(12/2/08)  The Cyclone Wrestling team placed five individuals on the season's first Metropolitan Conference Wrestling Rankings.  Junior Jay-Anthony Giuricich (Blairstown/Blair Academy) leads the way as he is currently ranked #1 at 133-pounds, holding a individual record of 12-2 through the opening month of the season.  Sophomore Jon Stillo (Alpha/Phillipsburg) breaks into the rankings at #3 in the 149-pound classification.  Rounding out the upperclassmen is senior Anthony Greene (South Orange/Columbia) who holds the 6th spot at 197.

As for the freshmen class, Owen Vernon (Great Meadows/Hackettstown) and Mike Hall (Madison/Madison) have both worked their way into the rankings.  Vernon currently holds the 5th place ranking at 157-pounds, while Hall is 6th at 285.

Complete Rankings

(11/15/08)  On Saturday the Centenary Wrestling team was in action at Wilkes University, for the Wilkes Duals.  The Cyclones took the mat for four head-to-head matches, versus #10 Ithaca, #25 Wilkes, Mt. St. Joseph’s, and Oneonta. 

Centenary posted a 2-2 record on the afternoon, taking down Mt. St. Joseph’s by the final of 27-10, while gaining a 20-15 victory over Oneonta, in a bit of a revenge match following last season’s close loss.  The Cyclones opened the afternoon dropping a 23-15 decision to Wilkes and in the third round they fell to Ithaca by the final of 35-6. 

Jay-Anthony Giuricich (Blairstown/Blair Academy) was the lone Cyclone wrestler to record a perfect day, going 4-0. The four wins improve Giuricich to 7-3 on the season.  Teammate Owen Vernon (Great Meadows/Hackettstown) went 2-2 for the afternoon, tying him with Giuricich for the team lead of seven victories on the year. 

Head Coach John Garriques had this to say when asked how he felt the weekend went for his Cyclones.  "One thing is for sure, our team showed a lot of heart this weekend, we had two freshmen, Anthony Bachmann (Rutherford/Rutherford), and Chris Boyle (Manchester/Manchester) step up to the plate in place of two upperclassman that did not wrestle, and they did their jobs. We may be a young team, but as long as we continue to work hard, and improve every week, just as we have, there is no telling where we will be on the polls at the end of the year."

(11/10/08)  The Centenary Wrestling team opened the 2008-2009 season at the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational this weekend.  Following Day #1 in which the Cyclones advanced a wrestler in all ten weight classes, the team came away with an 8th place finish accumulating 69 total points. 

On the individual side, Centenary placed in three weight classes, by bringing home a pair of fifth place finishes and one sixth.  Freshman Owen Vernon (Hackettstown/Hackettstown), who went undefeated through Day #1, wrestled back from a loss on Sunday morning to defeat Christopher Giannos 12-7 in their consolation match, giving him a fifth place finish at 157-pounds.  Freshman JJ Mitchell (Hackettstown/Hackettstown) opened his collegiate career with a fall, before dropping a 3-1 sudden victory decision on Saturday.  Mitchell continued his weekend by wrestling back on Sunday to also register a fifth place finish, coming by way of a 5-0 shutout of in their 184-pound consolation match.  At 133-pounds, junior David Alsieux (Belmar/Manasquan) who was a perfect 3-0 on Saturday fell to Luke Baum 11-2 in their fifth place bout on Sunday, for a sixth place finish.

Centenary is back in action next Saturday, as they travel to Wilkes-Barre, PA for the John Reese Duals, held on the campus of Wilkes University.  Wrestling action gets underway at 10:00 am inside the Arnaud C. Marts Center.

The Centenary College wrestling team under the leadership of Third year Head coach John Garriques, looks to have another successful season this winter. The Centenary wrestling program has come a long way, beginning as a club team eight years ago, to being ranked 29th, and 24th in the country on two separate occasions last year. In his short tenure at the school, Coach Garriques has already started taking large strides towards the goals that he and the team have set out to achieve and with nine returning wrestlers, the team should have a strong base on which to build. With the loss of captains Jared Duffy and Mike Gummerson to graduation, the team will look to their returning upperclassmen to provide an example of the hard work, determination and self discipline it takes to wrestle for the Cyclones. Along with the wrestlers returning to the program, there are a combination of nine freshman and seven transfers that total 16 new faces in Coach Garriques’ line up.

Highlighting the returnees are captains senior Derek Schisler and sophomores Dave Alsieux and Jonathan Stillo. 

  ` 
125 Pounds:  Last year Centenary was young, and inexperienced at the 125 pound weight class, but with senior Anthony Accardi making the descent from 133 we will have experience once again. Also fighting for the starting position is transfer Anthony Bachmann (Rutherford, NJ),a  two time district champ and a two time state qualifier, along with freshman Alex Bercovic (Montclair, NJ), a district finalist.

133 Pounds:  Junior Jay-Athony Giuricich will be given the opportunity to earn the starting spot at 133. Giuricich was 17-10 last year behind Mike Gummerson, Centenary’s only three-time NCAA National qualifier, and looks to step it up this year. Also added to the lineup will be freshman Chris Boyle (Manchester, NJ), a district finalist from Manchester NJ, and freshman Nate St. Elme (Rahway, NJ), a District champ.

141 Pounds: Sophomore tri-captain Dave Alsieux moves down a weight class after having a stand out freshman year at 149 where he was 17-17 and also received the school’s Cyclone award. Alsieux will be joined by freshman James Valcius (Orange, NJ) who was a 4th place finish at NJ districts. 

149 Pounds: Centenary’s lone 149 pound tri-captain Jonathan Stillo (Phillipsburg, NJ) swaps weight classes with Dave Alsieux after having an impressive 26-12 overall record at 141. He was also named Rookie of the year and also received the Bob Quade award for his over all performance.

157 Pounds: Sophomore Charles Cannella (Kunkletown, PA) looks to step into the line-up this year after earning his stripes a season ago. Cannella competed in two varsity matches and is a kid to watch out for. Joining Cannella at the 157 pounds is freshman Owen Vernon (Hackettstown, NJ).  Owen was a 2 time district champ, 1 time region champ, and 3rd in NJ states.

165 Pounds: After a solid junior season at 174 pounds, senior tri-captain Derek Schisler (Phillipsburg, NJ), moves down a weight class. Schisler compiled a 19-14 record with a third place finish at the Ursinus Invitational and a 2nd place finish at the Northampton Invitational. Schisler will face off with freshman Dan Lasso (Blairstown, NJ) who was a district finalist, a 2nd place finisher at regions, and a NJ state qualifier.

174 Pounds:  Junior Matt Regan (Boonton, NJ) is back with the Cyclones after taking one year to play football at Moravian College. Matt is a solid wrestler, with a great work ethic, and will be looking for him to step in at 174lbs. Matt was a three time district place winner and a one time district champion in high school.

184 Pounds: Centenary has depth in the 184 pounds with five wrestlers competing for the top spot. Transfer junior Anthony Celis a freestyle state champion from Greenwich, CT.  Freshman JJ Mitchell (Hackettstown, NJ), a three time district place winner, and a one time district champion, freshman Frankie Aversa (Flemington, NJ) two time district place winner and a one time district finalist, transfer Nick Marchiafava (Haddon, NJ), and transfer Kevin Romero (North Plainfield, NJ) a two time district place winner and one time district finalist.

197 Pounds: Senior Anthony Greene (West Orange, NJ) is the lone wrestlers at 197. Anthony wrestled during the 2006- 2007 year and was a Metropolitan top three place winner. The Cyclones look for Anthony to help lead them to the Metropolitan Conference Championships.

295 Pounds: Another weight class that has a great deal of depth. Sophomore Sandile Manzini (Rahway, NJ) saw some varsity action last year and finished with an overall record of 4-10.  Joining Manzini will be three freshmen. Mike Hall (Madison, NJ) is a two time district champ, a one-time region champion, and a New Jersey State qualifier, transfer freshman George Mack (Manchester, NJ) is a one time place winner at Districts, and freshman Tim Tomaino (Highlands, NJ) is a two time District champion.

The Cyclones are looking for a great year this winter and looking to build on last year’s success. Centenary was a young team last year, and is still young, but with some experience there is no telling where this team can be at the end of the year. The team goal is to break into the top 15 national rankings, be a contender for the Metropolitan championships, and to achieve Centenary’s first All American/National Champion.