, Penns Grove 38 Pennsville 52, Glassboro 44 Schalick 51, Overbrook 29 Salem Tech 36, Salem 22
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE — When he watched them from a distance for scouting purposes last year Matt Smart thought then Woodstown’s dynamic duo of Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson were “phenomenal” players. Now that he sees them up close every day as their coach his appreciation for them is even greater.
Battavio and Donelson are never far apart on or off the basketball floor. On the court Friday night, Donelson scored 28 points with five 3-pointers and Battavio scored 26 with three as the Wolverines took down shorthanded Penns Grove 70-38.
Than, when they discovered one had left behind her water bottle as the team was leaving the gym, both tore out of the team bus and raced across the lawn to go back inside to retrieve it.
“We’ve had two tough tests this year so far and Megan and Talia have been great in both of them,” Smart said. “You see their court vision. They have a way of finding each other in situations that I might not even see. They are just so unselfish right now and they want each other to succeed. It’s not a race to see who can score how many points.
“I scouted them for one game that didn’t end up happening (last year), they were phenomenal. It was how do we stop them offensively and how do we attack them defensively. They are just as advertised, if not better.”
It was the 11th time in their career they both scored 20 in the same game and eighth in the last 30 games. Only 18 points separate them on the career scoring list – Battavio now has 1,240 points, Donelson 1,222.
With the two of them combining for 20 points, the Wolverines (2-0) opened a 24-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, although the Red Devils (1-1), playing with only six players, scored the first nine points of second quarter and played them even to halftime.
They weren’t the first points the Wolverines scored in the game. Those belonged to Gianna Maiorini, who hit their first two baskets before the other two got going.
“Today I was most proud of Gianna,” Smart said. “It was a slow kind of start and she comes up and hits two big shots for us. She’s been that way all year. She’s kind of the quiet leader who kind of knows where everybody is.”
Donelson, a Millersville signee, also had seven rebounds and six more steals. Battavio, a Goldey Beacom signee, had six rebounds and seven assists, several of the whip-around variety that usually found Donelson in the corner for a 3.
Donelson was 5-for-8 from behind the arc in the game.
“Working in the summer just really improved my shooting,” she said.
In perhaps the definition of their collaboration, there was a play early in the fourth quarter when Donelson made a steal that sent them off on a 2-on-1 break. She passed it to Battavio and just as they got to the foul line Battavio returned it past the unfortunate Penns Grove defender caught in the flow and Donelson soared in for an easy layup.
The play came right after Battavio hit a 3
“Me and Talia work really well together,” Donelson said. “We both know we play and we just work off that and it’s really good.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 11 (Battavio 3, Donelson 5, Perry, Thomas, Young); Penns Grove 4 (Numan, Wilson 3). Fouled out: Robbins, Washington. Total fouls: Woodstown 19, Penns Grove 23.
PENNSVILLE 52, GLASSBORO 44: Marley Wood helped the Eagles hold it together after two of their top players fouled out in the fourth quarter and Glassboro was rallying to help coach Steve Merritt get his first win with the program.
Wood scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. It was her third career double-double. She was particularly instrumental after Taylor Bass (11 points, seven rebounds) and Nora Ausland (12 points, six rebounds) fouled out in the fourth quarter while Glassboro cut a 15-point deficit to six.
Although she didn’t do much scoring in the quarter, she was the rudder that steered the ship. Freshman Addison Johnston also played a big role, scoring four points in the fourth, including her first career 3-pointer.
“One-and-one feels a lot better than 0-2,” Merritt said. “I was almost giddy with joy postgame. I was so proud of how they did what I have been drilling into them.”
Glassboro’s Kezia Brackett led all scorers with 18 points. She had 13 in the second half.
SCHALICK 51, OVERBROOK 29: Freshmen Naveah Robinson and Willow Davis knocked down seven of Schalick’s nine 3-pointers and the long-range bombing led the Cougars to their first win of the season.
Robinson hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points. Davis hit three in her first career start and had 14 points. The Cougars (1-2) have hit 12 3s in their first three games. They had 41 in 22 games last season.
The Cougars hit six from behind the arc in the first half while opening a 33-10 halftime lead. Robinson and Davis had five of them.
“The 3-ball is definitely something Nevaeh and Willow bring to this team,” Cougars coach John Whalen said. “It allows us to do much more on offense and really helps us spread the floor.
“I think both (Robinson and Davis) are starting to more comfortable, more confident, and will be a major part of this team’s success.”
SALEM TECH 36, SALEM 22: Shelby Liber hit two 3-pointers among her team-high nine points and the Chargers dominated the boards to win their season opener for the first time in program history. Demajae White had a game-high 12 rebounds. Rylee Doerr didn’t scored, but she grabbed 11 boards.
Kaylin Beardsley and Shelby Drummond both had full boxscores. Beardlsey had four points, five rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Drummond had three points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The Chargers won only one game all last season. They had never beaten Salem before (0-4).
Woodstown’s Roots returns to alma mater as opponent in his first game as a head coach, 3 other coaches also debut with their Salem County teams Wednesday
WEDNESDAY BASKETBALL BOYS GAMES Salem 71, Woodstown 48 Wildwood 54, Pennsville 34 Clayton 87, Schalick 67 GIRLS GAMES Woodstown 61, Salem 16 Wildwood 70, Pennsville 39 Clayton 65, Schalick 21
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Ramon Roots had all the emotions one would expect from the day of his first game as a head coach. He was excited. He was nervous. He was anxious all day.
But for the new Woodstown boys basketball coach there was more to Wednesday’s debut than just a first game as the guy in charge. It was on the road … against the team he used to help coach … in the gym where he used to play.
And he still teaches in the district, so he was embedded with the “enemy” all school day long.
Once the game started, however, it felt like any other game. And it hurt just as bad as any loss he’s ever had before after the Wolverines lost to Salem, 71-48.
“I was just anxious, I was anxious to get out here and start the program, start the journey,” Roots said. “You’re going to hear me say that a lot, we’re starting the journey.
“It was a little weird being on the other side, but I was ready for this moment. Going in I didn’t know what to really expect but I kind of knew how it would be. Things happen, but I was ready for it.”
Roots was one of four Salem County basketball coaches debuting with their teams Wednesday night. The other three were girls coaches Matt Smart (Woodstown), Steve Merritt (Pennsville) and Jerry Macon (Salem).
Merritt has been around the block a time or two, having won more than 500 games across multiple sports in 19 years at Salem and returning to the bench after a two-year break. Smart and Roots are head coaches for the first time. Macon has been a head coach before.
Before and after his game Roots was greeted by acquaintances who welcomed him back to the gym he experienced some of his fondest moments in sports. The Rams and their faithful were a lot less accommodating in the 32 minutes in between.
As the game moved into the final minute a section of fans on the far side of the floor began waving and chanting “Good-bye, Roots,” to which he responded by pointing in the direction of Salem’s 1,000-point scorer banner on which his name appears third from the bottom. A not-so-subtle reminder that no matter where he goes in the world he’ll always be connected to Salem.
“I knew what it would be like,” he said. “I know Salem’s a hostile environment. I know I got love here. I knew how the fans are going to be. It’s all love. I’m used to it already.
“I’ve been living in Salem all my life. I know the environment. I know what to expect. I’ve been on the other side of this. I was a coach for Salem three years and seen how they treat other coaches and other players. It wasn’t nothing I wasn’t used to. But I had a lot of love here tonight that was cheering for both sides.”
“We love him, he’s helped build this program to what it is so we appreciate him and want to see him to well just obviously not tonight,” Salem coach Anthony Farmer said. “It’s a mindset. He knows I’m a competitor. Give him a little high-five, welcome, if we can help you with anything, but (once the game starts) there’s really not much to talk about, there’s no handshakes, no high-fives, until obviously the game is over.”
The two teams gave both sides a lot to cheer about early, playing even for a quarter with Woodstown hitting an acrobatic layup at the buzzer to tie it at 16. Rocco String cleared a rebound to M.J. Hall, who threw an over-the-head backwards pass that found Eli Caesar on the low right block for a wide open layup that beat the horn.
But then Tymear Lecator got in the game in the second quarter, which got the offense going, the Rams turned up the defense and they steadily pulled away. The Rams scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second quarter and never trailed again.
Lecator, held out of the first quarter for an unspecified issue, scored 12 points in the second quarter and then opened the second half with back-to-back 3s. The sophomore guard finished with 27 points – mostly in the second and third quarters – and seven assists.
Antwuan Rogers added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Darrelle Johnson grabbed 10 boards. Woodstown didn’t have a double-figure scorer. Rocco String had 17 rebounds.
“They played us well for a quarter without our best kid, but obviously (Lecator) is a game-changer,” Farmer said. “When you insert him, you’re inserting a game-changer.”
“We definitely started strong, but I think we just turned over the ball a little bit too much and they had momentum plays that really hurt,” Roots said. “I liked our energy coming out. We’ve just got to maintain it.”
It was a physical game, as Roots expected, with 51 total fouls and 49 combined free throws. When Roots protested a call a little too vehemently he got hit with the first technical foul of his coaching career — 13 and a half minutes into his tenure — proving right there he may be a son of Salem but he was going to fight for his new charges.
“Everyone goes to bat for me, I’ll go to bat for them,” he said. “I’ve got their back when they’ve got mine.”
WILDWOOD GIRLS 70, PENNSVILLE 39: It may have been two years ago that Steve Merritt last coached a high school girls basketball game, but he remembers the experience being “every bit as frenetic as I remember it” as he directed his new Pennsville team through its regular-season opener.
The Eagles trailed the defending South Jersey Group I champions 10-8 with two minutes left in the first quarter, but the Warriors scored the last nine points of the quarter coming out of a timeout and steadily pulled away. Wildwood led 36-19 at halftime and 55-24 after three quarters.
“We just didn’t play sharp defense,” Merritt said. “We let Macie (McCracken) go to the baseline too often. We didn’t stay with our player; we switched when I wanted them to get through the screens. It’s not what I had hoped.”
McCracken finished with 36 points (to surpass 1,800 for her career) and 14 rebounds. She hit five 3-pointers. Taylor Bass led Pennsville with 16 points. Nora Ausland had 13.
Before their first scrimmage together, Merritt was so amped for the exercise he had restless night of sleep, took his dog for a walk at 6 a.m. and wound up coming to the gym some two hours before the scheduled tip.
It wasn’t nearly as disquieting awaiting the first real game, but he agreed his emotions he was experiencing were probably on a par with those of the county coaches going into their first games a head coach because he’d been away from it a few year.
“The anticipation for the game seemed to drag on forever … but as soon as it’s over I’m thinking ‘Holy cow, that was fast,’” he said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I go on line and look at all the results and start doing my stat track and everything else. I get excited about that. Chews up the whole morning. The poor dog may not get out.”
WOODSTOWN GIRLS 61, SALEM 16: The Matt Smart Era of Woodstown girls basketball couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The Wolverines jumped out to a 19-2 first-quarter lead, held the Rams scoreless in the third quarter, put 10 players in the scoring column and enjoyed their biggest opening day win since 2021.
“It was a fun experience, it was a great learning experience as well – for me and the girls,” Smart said. “I get to learn how the girls react to my coaching style, they get to see me in a real game scenario. It was a lot of fun. The girls responded great.”
Both teams were playing under new coaches as Salem’s Jerry Macon was coaching his first game with the Rams.
Smart admitted he was a “little nervous” waiting for the game to start, but once it got underway it was just like any other game.
And it was just like any other Woodstown game.
South Jersey girls basketball observers have gotten used to this phrase: Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson once again led the way. Battavio scored 20 points. Donelson had 13 points and 10 steals.
The Wolverines produced 43 steals in the game; six players had at least four each. They also had 21 assists among their 27 baskets.
“It was a great defensive effort for us,” Smart said. “I was most proud of how unselfish the whole team was. We were playing great defense, making unselfish passes for layups. I think the box score shows that we had 10 contributors scoring, which is awesome.
“We have to play to the Woodstown level and every day we’re just trying to get better. There’s always room to improve and that’s what we’re going to try to do every day.”
Salem coach Anthony Farmer (R) embraces new Woodstown coach Ramon Roots in the post-game handshake line Wednesday. Roots was Farmer’s assistant for three years before getting his first chance to be a head coach this season.
BOYS BOX SCORES SALEM 71, WOODSTOWN 48 WOODSTOWN (0-1) – Eli Caesar 2 0-0 4, John McGinley 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 2 3-3 8, Alejandro Vazquez 2 4-5 9, M.J. Hall 2 2-3 7, Garrett Leyman 1 1-2 4, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 1 3-4 5, Rocco String 1 2-5 4, B Mall 2 1-2 7. Totals 13 16-24 48. SALEM (2-0) – Donovan Weathers 0 0-0 0, Xavier McGriff 1 1-3 3, Neziah Spence 3 0-0 8, Kyaire Parsons 0 0-0 0, Deshawn Williams 2 0-1 4, Tymear Lecator 7 10-13 27, Darrell Johnson 3 0-0 6, Antwan Rogers 4 4-5 12, Harlem Parsons 1 0-0 3, Joe Tunis 3 2-3 9, Giovanni Talave 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 17-25 71.
Woodstown
16
10
14
8-
48
Salem
16
24
14
17-
71
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki, Vazquez, Hall, Leyman, Mall 2); Salem 6 (Spence, Lecator 3, H. Parsons, Tunis). Technical fouls: Woodstown coach Roots. Fouled out: Bialecki, Hall. Total fouls: Woodstown 28, Salem 22.
WILDWOOD 54, PENNSVILLE 34: Brian Cunniff led three Wildwood scorers in double figures with 17 points. Trevor Troiano had 12 and Nolan Mawhinney 11. Mason O’Brien led Pennsville with 13 points.
WILDWOOD (1-0) – Eric Jordan 3, Nolan Mawhinney 11, Trevor Troiano 12, Brian Cunniff 17, Jordan Dozier 4, Gianna Groiano 2. PENNSVILLE (0-1) – Mason O’Brien 3 6-10 13, Charles McDevitt 1 3-5 5, Giovanni Rios 2 4-7 8, Perry Meranti 0 1-4 1, Cole Johnston 1 0-0 3, Logan Hill 1 0-0 2, Daniel Knight 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 14-26 34.
CLAYTON 87, SCHALICK 67: Princeton Sackor scored 21 points, Nazir Davis had 20 and two others scored 11 apiece as the Clippers opened their season with a victory.
Clayton
18
22
24
23-
87
Schalick
10
13
25
19-
67
New Pennsville girls coach Steve Merritt (R) watches his team go through pre-game warmups before sending it out to play Wildwood in their first regular-season game together.
CLAYTON 65, SCHALICK 21: Rainelle Blocker dominated the game with 33 points and 26 rebounds. Teammate Ava Delaney had 16 points and 13 of the Clippers’ 24 steals.
WOODSTOWN – Rocco String truly is a man for all seasons. If there’s a game to be played any time during the school year, he’s usually right in the middle of it. He plays football, basketball and baseball for Woodstown and is a force in each.
STRING
At 6-foot-6, he’s hard to miss. On the football field he’s a big target as a tight end on offense and a giant terror as a rush end on defense. On the basketball court, of course, he’s the center. And on the baseball diamond, which is his first love, he pitches and plays first base.
The key to being ready in all three is concentrating on diet and doing the things necessary to have his body ready for each very specific grind.
String spent some time with Riverview Sports News before a recent basketball practice where he talked about the demands of being a year-round athlete, how big a grocery sack it takes to fill his gas tank, adjusting to two new head coaches his senior year and his aspirations for the future. The Wolverines open their regular season Wednesday at Salem, where new coach Ramon Roots used to be an assistant.
Here is the full length interview with the Wolverines’ “friendly giant” below.
RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: You really are a man of all seasons. How do you keep up with it all, going from one season right into the other?
ROCCO STRING: It’s more about eating. Drink a lot of water and eating. Every night I go in the hot tub. I make sure my body is all fueled up for the next day. Get cool. Do cold tubs. Mostly my body, just trying to make sure I’m not sore the next day, make sure I’m all stretched out, make sure I’m flexible and able to move into the next sport.
With football being so physical that was a big toll making sure my body was not all sore, fresh for the next day, fresh for the game, then transition into basketball, make sure my legs were all right. I’m burning 2-3-5,000 calories a day. It’s all about eating.
RSN: OK, give me a sense about your dietary regimen.
RS: In the morning I eat eggs, sausage, bacon. More like 6-8 eggs and then 6 to 8 strips of bacon, four sausages with like four pieces of bread. Sometimes I will miss breakfast because I’ve just got to get up and go. Most of the time I will have time to eat it. I usually do over easy with dipping the toast. That’s good.
Lunch I usually can do like two cheesesteaks or two meatball sandwiches, just anything with two sandwiches and any size. And dinner is more like meat, protein, like getting all the stuff ripped through my body, like steak, chicken, turkey, ham. Whatever my mom cooks. I usually have pasta one or two times a week with different kinds of sauces. Mix it all up.
RSN: Is the multi-sport thing something you’ve always done or just over the last couple years. Some guys might take a break, but you do everything.
RS: When I was younger I played football, baseball and basketball and I stopped playing football just to focus more on baseball. Coming back to Woodstown I wanted to play football again. As I was playing football again it brought back memories about going through all three of the sports.
It really didn’t have a major impact on me because going through three sports it’s more of an athletic thing. I have that, so being able to do that didn’t really affect me as much.
RSN: Luckily the state gives you a little bit of a buffer between each season. Where I was down south the seasons overlapped. How much do you appreciate whatever break you get between seasons and what do you during them to wind down and prep for the next?
RS: We actually went right into (basketball) because of the states (in football) and all that. If I do have that break I’ll kind of relax for a week and if I have two weeks I’ll relax for a week and then start working for a week for the next sport. If I don’t have a break, I’ll relax, eat a lot, drink a lot of water, make sure I’m ready to go for that next sport. If I do have it, I’m taking that week of a break. I think my body needs it, my mind needs it.
RSN: You’re all about maintaining your physical well-being. Have you ever been hurt, outside of the usual stuff that comes with the season?
RS: No. Being my size it’s hard. I’ve seen a lot of guys get hurt really quickly, so the big part is taking care of your body because once you take care of that then you’re basically all right.
RSN: Why do you play these three sports specifically?
RS: I’ve been playing baseball my whole life; that’s my first sport. Basketball, I kind of got into it when I was real young. My sisters played it. I think I was pretty good at it, especially when I got taller; people kept asking me if I played basketball and I would say yeah. I just loved it over the years and it’s my last year of playing all three so I figured to have the most joy out of it.
THE ROCCO FILE
FOOTBALL (TE-DL)
REC
YDS
TD
TKLS
TFL
2024
4
38
1
26
0
2023
0
0
0
2
0
BASKETBALL (C-F)
PPG
RPG
AST
BLK
STL
2023-24
9.2
4.9
32
65
29
2022-23
6.9
5.9
0
32
16
BASEBALL (RHP-1B)
BA
RBI
HR
IP
ERA
K
2024
.289
26
3
E
3.20
15
2023
.392
20
4
8.2
5.65
11
RSN: Have you done any of the other sports – track, wrestling, soccer, golf?
RS: I do golf on my free time for fun with some of my guys who are in college. Town & Country. Centerton. Some courses up north I go to. I’m okay. I wouldn’t say I’m real good, but I’m OK. Some of my buddies are better than me, but I can go with them to where we can play. I played lacrosse for one year (fifth grade), but I didn’t really like it
RSN: What are you – a football player, a basketball player or a baseball player?
RS: A baseball player. I’ve been playing my whole life. When I real younger I really took it seriously, playing baseball mostly. I really wanted to play just baseball, but my parents really wanted me to play all three sports, so that’s why I kind of play them now. Playing those other two sports helped me out a lot with baseball.
RSN: What are you going to do in college and why is that your sport? You probably have offers in all three.
RS: I want to play baseball. I want to do pitching and hitting and defense, whatever I have to do to help the team.
RSN: What’s the recruiting been like for all three. I’m sure there’s interest across the board.
RS: Basketball is out of the question, like nobody’s been here for basketball, which is obviously; Woodstown basketball is not that great. Football, there’s been a lot of D-II, D-III schools here, which I’ve talked to a lot; all of us guys have talked to them a lot. Baseball I’ve had a lot. I actually went on a visit today to RCSJ in Cumberland. I’ve been to Penn State-Abington and I’ve been to a couple others down south, which were pretty cool, like Alabama and Auburn. I was trying to go down to Florida, but I didn’t have a tournament down there so I couldn’t go.
I just want to play. I want somewhere I can get a degree, but I also want to just play for fun and just have a good time. Everyone says I have a unique size and you can’t teach size, so having that I can definitely work a lot harder with a lot of college guys, help me push a lot harder. And doing one sport at one time is even better.
RSN: Have you given any consideration or asked the programs that are talking to you if you could play multiple sports at their schools?
RS: There are some football coaches in here who say they want dual sport athletes, but I’ll mostly likely just want to focus on one sport.
RSN: Do you think playing multiple sports impacts that recruiting good or bad because they don’t know what sport you favor?
RS: I think it’s good because it shows that you’re very athlete, that you’re a team guy, you play with different people and you learn more about different sports. You’re training for that sport and then you have to transition to a different sport and you have to train for that, which not a lot of people can really do, so I think that’s a special gift to have.
RSN: As a multi-sport guy here you had the unique experience to adjusting to two new head coaches (football with Frank Trautz and basketball with Ramon Roots). That can be a challenge as well. What’s that been like?
RS: Fun, really. Roots was here for football as an assistant and getting to meet him before the (basketball) season was actually a little bit better because you were getting to know him and getting to see how functions around guys.
And Trautz coming in for football, we had him last year as an assistant and with coach (John) Adams stepping down we kind of saw it coming up and being a big part of this team. As we were going through summer camp we kind of thought this could be our year to do the same thing we did last year, which was go pretty far because of Trautz.
He had this big mindset going into the season, brought a lot of new plays in, a lot of new formations and a lot of new guys we had stepping up, which was big.
Even when they were assistants they talked to us about everything. They were there for us, so it really hasn’t changed. They were just always there.
RSN: If I remember right you’re related to Penns Grove football coach Mark Maccarone. That must’ve made that game pretty fun. Are there any other sports luminaries in your family tree?
RS: They’re my dad’s first cousins. It was a real fun game because he actually came over that night after the game, Greg and Mark, and it was real fun. We always talk throughout the season about football games. Even when Greg was at Glassboro coaching for them I always made jokes to him like “You shouldn’t be there, buddy, but you’re there.” He would laugh and whatnot, but we would have our times. Even his son Nick, whose at Montclair State, we talked about football, he gave me some advice and some pointers for it, so they’ve actually been a big help to me. They tell people all around they have a cousin who’s 6-6 who can play all three sports.
RSN: What makes Woodstown sports so successful every year across the board?
RS: Just working out from freshman year, you’re seeing all the juniors and seniors working and seeing how they move with the game, seeing how their coached and seeing how they are off the field. It’s growing every year, growing every year with your buddies as your group, you get a sense they’re like your brothers and when you’re on the field you’ve got discipline.
All of us as a group, this year as seniors, we all had a mindset we could be how we were last year even with the guys that we lost – and we did it.
RSN: Knowing the story isn’t completely finished, what have been your best one or two all-time Rocco moments so far?
RS: My first two were the first and second round of the playoffs last year in baseball against Maple Shade and Pennsville. I hit a home run in the fourth inning against Maple Shade to give us a 1-0 lead. That kind of changed the game. And in Pennsville going back-to-back with AP (Andrew Pedrick) that was a cool moment because I don’t that’s been done in a while here at Woodstown and we kind of knew what that game meant. That was our time.
In football it was that championship game against Shore. That was a really fun game for me. That has to be third. Just playing with those group of guys and kicking the crap out of Shore was real fun.
Rocco String stomps on the plate after hitting the back piece of back-to-back homers with Andrew Pedrick in the first inning of last year’s South Jersey Group I baseball playoff game at Pennsville.
RSN: What did you think of the football season and what are you expectations for basketball?
RS: I think we’ll be OK. I don’t think we’ll be as good as a lot of other teams up north because they breathe basketball up there. Basketball isn’t as strong down here, but we do it to the best of our ability. A lot of times basketball is not our strongest sport, a lot of guys just play it for fun, they play it to get exercise, basketball is just here.
For football at the beginning of the season we heard a lot of talk that we weren’t going to be that good, but we kind of had a chip on our shoulder and when Coach Trautz came in he had a chip on his shoulder, too. He was feeling kind of how we were feeling, like, listen, we’re not going to have anyone talk us down. Beating Delsea first game of the season that kind of ran something through our minds that we’ve got this, we can do it, we just have to work hard at it.
RSN: Can you tell any difference already how basketball is different with Roots here?
RS: We’ve been doing a lot more running, a lot more technical work that we didn’t really get to do last year, which has been helping us a lot. Running has been a big part. Last year we didn’t do much of that and we’ve been doing it every day at the beginning of practice, which is good for us. And we’re doing more defensive work, because that was a big struggle last year.
RSN: What’s Rocco all about off the field. What do you do that’s no sports related?
RS: My family has a construction business (MLS Lawns and Landscapes) that I work on a lot with my dad. I do all the hard work. I wake up at 4 in the morning and pour concrete with the guys. I do all the site work with my dad. And I also work on a farm with my uncle in Harrisonville.
When I’m working, that’s kind of my weight room. It takes a toll on your body, but when I’ve got the chance to go to the weight room I’ll go because I know I need to put a lot of weight on. I want to try to get to 240-250 of just lean muscle because I think that’ll help me out a lot in college. I think if I put on 20 pounds of muscle that’ll be perfect for me.
And I’m either fishing or hunting with my buddies that are around here and being around my girlfriend.
RSN: Just from your size, the position you play, your body type, you remind me of former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski. Do you get that?
RS: I’ve heard a lot about that, like you remind me of a professional player of this sport or that sport. I see that, but I don’t really feel like that because it’s just my size.
A lot of guys tell me I look like, baseball wise, Freddie Freeman, because he’s 6-6. Football wise it’s more like Gronk or Travis Kelce, just a tall tight end. In basketball it’s more like a (Nikola) Jokic, a type of guy who’s real tall but plays the game real lanky. There are a lot of people who say stuff like that.
RSN: Do you have any advice for kids who are playing multiple sports or may be having a hard time in one of the multiple sports they play?
RS: Just be a competitive person but also an energetic, fun and friendly person off the court and field. When you’re on the field you want to be as competitive as you can, talkative as you can, be a leader.
For baseball I’m a leader. Because I first base I talk to all the guys. Basketball, I’m a leader because I’m a center, making sure everyone’s in their places. Football, all of us were leaders, all of guys as seniors. When you’re on the field you have to have a mindset that you’re the guy everyone trusts, you’re the guy who puts people in position. I’ve gotten that the last couple years, I’ve kind of built that up. I’ve seen it in myself, telling guys where to go.
Don’t be scared of doing other sports. Try it. Even if it’s the first time. You’ll get coached. When you’re a little kid, like 10-12 years old, just try. Just do as many sports as you can. It won’t hurt you. It’ll just make you better.
RSN: Thanks for taking the time for this. We do these extended interviews in hopes of introducing people to the personalities of the players they watch beyond the arena.
Here is the schedule for Salem County sports teams for the week of Dec. 16-21; games 4 p.m. unless noted; x-scrimmage
MONDAY, DEC. 16 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Pennsville at Palmyra x-Woodstown at Kingsway BOYS BASKETBALL x-Clearview at Woodstown x-Palmyra at Pennsville Buena at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. SWIMMING Woodstown vs. West Deptford at Riverwinds, 3:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, DEC. 17 GIRLS BASKETBALL Schalick at Cape May Tech, 5:30 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Cape May Tech at Schalick SWIMMING Schalick vs. Camden Academy Charter at Vineland YMCA, 3:15 p.m. INDOOR TRACK Salem, Penns Grove at Bennett Center, Toms River, 5 p.m. WRESTLING Salem, Palmyra at Pennsville, 5 p.m. BOWLING Salem Tech vs. ACIT WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Mercer County CC at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18 GIRLS BASKETBALL Wildwood at Pennsville Salem at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Wildwood at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Clayton at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Salem, 5:30 p.m. BOWLING Salem in Holiday Showcase at Laurel Lanes, Maple Shade, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic at Wood Lanes
THURSDAY, DEC. 19 SWIMMING Schalick vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 4:45 p.m. Woodstown vs. Deptford at GCIT, 7 p.m. WRESTLING Penns Grove at Schalick Timber Creek at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Pennsville girls at Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) TRACK Pennsville Polar Bear Meet, 3 p.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 20 GIRLS BASKETBALL Overbrook at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech Woodstown at Penns Grove BOYS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Pennsville, 3 p.m. Penns Grove at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Salem, 3 p.m. Schalick at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville at William Penn (Del.) Invitational Pennsville girls at Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) SATURDAY, DEC. 21 GIRLS BASKETBALL Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 1:30 p.m. Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Timber Creek, 2:15 p.m. SJIBT Tournament Highland at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. WRESTLING Salem girls at Jackson Liberty Tournament, 9 a.m. Pennsville at William Penn (Del.) Invitational, 10 a.m. Woodstown in Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) TRACK Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown at Ott Center, Philadelphia
Schalick wins its season-opening tournament, Woodstown places fourth at Delaware Valley
By Riverview Sports News
CENTERTON – Schalick won seven of the 14 weight divisions and had three other wrestlers in finals to run away with its Holiday Classic Saturday.
The Cougars, competing as a single-school team this year after being a co-op program with Cumberland Regional, scored 238 points. Penns Grove finished second (132) in the seven-team field.
Emma Cain (107), Caleb Jenkins (114), Luke Silva (127), Ayden Jenkins (151), James Cook (166), Ricky Watt (176) and Evan Elliott (191) all won their weight class. Koen Martin (158), Eric Sulik (166) and Gerardo Felipe (216) wrestled in the finals.
Tre Brown (158) and Wayne Scott (285) won weight classes for Penns Grove. Devine Arce (127) and Clinton Bobo (176) wrestled in finals.
Schalick had 15 wrestlers post top-four finishes. Penns Grove had nine wrestlers place in the top four.
SCHALICK HOLIDAY CLASSIC
TEAM SCORES: Schalick 238, Penns Grove 132, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 122.5, Oakcrest 120, Mainland 117, Haddon Heights 103.5, Holy Spirit 71
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 107: Emma Cain (Schalick) pinned Ethan Kavanakudiyil (WWPS), 4:30 114: Caleb Jenkins (Schalick) maj. dec. over Michael Ferraro (Haddon Heights), 11-3 121: Cole Denning (Haddon Heights) tech fall over Sanchez Joseph (Oakcrest), 17-0 127: Luke Silva (Schalick) dec, Devine Arce (Penns Grove), 9-5 133: Gavin Mensch (Holy Spirit) pinned Braden Monroe (Oakcrest), 1:31 139: Chris Mazur (Mainland) pinned Erick Montas-Aras (Oakcrest), 4:34 145: James Morley (Mainland) pinned Cameron Blaise (WWPS), 1:02 151: Ayden Jenkins (Schalick) tech fall over Carson Endicott (Mainland), 19-3 158: Anthony Brown (Penns Grove) pinned Koen Martin (Schalick), 1:08 166: James Cook (Schalick) dec. Eric Sulik (Schalick), 11-4 176: Ricky Watt (Schalick) dec. Clinton Bobo (Penns Grove), 10-7 191: Evan Elliott (Schalick) pinned Alex Krapivin (WWPS), 0:43 216: Jackson Broschard (Holy Spirit) dec. Gerardo Felipe (Schalick), 7-3 285: Wayne Scott (Penns Grove) pinned Nate Lelionis (Haddon Heights), 1:33
Wendy Pandy-Leh Invitational
FRENCHTOWN – Four Woodstown wrestlers, including three members of its blonde brigade, won division titles and led the Wolverines to a solid fourth-place finish in their season-opening tournament at Delaware Valley Regional.
Carson Bradway (120), Greyson Hyland (175) and Mateo Vinciguerra (285) all won their weight class, as did 126 Travis Balback. A fourth member of the blonde brigade, Paul Banff, finished third at 190.
Bradway drew a first-round bye, then scored a pair of pins and won his weight class with a major decision. Balback also had two pins and a major. Hyland had two pins and won his title bout by decision. Vinciguerra drew two byes and scored two pins.
Vinciguerra told Riverview Sports News earlier in the week the four friends went for the dye job “for the fun of it, to have fun in the season.”
“I’ve seen other teams do it before,” the Wolverines’ heavyweight said. “It’s just a fun thing to do, just maybe get some team chemistry.”
The Wolverines also got top four finishes from Brett Rowand (second, 157); Alex Torres (fourth, 132); and Bradley Snitcher (third, 215). Rowand had three pins before being pinned in his title bout.
The Wolverines scored 153 points. Ocean Twp. edged Del Val by two points to win the team title.
“While we have a lot of work to do, we wrestled well in spots,” Wolverines coach Adam Hyland said. “Travis Balback looked great all day up a weight from last year and so did Carson Bradway down a weight. Both were attacking and wrestling a fun style to watch.
“Greyson and Mateo got the job done and Brett Rowand looked solid coming in second. Bradley Snitcher also wrestled well pinning three guys while taking third.”
WENDY PANDY-LEH INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES: Ocean Twp. 180, Del Val Regional 178, Wall 163.5, Woodstown 153, Westfield 111.5, Williamstown 110.5, Cherokee 83, Princeton 76, Vorhees (Glen Gardner) 56.5, Pascack Hills 28.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 106: Adam Froehlich (Williamstown) pinned Michael Apicelli (Ocean Twp.), pinned 3:22 113: Tristan Rosemeyer (Williamstown) maj. dec. over Omar Carrillo-Solano (Wall), 21-11 120: Carson Bradway (Woodstown) maj. dec. over Charles Mahoney (Wall), 15-4 126: Travis Balback (Woodstown) pinned Ben Waitzel (Wall), 1:58 132: Jaden Perez (Del Val) pinned Steven Perez (Ocean Twp.), 1:32 138: Dominic Volek (Ocean Twp.) def. Cole Rose (Princeton), inj. (5:15) 144: Michael Volek (Ocean Twp.) pinned Michael Hasson (Del Val), 3:41 150: Blase Mele (Princeton) pinned Parker Quinn (Wall), 1:26 157: Luke Sinkewicz (Del Val) pinned Brett Rowand (Woodstown), 1:45 165: Jeremy Marsella (Wall) tech fall over Olivier Paul (Del Val), 17-1 (2:45) 175: Greyson Hyland (Woodstown) dec. Jack McDermott (Westfield), 8-2 190: Jake Zemsky (Westfield) maj. dec. over Deryk Hannold (Williamstown), 12-1 215: Daniel Farina (Ocean Twp.) pinned Eric Clauburg (Wall), 1:57 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) pinned Luken Alberdi (Del Val), 1:03
WOODSTOWN – The last time we saw Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra on the mat he had a headful of dark hair and was wrestling in the 215 weight class.
VINCIGUERRA
But it’s a new year and a new look for the Wolverines’ junior. Now, the hair is dyed blonde in a measure of solidarity and he’s wrestling full time in the heavyweight division.
But as much as things are changing, some things remain the same. He remains committed to winning a state championship for himself and his Wolverines team. After coming close last year, he’s looking to complete the job.
Vinciguerra, the Region 8 champion at 215 last year, spent some time with Riverview Sports News after a recent practice to talk about, among other things, the changes, his goals and the irony of his name. He hits the mat for the first time this season Saturday.
ROUND ONE: The Changes
RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Okay, what’s the story with the hair?
MATEO VINCIGUERRA: Me and a couple other friends on the wrestling team (175 Grayson Hyland, 120 Carson Bradway and 190 Paul Banff) did it just for the fun it, to have fun in the season.
I’ve seen other teams do it before. It’s just a fun thing to do. Just maybe get some team chemistry; we all go dye our hair somewhere and have fun. Just have fun for the season.
RSN: Shaving it was out of the question, right?
MV: I usually have a buzz cut, but I’m not going to shave it like all the way.
RSN: Let’s talk about the move to heavyweight. You opened last year there (going 14-1) before dropping down to 215 for the rest of the year (going 18-3), winning the region and placing fourth at states). What’s this all about?
MV: I did it at the beginning and realized I was too small. I went into it barely 230 and I realized I was just too small for a heavyweight, so I went down. I knew since last year I would be a heavyweight this year.
RSN: So what are you now?
MV: Around 245.
RSN: Will the competition be different now and what will being a lighter heavy help you to do?
MV: Being on the lighter side of heavyweight really helps me with my speed and my overall technique. I wrestle a kid in here, he’s pretty big, he’s about 30 pounds (heavier), and I feel like my speed just capitalizes more often than his weight.
RSN: Does Maryland want you to wrestle as a heavyweight?
MV: Yes. I’ll be redshirting by freshman year at Maryland, but I want to be around 270 probably by the time I get to Maryland.
RSN: Did you have to wrestle with the idea of being a heavyweight because I’m sure there are some nuances associated with the two weight classes?
MV: Heavyweight is more of a dogfight match. The guys are a lot heavier than me so I’m going to have to work a little harder, get them tired, but I just have to capitalize having a better gas tank than them. I knew it was going to be a little harder to move the big guys, but I knew once I get into the late periods I could definitely capitalize on that.
ROUND TWO: Love of the Sport
THE
MATEO
FILE
2023-24
RECORD
PINS
215
18-3
11
285
14-1
12
2022-23
190
17-6
8
215
8-2
4
TOTAL
57-12
35
RSN: You’ve wrestling since like you were 7. What is it about wrestling that appeals to you above all others, because it’s all you do?
MV: It really shapes you as a person, not just in wrestling, but in life. It makes you have that hard work ethic, that dedication. It really just teaches you not just principles of wrestling, but principles of life – just be a hard worker and have that mental toughness not really all the other sports teach you; you just have to be more mentally tough than every other sport.
RSN: What’s your earliest best memory in the sport that nailed it for you that this was the thing?
MV: Probably back in fifth grade when I won youth states. It was just an exciting moment with my dad. I knew that was my sport because that feeling of winning that big tournament just felt so good. I knew I wanted to win more like it.
RSN: Has it come easy for you or did you have to work at it?
MV: I kind of developed it at a young age, I picked it up real quick, but throughout middle school I drifted away from it, but once I got into high school I realized if I wanted to be really, really good I have to actually dedicate time to the sport and that’s when I really started to pick it up.
RSN: Did the success as a region champion last year surprise you, doing it as a sophomore?
MV: Not really. My expectations were to be a region champ, but I didn’t really meet my expectations last year placing in the states. After losing the districts it was a real heartbreaker, it really messed me up mentally, but after a couple days I talked to my coach and he really got my mindset right and ready for states.
RSN: What did the regional win do for you and your drive going forward?
MV: That win got me a little momentum going into states, even though state wasn’t the best. Even after state into the postseason, I realized winning that region I could really do something special and that’s what really helped me get that big push in the offseason.
RSN: Your brother (John, now wrestling at Penn) won the region title the year before. What’s it mean to have two of those things in the house?
MV: It was really cool having us both have the same weight and winning the same weight. It was cool to see both of our names up there on that board, both being 215. Seeing him do that really inspired me because I look up to my big brother a lot. He really keeps me pushing a lot. Whenever I need something I text him. It really pushed me to want to follow his footsteps and be a region champion just like him.
RSN: Part of that “offseason” included a nice showing in Fargo. Wrestling folks know what Fargo means, but help the non-wrestling folks understand what a big deal finishing third at 285 in freestyle there meant.
MV: I was a very big difference from Boardwalk Hall (where the NJSIAA states are held). The arena’s much bigger, there’s a lot more people. It’s a lot more nerve-wracking because you’re in that arena full of around 10,000 people. Competing in front of all them was a little stressful, but once I got the momentum going and I won my quarterfinals match I knew I could really do something special there, so it really got me a lot of momentum.
I think that tournament was kind of my breakout tournament and made me jump multiple levels. It really shaped me. I really saw what my potential was. I went into that tournament and the one I went into last year without much expectations, but once I realized I could compete with the nationally ranked guys and I was beating top 20 in the nation guys, it made me realize how good I could be and if I really went out there and let it fly I can win so many more matches.
RSN: Does it make you change your approach to matches now?
MV: It kind of makes me more relaxed going into my matches. I used to be a little too much in my head before matches, which I think was a big problem at my districts match, but after there it just made me realize just go out there and wrestle your best and if you win you win, if you lose you lose. Obviously, you want to win. Obviously, you want to have that gritty mentality. But I feel like just let it fly.
RSN: What are you looking forward to Saturday at Delaware Valley and what are the overall expectations for the season?
MV: Saturday I think of it as any other tournament, just a fun moment bonding with my team, all of us wrestling together. I feel like tournaments really bond you together as a team. When you get off that mat everyone’s high-fiving, it just helps you and the team. And moving forward it’s just gaining momentum.
We’re definitely expecting to win a state title. Our team is really, really solid this year and I think we can do one of the best seasons we’ve had ever and I think we can go super far.
I think it’s way more exciting to win as a team, having that excitement of everyone winning their matches, coming off, slapping hands, having those big wins. I think winning a team title is a lot more exciting than winning an individual title just because you’re with that team and get to celebrate it with each other.
ROUND THREE: Putting it away
RSN: What’s your signature move?
MV: The underhook. There’s so much to do from the underhook, there are so many options, it’s really infinite. You can get any kind of shot, you can get a throw there, you’re really controlling the whole side of the body you have the underhook on. You really can capitalize on everything there.
RSN: To what end do you see wrestling taking you? I know a wrestler in another state, a college wrestler now, interested in taking it to MMA. There are, of course, pro wrestlers who were college stars. There are guys in the movies (John Cena, Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista). Where is it leading you?
MV: I really love wrestling. I’m definitely going to wrestle all through college, really focus on wrestling as one of my main things in college, but I have a lot bigger life goal than wrestling, so I don’t really see much after college.
My dad’s a veterinarian and owns his own business, so after college I really just want to be a veterinarian. I really know that’s the thing I want to do now. Ever since I was little kid I loved animals.
RSN: You’ve already committed to Maryland. What was that experience like? With two years of high school still to go, how solid is that commitment?
MV: I really loved Maryland. I’m definitely going to stay loyal to them. I’ll never go anywhere else. I don’t think there’s anywhere else that would better suit me than Maryland. They were just all-around great people. They made me feel like I was one of them there. Maryland is definitely the place I’m going to be.
I visited a couple other schools and had a couple others lined up, but after I visited Maryland I knew there’d be no school other than them.
RSN: Weight management is probably the biggest challenge in your sport. Is there something you wish you could eat; what’s your guilty pleasure? I knew a really successful lighter weight wrestler in Alabama who loved Oreos. He could never eat them during the season, but once he won his state championship match he tore them up by the case. Do you have anything like that and have you ever cheated?
MV: During the season I usually eat very, very clean, no snacks or anything. I love ice cream cake, that’d be the first thing I’d eat. But I love cookies, too, any type of cookies. After regions I went to Applebee’s and had a big chocolate cake. I knew I’d feel a little crappy the next day.
RSN: You probably remember the story we did late in the season about your last name, loosely translated to “winner of the war”? Considering you excel at a combat sport, how ironic do you find that?
MV: I feel very ironic that translates to my name. Wrestling is that sport where you’ve just got to be a dog despite a dogfight sometimes. Technique does trump everything, but sometimes wrestling just comes down to being who’s tougher and I do feel it is ironic my last name does mean win the war.
Here is the schedule for Salem County sports teams for the week of Dec. 9-14; events start at 4 p.m. unless noted, x-scrimmage
DEC. 9 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Gloucester City at Salem Tech x-Millville at Pennsville x-Pleasantville at Penns Grove x-Salem at Paulsboro x-Schalick at Oakcrest BOYS BASKETBALL x-Atlantic Tech at Salem x-Cedar Creek at Schalick x-Penns Grove at Lindenwold
DEC. 10 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Penns Grove, Winslow at Highland x-Woodstown at Moorestown Friends BOYS BASKETBALL x-Moorestown Friends at Woodstown BOWLING Salem Tech vs. ACIT MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Ocean County, 5 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at CC of Morris, 5 p.m.
DEC. 11 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Paulsboro at Schalick x-Schalick at Bridgeton BOYS BASKETBALL x-Salem at Hammonton x-Schalick at Winslow x-West Deptford at Salem Tech BOWLING Salem vs. West Deptford at Bolero Lanes
DEC. 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Cumberland at Pennsville x-Schalick at Salem BOYS BASKETBALL Mastery Charter at Salem Tech, 5:15 p.m. x-Pennsville at Cumberland x-Penns Grove at Egg Harbor Twp., 5:30 p.m. x-Lower Cape May at Schalick x-Salem at Vineland x-Woodstown at Gateway SWIMMING Schalick vs. Highland at GCIT, 4:45 p.m. Salem vs. Pitman at GCIT, 5:45 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Gloucester City at Westbrook Lanes Salem Tech vs. Clayton at Wood Lanes MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Williamson Trades, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Bucks County CC at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
DEC. 13 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Hammonton at Woodstown
DEC. 14 BOYS BASKETBALL Red Devil Classic, Penns Grove Glassboro vs. Lindenwold, 10:30 a.m. Salem vs. Woodbury, 4:30 p.m. Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Red Devil Classic, Penns Grove Bridgeton at Penns Grove, 12:30 p.m. Glassboro vs. Woodbury, 2:30 p.m. WRESTLING Schalick Holiday Tournament, 9 a.m. Woodstown in Delaware Valley Tournament MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Brookdale CC at Salem CC, noon WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Lackawanna, noon
