- 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: 19-6 / Shore Conference: 13-4 / B-South: 6-1
2024 Record: 19-6
CJG3 Sectional Semifinalists
2nd Place District 25
2nd Place B-South
12th Place Shore Conference Tournament (Program Record 4 Medal Winners)
2nd Place TCNJ Pride Tournament
ShoreConferenceWrestling.com Wrestler of the Year
(Sr) Matt Gauthier - 150
Record: 31-8
5th Place Region 7 / District 25 Champion
5th Place Shore Conference Tournament
2nd Place TCNJ Pride / 3rd Place Robin Leff Tournament
Team Leader in Wins
2024 Season
NJSIAA STATE TOURNAMENT
WB1: Brendan Schuler (113) / Aidan Flynn (120)
Season ends for Lions in Atlantic City
REGION 7 TOURNAMENT
Lacey (2 Medal Winners)
4th: Brendan Schuler (113) / Aidan Flynn (120)
5th: Matt Gauthier (150)
PQ: Kyle Leonard (144) / Evan Ren (165) / Jake Mott (175) / Brody Sager (Hwt)
The Lions had a pair of 4th-place finishers in junior Brendan Schuler and sophomore Aidan Flynn, giving Lacey multiple Region medal winners for the 4th consecutive season
DISTRICT 25 TOURNAMENT
Lacey (2nd Place / 2 Champs / 7 Medal Winners)
1st: Aidan Flynn (120) / Matt Gauthier (150)
2nd: Brendan Schuler (113) / Brody Sager (Hwt)
3rd: Kyle Leonard (144) / Evan Ren (165) / Jake Mott (175)
Aidan Flynn and Matt Gauthier won their first District Titles, and five other Lions medaled, as Lacey brought home seven medals, which is tied for their 2nd most over the last twenty seasons.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3 SECTIONALS
QF: Lacey 46 - Timber Creek 28 (BOX SCORE)
SF: Ocean City 36 - Lacey 28 (BOX SCORE)
2/3: BURLINGTON TWP QUAD
Lacey 57 - Burlington Twp 21 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 42 - Woodstown 33 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 63 - Pennsauken 18 (BOX SCORE)
2/1: B-SOUTH
Lacey 59 - Lakewood 9 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Hwt - Seeley d. #10 Dominguez, 9-4; Koehler, Carlucci, White, Calabrese, Leonard, Ren, & Ward win by fall
Lakewood: Castillo & Melendez win for Piners
1/30: B-SOUTH
Lacey 37 - Donovan Catholic 27 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Gauthier (21-6); Schuler (20-8); Flynn (20-8); Davis (20-7); Mott (16-9)
Donovan: Hwt - #4 Rock d. #5 Sager, 4-0; Wehner (21-3); Gutierrez (15-6); Colon (11-4)
1/27: PINELANDS QUAD
Lacey 53 - Marlboro 24 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Career victory #100 for head coach Justin Bonitatis
Lacey 63 - Pinelands 12 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 48 - Manchester 27 (BOX SCORE)
1/25: NON-DIVISION
Long Branch 36 - Lacey 35 (BOX SCORE)
Long Branch: 175 - #4 Kajaia d. #9 Davis; Vieria, Munson, Ramirez, Smith, & Cunalata win by fall
Lacey: Koehler, Flynn, & Gauthier pin; Schuler techs
1/22: NON-DIVISION
Lacey 36 - #11 Jackson Memorial 30 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Trinidad takedown w/1 second left in final bout to win match, clinch dual for Lions; Sager, Leonard, Gauthier, & Mott pin
Jackson Mem: 113 - #8 Weikel d. #9 Schuler; Huxford, Krieck, J Espinosa, & Wolf win by pin
1/20: WASHINGTON TWP QUAD
Lacey 39 - Gloucester City 31 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 60 - Absegami 18 (BOX SCORE)
Washington Twp 38 - Lacey 25 (BOX SCORE)
1/17: NON-DIVISION
Lacey 48 - Manasquan 21 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: (175) Davis d.#10 Lee, 3-1; Schuler (17-6); Gauthier (16-6); Sager (17-4); Flynn (14-8)
Manasquan: O'Connor (15-2); McNulty (14-5); Mammeri (14-5)
1/13: COLTS NECK QUAD
Manalapan 37 - Lacey 33 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 50 - TR East 28 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 37 - Colts Neck 36 (BOX SCORE)
1/12: B-SOUTH
Lacey 36 - #10 Pt Boro 35 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Davis, Miller, Flynn, & Leonard pin for Lions
Pt Boro: Acquisto, Burgio, & Clark win by fall; Clayton techs
1/6: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Lacey - 12th Place
4 Medal Winners
3rd: Brody Sager (Hwt)
5th: Aidan Flynn (120) / Matt Gauthier (150)
6th: Brendan Schuler (113)
Led by 3rd-place finisher at heavyweight Brody Sager, the Lions set a new program high with four medal winners.
12/27: LACEY QUAD
Lacey 63 - Matawan 17 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey 64 - Central 12 (BOX SCORE)
Raritan 41 - Lacey 36 (BOX SCORE)
12/23: TCNJ PRIDE TOURNAMENT at Robbinsville
Lacey - 2nd Place
1st: Schuler (113) / Sager (Hwt)
2nd: Flynn (120) / Leonard (138) / Gauthier (150)
3rd: Downs (132) / Ren (165)
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: ROBIN LEFF TOURNAMENT at Southern
3rd: Matt Gauthier (150)
4th: Brody Sager (Hwt)
12/15: B-SOUTH
Lacey 60 - Barnegat 18 (BOX SCORE)
Lacey: Lions 10th straight win over Bengals; Mott, Sager, Schuler, Flynn, Leonard, Gauthier, Ren, & Davis with pins
Barnegat: Mahadeo, Mamola, & Lockwood win by pin
2024 Lacey Wrestling
Head Coach: Justin Bonitatis (6th Season / Career Record: 89-19)
B-South / SJG3 / District 25 / Region 7
Where They Open: 12/15 vs Barnegat
Opening Tournament: Robin Leff Tournament at Southern
Lacey took a decent hit to graduation, with the most notable departures being 2x-time State qualifier Matt Coon, 2023 State qualifier Aidan Ott, District medal winner Jayden Martins, and 30-bout winner Luciano Ferranti. The Lions, however, have shown in recent years that they are quite capable of reloading around established talent, and this year looks to be no different. There's a good mix of youth and experience to the this year's lineup, a lineup that looks to be pretty well balanced overall. There looks to be some solid depth too, giving the Lions some good maneuverability.
Four starters return in the middle stretch from 138-157, headlined by senior Matt Gauthier. Gauthier, who enters the year with 61 career wins, is a 2-time District medal winner and has finished 5th in the Regions twice. He's joined by fellow returning starters Aidan White, a senior, and juniors Kyle Leonard and Tyler French, who placed 4th at last year's District 25 tournament.
The Lions have some good experience returning down low, as well. Junior Brendan Schuler is a 2-time District medalist, placing 2nd each time, and has won 47 matches in his first two seasons. Senior John Downs provides veteran leadership in this group, and is coming off a 22-win season in 2023. Sophomore Aidan Flynn will be looking to build off a strong freshman campaign in which he won 23 matches and took 3rd at Districts. That trio, along with another returning starter in junior Ralphael Garcia, give head coach Justin Bonitatis a solid core to break some new faces into the lineup around, including freshmen Luke Miller, Carlos Garcia, Zachary Carlucci, and James Pestrichello, and junior Jack Koehler.
Up top is where the Lions will look the most different. Senior heavyweight Brady Sager, who won 18 matches in 2023, and sophomore Casey Delvecchio, a 14-bout winner in his rookie season, bookend the upper weights that will feature some new starters. Among that group are seniors Andrew McCleod and Jesse Laird, and juniors Dylan Trinidad, James Mott, and Mike Seely. There are some freshmen in the mix for spots here, also, in Joey Davis and Jake Mott, who bare multi-time youth States placers.
After winning back to back B-South titles, Pt Boro defeated Lacey last season to capture the divisional title. Lacey will be looking to reclaim that title in 2024, and have a key date towards that goal early on as they host Jackson Liberty, who they split a pair of duals with last season, on December 20th. The anticipated rematch with Pt Boro is set for Friday night, January 12th, in Point Pleasant.
Possible Lineup
Wgt | Wrestler | 2023 | Notes |
106 | (Jr) Jack Koehler | ||
106 | (Fr) Luke Miller | ||
106 | (Fr) Carlos Garcia | ||
113 | (Jr) Brendan Schuler | 27-9 (D-2nd / R-PQ) | 2x-District Medalist |
113 | (So) Christopher Gilani | 1-0 | |
120/126 | (So) Aidan Flynn | 23-10 (D-3rd / R-PQ) | |
120/126 | (Jr) Ralphael Garcia | 12-13 | |
120/126 | (Fr) Zachary Carlucci | ||
132 | (Sr) John Downs | 22-8 | |
132 | (Fr) James Pestrichello | ||
138 | (Jr) Michael Knowles | 2-3 | |
138/144 | (Jr) Kyle Leonard | 13-6 | |
144/150 | (Sr) Matt Gauthier | 33-4 (D-2nd / R-5th) | 2x-District Medalist / 2x-Region 5th |
144/150 | (Jr) Tyler French | 18-11 (D-4th) | |
157 | (So) Christian Speck | 0-1 | |
157/165 | (Sr) Aidan White | 8-17 | |
157/165 | (Sr) Evan Ren | 0-1 | |
165/175 | (So) Casey Delvecchio | 14-9 | |
175 | (Fr) Joey Davis | ||
175/190 | (Sr) Andrew McCleod | 5-6 | |
190 | (Fr) Jake Mott | ||
215 | (Jr) Dylan Trinidad | 1-5 (D-4th) | |
215 | (Sr) Jesse Laird | 0-1 | |
215 | (Jr) James Mott | ||
Hwt | (Sr) Brody Sager | 18-12 | |
Hwt | (Jr) Mike Seely | 2-2 |
73 Haines Street
Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734
(609) 971-2020
(Ocean County)
~ SCHOOL WEBSITE ~
Mascot
Lions
Colors
Navy, Grey, & Cardinal
Head Coach
Justin Bonitatis
(6th Season in 2024)
Assistants
Craig Moser
Ricky Bandejas
Volunteers
Jeff Gauthier
Luke Fernandez
Kevin Corrigan
Nick Tenpenny
Dylan DaSilva
Leonard Goduto
Section
SJ Group 3
Division
B-South
District
25
Region
7
4 - Division Titles
Last: B-South - 2022
1 - District Team Title
Last: D24 - 1999
1 - State Champion
Russ Witt - 1997
12 - State Medalists
Last: Vin Ceglie - 2021
15 - Region Champions
Last: Brady Carter - 2022
48 - District Champions
Last: Aidan Flynn & Matt Gauthier - 2024
3 - SCT Champions
Last: Vin Ceglie - 2020
11 - SCT Medalists
Last: 4 in 2024
Career Wins Leader - 137
Hunter Gutierrez
(2016-2019)
Season Wins Record - 42
Lex Knapp
(2012)
Hunter Gutierrez
(2017)
100 Career Wins Club
Hunter Gutierrez - 137
Luke Moynihan - 129
Luke Gauthier - 124
Matt Garrity - 110
Dennis Whitby - 109
Frank Maugeri - 104
Russ Witt - 100