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Girard wrestlers avoid upset bid by J-M
Indians juggle matchups
to avoid Bluejays’ upset bid
By Steve wilaj
GIRARD
Going into Wednesday’s match at Girard, Jackson-Milton wrestling coach Dave Tomaino was confident his Bluejays were capable of defeating a talented Indians squad.
Admittedly, that thought ran through Girard coach Jim Cardiero’s mind, too.
However, in the Indians’ 48-34 victory, there was one thing that prevented those notions from becoming reality.
“I figured it was going to be a little closer than that,” Cardiero said. “But guys that needed to step up stepped up.”
One of those guys for Girard (8-1) was Matt Deal, who was out since Dec. 18 with a skin injury. He pinned Nick Goodlin in just 53 seconds to earn the win at 152 pounds.
“It was more of a counter I got him with,” Deal said. “He shot in and I blocked it, then I just threw him over and got him in a quick head and arm.”
Deal admitted there were butterflies prior to the match.
“I didn’t know how my conditioning was going to be and I didn’t know about my technique,” he said. “I was just getting real nervous yesterday about this match and then I just went out there and did what I did. I knew how to do it and I just executed it well.”
James Cupan, who defeated Jackson-Milton’s Donald Bryan with a quick pin at 170, felt Deal’s return was key.
“He brings the intensity up in practice and just overall,” Cupan said. “It’s just that take-no-days-off attitude.”
Another wrestler who rose to the occasion for Girard was Nick Cardiero, who finally pinned the Bluejays’ Anthony Italiano after five minutes and 20 seconds of a 182-pound battle.
“That was a big pin there at the end by Nicky,” Jim Cardiero said of his nephew. “He usually does what we need him to do. I stay on him pretty hard and expect more of him than the other kids. So far he’s been putting out.”
The third key victory, according to Jim Cardiero, was by freshman Nick Hall’s decision against Terry Stockton at 120. Other Girard winners were Zane Chase (132, pin), Ed Sigurani (138, decision) and John Sorvillo (195, pin).
For Jackson-Milton (2-1), Mitch Takkanen (113, pin), Devin Seka (126, decision), Tyler Staton (145, pin) and Joe Conlon (220, pin) all won their respective matches.
“The match went pretty much how I expected, but I thought we’d catch them at 120,” Tomaino said. “And I thought we had a shot at 152. He juggled his lineup a little there and it created a matchup situation that I wasn’t expecting.”
He added the result of the Nick Cardiero-Italiano matchup at 182 went a long way in deciding the outcome.
“We wanted to keep Anthony off the bottom because we know how good Cardiero is on top,” Tomaino said. “That’s the way we played that one and it darn near worked.”