- Shore Conference Wrestling
-
TEAMS
- Asbury Park
- Barnegat
- Brick Memorial
- Brick Twp
- CBA
- Central
- Colts Neck
- Donovan Catholic
- Freehold Boro
- Freehold Twp
- Holmdel
- Howell
- Jackson Liberty
- Jackson Memorial
- Keansburg
- Keyport
- Lacey
- Lakewood
- Long Branch
- Manalapan
- Manasquan
- Manchester
- Marlboro
- Matawan
- Middletown North
- Middletown South
- Monmouth Regional
- Neptune
- Ocean Township
- Pinelands
- Point Beach
- Point Boro
- Raritan
- Red Bank Catholic
- Red Bank Regional
- Rumson
- St John Vianney
- St Rose
- Shore Regional
- Southern
- Toms River East
- Toms River North
- Toms River South
- Wall
- SC HISTORY
- NJ HISTORY
- 2024
- LINKS
Overall Record: 16-5 / Shore Conference: 14-4 / B-South: 7-0
2024 Record: 16-5
#10 in Shore Conference
SJG3 Sectional Semifinalists
2nd Place District 24
B-South Champions (4th Overall / 1st Since 2016)
6th Place Shore Conference Tournament (Highest Team Finish Ever)
Defeated Jackson Memorial for the 1st Time in Program History
ShoreConferenceWrestling.com Wrestler of the Year
(Sr) Anthony Urso - 113
Record: 34-10
Region 6 Champion / 2nd Place District 24
2nd Place Shore Conference Tournament
3rd Place Mustang Classic
Voted Region 6 Most Outstanding Wrestler
2024 Season
NJSIAA STATE TOURNAMENT
WB4: Anthony Urso (113)
WB3: Tucker Pazinko (126)
WB2: Armani McCann (120) / Jordan Ayyash (157)
Anthony Urso was defeated in the "Blood Round" finishing just a single win away from a State Medal, and Tucker Pazinko was just two wins shy, as the Lions season came to an end in Atlantic City.
REGION 6 TOURNAMENT
Jackson Liberty (1 Champ / 4 Medal Winners)
1st: Anthony Urso (113)
3rd: Armani McCann (120) / Tucker Pazinko (126) / 157: Jordan Ayyash (157)
5th: Ksawery Miewiadomy (190)
PQ: Mark Agban (215)
Anthony Urso just about stole the show at this year's Region 6 Tournament. The 3rd-seeded Urso avenged a trio of earlier season losses to #2 Joey DeAngelo of Pt Boro, with a 3-1 win in the semifinals. In the finals, Urso topped #1 Salvatore Borrometi of St. Peter's Prep, a 3rd-place finisher at States last year, 2-1, to become Liberty's first Region Champion since 2015, and 7th overall.
Urso moves on to Atlantic City where he will be joined by sophomore teammates Amari McCann and Tucker Pazinko and junior Jordan Ayyash, as the Lions send four wrestlers to the boardwalk for the 2nd consecutive season, and will have at least one wrestler at States for the fourth straight year.
DISTRICT 24 TOURNAMENT
Jackson Liberty (2nd Place / 2 Champs / 6 Medal Winners)
1st: Armani McCann (120) / Tucker Pazinko (126)
2nd: Anthony Urso (113) / Jordan Ayyash (157) / Ksawery Niewiadomy (190)
3rd: Mark Agban (215)
Armani McCann & Tucker Pazinko won championships, and six Lions in all reached the podium, as Liberty finished 2nd at Districts for the 2nd consecutive season.
2/9: NON-DIVISION
Jackson Liberty 40 - Jackson Memorial 35 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: Huchko walk-off pin gives Liberty first ever win over Memorial
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3 SECTIONALS
QF: Jackson Liberty 38 - Seneca 36 (BOX SCORE)
SF: Delsea 64 - Jackson Liberty 6 (BOX SCORE)
1/31: B-SOUTH
#10 Jackson Liberty 31 - Pt Boro 30 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: B-South Champions; 4th Division Title & 1st since 2016; Lions won on Criteria J: Most Near Fall Points
1/27: TR SOUTH QUAD
Jackson Liberty 43 - #9 Holmdel 28 (BOX SCORE)
Jackson Liberty 60 - Matawan 13 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: Hwt - Benecke p. #6 Targali
Jackson Liberty 63 - TR South 15 (BOX SCORE)
1/24: B-SOUTH
Jackson Liberty 62 - Lakewood 15 (BOX SCORE)
1/20: PINELANDS QUAD
Jackson Liberty 66 - Pinelands 6 (BOX SCORE)
Jackson Liberty 57 - Freehold Twp 15 (BOX SCORE)
Jackson Liberty 54 - TR North 18 (BOX SCORE)
1/17: B-SOUTH
Jackson Liberty 35 - Donovan Catholic 29 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: Urso (18-4); Niewiadomy (16-6); McCann (14-6); Ayyash (14-7); Agban (12-7)
Donovan: Wehner (18-2); Ostroff (9-3); Rock (11-2); Colon (9-2)
1/13: JACKSON LIBERTY QUAD
Rumson 49 - Jackson Liberty 17 (BOX SCORE)
Jackson Liberty 51 - Long Branch 23 (BOX SCORE)
Jackson Liberty 65 - Westfield 9 (BOX SCORE)
1/11: NON-DIVISION
Brick Memorial 40 - Jackson Liberty 28 (BOX SCORE)
1/10: NON-DIVISION
Colts Neck 48 - Jackson Liberty 25 (BOX SCORE)
Colts Neck: Michaels (15-1); Russ (16-2); Shakhnavazov (14-4); Borao (10-6)
Liberty: MNiewiadomy (14-4); Urso (13-4); Pazinko (12-5)
1/6: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Jackson Liberty - 6th Place
5 Medal Winners
2nd: Anthony Urso (113)
3rd: Ksawery Niewiadomy (190)
4th: Tucker Pazinko (126)
6th: Jordan Ayyash (157) / Mark Agban (215)
The Lions had their most successful SCT performance in the program's history. Their 6th-place finish as a team is not only the highest they've finished, it was the first time they were in the Top 20. They also set a program high mark with 5 medal winners, the first time they've had multiple medalists at the SCT. Leading the medal charge was Anthony Urso at 113, who became Liberty's first ever SCT Finalist, taking 2nd at 113.
1/3: B-SOUTH
Jackson Liberty 52 - Barnegat 18 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: 12th straight win over Barnegat
Barnegat: - Concepcion & Rush win by pin
12/27: MUSTANG CLASSIC at Brick Memorial
Jackson Liberty - 11th Place
2nd: Tucker Pazinko (126)
3rd: Anthony Urso (113) / Armani McCann (120)
5th: Ksawery Niewiadomy (190)
12/22: NON-DIVISION
Ocean Twp 39 - Jackson Liberty 30 (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: J Volek, B Volek, J Farina, & Penta win by pin
Liberty: Ayyash, Niewiadomy, Huchko, Urso, & Pazinko win by fall
12/20: B-SOUTH
Jackson Liberty 46 - Lacey 24 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: Garyaev, Niewiadomy, Agban, Huchko, Pazinko, & M LaBianca win by pin; Urso majors
Lacey: Davis & Sager win by pin; White, Schuler, & Leonard major
12/16: BEAST OF THE EAST
12/16: ROBIN LEFF TOURNAMENT at Southern
12/14: B-SOUTH
Jackson Liberty 75 - Manchester 6 (BOX SCORE)
Liberty: Pins: Urso, McCann, Pazinko, P LaBianca, M LaBianca, Nazurdinov, Ayyash, Garyaev, Agban, Benecke, & Huchko
Manchester: Mitrosky wins by pin
2024 Jackson Liberty Wrestling
Head Coach: Gianni Ghione (1st Season)
B-South / SJG3 / District 24 / Region 6
Where They Open: 12/14 vs Manchester
Opening Tournament: 12/16 - Robin Leff Tournament at Southern
Former Brick Memorial standout Gianni Ghione returns to the Shore Conference to take over a Liberty program who is coming off their first ever Sectional Finals appearance, and a Top 10 finish in the Shore Conference last season. Ghione, who wrestled collegiately at UPenn, made his head coaching debut a year ago at A.L. Johnson, where he led the Crusaders to a division title, and their most wins in a season in program history.
The strength of the lineup is down low, where four starters return. Senior Anthony Urso, who enters the season with 59 career wins, is the big name back. The 4-year starter is a 2-time District medal winner and has placed in the top 5 at Regions in each of his three seasons, with his highest finish coming last year where he advanced to Atlantic City after taking 2nd. Also punching a ticket to Atlantic City last season was sophomore Tucker Pazinko, a District runner-up who took 3rd at the Regions. Fellow sophomore Armani McCann was also a District runner-up, and was one win away from AC after finishing 5th at the Regions. Also back down low for the Lions are junior Joseph Lefurge, who has been in the starting lineup in each of the previous seasons, and sophomore Will Hutchko, who saw extended action in the lineup when McCann bumped up to 113. Strong group here.
There's more experience returning in the middleweights, as well. Seniors Matt & Peter LaBianca enter their 4th season in the starting lineup for Liberty, while junior Jordan Ayyash, was a 25-match winner last season, and placed 2nd at Districts and 5th at Regions.
The bulk of the hit the Lions took to graduation came in the upperweights. Gone are Jake Klein and Luis Valente, both State Tournament qualifiers, as well as Max Bandelt, Kareem Fayed, and Jared Martin, who combined for 98 wins in 2023. As a result, the upperweights will have an entirely new look in 2024. It looks like the group competing for the open slots will be made up mostly of upperclassmen. Among them are juniors Louis Flores, who arrives from the TR North program, Erdne Garyaev who transferred in from Monroe, and senior Ksawery Niewiadomy, who is from Poland.
There's a very experienced group returning from 106-157. It would appear that much of the Lions' dual success will depend on how quickly the newcomers in the upper part of the lineup can develop. The quicker, the better, as Liberty will face one of the B-South favorites very early on as they head to Lacey, who they split a pair of duals with in 2023, on December 20th.
Possible Lineup
Wgt | Wrestler | 2023 | Notes |
106 | (So) Will Hutchko | 4-10 | |
106 | (So) Chris Trancucci | 1-0 | |
113 | (Sr) Anthony Urso | 22-10 (D-2nd / R-2nd / NJ-WB2) | 59 career wins / 2x-District Medalist / 3x-Region Top 5 |
120 | (So) Armani McCann | 23-11 (D-2nd / R-5th) | |
126 | (So) Tucker Pazinko | 28-11 (D-2nd / R-3rd / NJ-WB2) | |
132 | (Jr) Joseph Lefurge | 8-13 | |
132 | (Fr) Joshua Torres | ||
132 | (Fr) Jose Banuelos | ||
138 | (Sr) Peter LaBianca | 9-18 | |
144 | (Sr) Matt LaBianca | 9-15 (D-4th) | |
150 | (So) Irshod Nazurdinov | 0-7 | |
150 | (Jr) Robert Marceca | ||
157 | (Jr) Jordan Ayyash | 25-12 (D-3rd / R-5th) | |
157 | (So) Mason Ciccariello | ||
165/175 | (Jr) Louis Flores | ||
165/175 | (Jr) Erdne Garyaev | 0-1 | Transfer: Monroe |
165/175 | (Jr) Elijah Virgil | ||
190 | (Sr) Ksawery Niewiadomy | ||
215 | (Sr) Mark Agban | ||
Hwt | (Sr) Brett Benecke |
125 North Chapel Rd.
Jackson, NJ 08527
732-833-4700
(Ocean County)
~ SCHOOL WEBSITE ~
Program Established
2005
Mascot
Lions
Colors
Red, Silver, & Blue
Head Coach
Gianni Ghione
(1st Season in 2024)
Assistants
Connor Bohringer
Josh Bollard
Volunteers
Brandon Kosheff
Nick Pellegrino
TJ Liquori
Section
SJ Group 3
Division
B-South
District
24
Region
6
4 - Division Titles
Last: B-South - 2024
5 - State Medalists
Last: Mike Russo - 2015
7 - Region Champions
Last: Anthony Urso - 2024
22 - District Champions
Last: Armani McCann & Tucker Pazinko - 2024
8 - SCT Medalists
Last: 5 in 2024
Career Wins Leader - 157
Mike Russo
(2012-2015)
Season Wins Record - 41
Matt Russo
(2015)
100 Career Wins Club
Mike Russo - 157
Matt Russo - 128
Nick Zak - 127
Chris Zak - 118
TJ Liquori - 117
Brandon Kosheff - 101