Overall Record:  22-5  /  Shore Conference:  11-2  /  A-North:  6-1

 

ShoreConferenceWrestling.com Wrestler Of The Year

(Sr) Hunter Mays - 165
Record: 29-1
NJSIAA State Champion
Region 6 Champion
District 22 Champion
3rd Place Powerade Tournament
Paulsboro Tournament Champion

 

3/5: NJSIAA TOURNAMENT
1st: Hunter Mays (165)
WB4: Sebastian Ortega (120) / Giovanni Scafidi (138) / DJ Henry (175)
WB3: Xavier Ortega (113)
WB2: Kieran Bruen (132) / Nick Acque (157)
WB1: Sawyer Ostroff (126)

 

2/26: REGION 6
Howell: (2 Champs / 8 Medal Winners)
1st: Xavier Ortega (113) / Hunter Mays (165)
2nd: Sawyer Ostroff (126) / Giovanni Scafidi (138) / DJ Henry (175)
3rd: Sebastian Ortega (120) / Kieran Bruen (132) / Nick Acque (157)
6th: Ian Soutar (190)
WB1: Gavin Merkel (150)
PQ: Dane Colfer (215) / Thomas Richards (Hwt)

 

2/19: DISTRICT 22
Howell (1st Place / 8 Champs / 12 Medal Winners)
With their 8 champions at this year's tournament, the Rebels now have 152 District Champions, which moves them into 1st all-time in Monmouth County.This year' team title is number 14 for the Rebels, and moves them into a tie with Long Branch & Middletown North for 2nd most all-time for a Monmouth County team.
1st: Xavier Ortega (113) / Sebastian Ortega (120) / Giovanni Scafidi (138) / Gavin Merkel (150) / Nick Acque (157) / Hunter Mays (165) / DJ Henry (175) / Ian Soutar (190)
2nd: Kieran Bruen (132) / Thomas Richards (Hwt)
3rd: Sawyer Ostroff (126) / Dane Colfer (215)

 

2/13: GROUP 5 FINALS
Phillipsburg  51  -  Howell  8  (BOX SCORE)

 

2/11: GROUP 5 SEMIFINALS
Howell  41  -  Livingston  18  (BOX SCORE)
Howell: Mays & S Ortega pin; Scafidi & Acque tech; Wiessel majors

 

2/9: CJG5 FINALS
Howell  31  -  Hunterdon Central  26  (BOX SCORE)
Howell: Rebels 5th Sectional Title
Howell: Scafidi with walk-off pin; Mays & Richards also pin; Edmundson majors

 

2/7: CJG5 SEMIFINALS
Howell  72  -  Old Bridge  6  (BOX SCORE)
Howell: Ostroff, Machnik, Wiessel, Merkel, Mays, Henry, Colfer, Richards, Hultman, & X Ortega win by pin

 

2/7: CJG5 QUARTERFINALS at Howell
Howell  69  -  Edison  (BOX SCORE)
Howell: X Ortega, Edmundson, Bruen, Scafidi, Wiessel, Dalton, Acque, Mays, Soutar, Campese, & Hultman pin

 

2/2: A-NORTH
#4 Howell  49  -  Middletown North  21  (BOX SCORE)
Howell: X Ortega (23-4); Mays (24-1); Acque (19-4); Bruen (17-8)
Middletown North: 126 - #9 Oden p. #10 Ostroff / Klisnky (18-4); Ainbinder (15-7)

 

1/31: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT FINALS
#1 CBA  38  -  #3 Howell  29  (BOX SCORE)

1/31: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
#3 Howell  34  -  #2 Middletown South  21  (BOX SCORE)

 

1/27: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
PQ: #3 Howell  59  -  #19 Middletown North  18  (BOX SCORE)
H: X Ortega, Dalton, Acque, Halvorsen, Henry & Richards win by fall  /  MN: Klinsky, Oden, & Ainbinder pin for Lions

QF: #3 Howell  44  -  #6 Raritan  18  (BOX SCORE)
H: 132 - Bruen p. #7 Kmak; Mays & Soutar pin; X Ortega & Acque with techs  /  R: 138 - #5 Reilley d. #4 Scafidi, 3-1

 

1/25: NON-CONFERENCE
#5 Howell  59  -  Watchung Hills  14  (BOX SCORE)
H: X Ortega (18-4); S Ortega (10-2); Acque (15-3); Bruen (15-6); Merkel (13-5)

 

1/21-22: JACK WELCH DUALS
#2 Howell  57  -  Cinnaminson  16  (BOX SCORE)
#2 Howell  63  -  Long Branch  13  (BOX SCORE)
#2 Howell  66  -  Morris Hills  15  (BOX SCORE)
Delsea  37  -  #2 Howell  21  (BOX SCORE)
Warren Hills  39  -  #2 Howell  22  (BOX SCORE)

 

1/18: A-NORTH
#4 Middletown South  31  -  #2 Howell  27  (BOX SCORE)
H: Mays (15-1); Henry (11-0); Acque (11-2)

 

1/15: HENRY BORESCH DUALS
#2 Howell  58  -  Bound Brook  16  (BOX SCORE)
#2 Howell  62  -  #8 Lacey  6  (BOX SCORE)
#2 Howell  39  -  North Hunterdon  28  (BOX SCORE)

 

1/13: NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Howell  52  -  St Thomas Aquinas  18  (BOX SCORE)
800th Dual Win for Howell

 

1/13: A-NORTH
#2 Howell  66  -  Manalapan  3  (BOX SCORE)
H: Bruen, Merkel, Acque, Henry, Colfer, & Richards win by fall

 

1/10: HOWELL TRI
#2 Howell  46  -  #7 Jackson Memorial  21  (BOX SCORE)
#2 Howell  57  -  Freehold Twp  9  (BOX SCORE)

 

1/8: NON-CONFERENCE
#4 Howell  50  -  Old Bridge  16  (BOX SCORE)

 

1/5: A-NORTH
#4 Howell  32  -  #3 CBA  31  (BOX SCORE)
H: Scafidi d. Punzi, 5-3 in sudden victory, in final bout to give Rebels the win; Four 3-pt decisions (3 1-pt matches & 1 sudden victory) in dual were all won by Howell

 

12/30: POWERADE TOURNAMENT (FLO PAGE)

Rebels finish in 37th Place; Hunter Mays 3rd at 160; Xavier Ortega 8th at 113

 

12/20: A-NORTH
Howell  62  -  Marlboro  12  (BOX SCORE)
H: S Ortega, Ostroff, Wiessel, Acque, Mays, & Henry with pins

 

 

12/18: REBELS FINISH 1ST AT PAULSBORO TOURNAMENT  (TOURNAMENT PAGE)

Top 3 Finishers

1st Place
113: Xavier Ortega
120: Sebastian Ortega
157: Nick Acque
165: Hunter Mays
190: Ian Soutar

2nd Place
106: Liam Clark
120: Mike Edmundson
126: JJ Machnik
138: Giovanni Scafidi
144: Rob Wiessel
215: Dane Colfer

3rd Place
150: Gavin Merkel

 

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2022 Rebels Wrestling

Head Coach
John Gagliano - 25th Season (Career Record: 500-79)

Where They Open
12/18: at Paulsboro Tournament

 

A strong returning cast, some experienced backups now looking to thrive in starting roles, a very promising incoming freshman class... you can basically cut and paste the header for the Howell preview and just keep reusing it every season. (Note: And that's exactly what I did this season!)

The lowerweights look like they're going to be a relatively young group, but in no way are they short on talent. Sophomore Sebastian Ortega is coming off an outstanding rookie campaign that saw him finish 2nd at the Regions, and earn a 5th-place medal at States. Fellow sophomore JJ Machnik is also coming off a solid debut season, winning 8 bouts and qualifying for the Regions. Among the new faces looking to make an impact down low are freshman Xavier Ortega, who enters the program having won multiple State Medals at the youth level, and could be among the the top freshmen in the Shore this season.

The middle of the lineup looks to have a pair of solid bookends in sophomore Giovanni Scafidi and senior Nick Acque. Scafidi, a transfer from Freehold Twp was one of the top freshman in the Shore last season, picking some very impressive wins on his way to a 2nd-place finish at the Regions. Acque, who recently committed to continue his career next season at TCNJ, enters his 3rd season as a starter for the Rebels, and should be primed for a big finish to his high school career. 

Anchoring the upperweights is returning State Champion, and Rider University commit, Hunter Mays. Mays will take aim at finishing his two year stint with the Rebels with an undefeated record, and becoming the program's first 2-time State Champion. Junior, DJ Henry is had a strong 2021, placing 3rd at Regions to punch a ticket to the State Tournament. Junior Thomas Richards has shown good potential in his first two years, and could be in line for a breakout year up at heavyweight for the Rebels

Once again, the Rebels have a lot of depth, a lot of talent, and will once again be among the top teams in the Shore Conference. They had their run of 15 consecutive seasons with at least a share of the A-North Championship snapped last season by CBA, and they get their chance to avenge last season's loss pretty early on in the season, as the Rebels host on January 5th. Other key dates on the schedule include Middletown South on 1/19, Jackson Memorial on 1/12, the Henry Boresch Duals on 1/15, and the Jack Welch Duals on 1/22, along with the Paulsboro Tournament to open the season, and the loaded Powerade Tournament in Pennsylvania starting on December 28. Howell will look to use the tough schedule to prepare them for the postseason run, where they are a part of a loaded Group 5 field that includes Southern, Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central, and Kingsway.

 

Possible Lineup

Wgt	Wrestler	2021
106	(So) Liam Clark	1-0
113	(Fr) Xavier Ortega
120	(So) Sebastian Ortega	15-3 / R-2nd / NJ-5th
120	(Sr) Mike Edmundson	0-2
120	(So) Aidan Grant	1-1
126	(So) JJ Machnik	8-4 / R-WB1
126	(So) Sawyer Ostroff	1-4
132	(Jr) Kieran Bruen	5-2
138	(So) Giovanni Scafidi	8-3 / R-2nd / NJ-WB2
144	(Sr) Rob Wiessel
144	(Jr) Gavin Merkel
150	(Sr) Luke Dalton	2-0
150	(So) Stephen McGuire
157	(Sr) Nick Acque	6-5 / R-PQ
165	(Sr) Hunter Mays	16-0 / R-1st / NJ-1st
175	(Jr) DJ Henry	9-3 / R-3rd / NJ-WB1
175	(Sr) Ian Soutar	2-3
175	(So) Ray DeFrancesco	2-1
215	(So) Dane Colfer	1-2
215	(Jr) Richie Diab
Hwt	(Jr) Thomas Richards	6-4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howell Wrestling

405 Squankum-
Yellowbrook Rd.
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
(732) 919-2131
(Monmouth County)
~ OFFICIAL WEBSITE ~

---

Program Est.
1965

Mascot
Rebels

Colors
Navy & Gray

Athletic Director
Peter Meehan

Head Coach
John Gagliano
(25th Season in 2022)

Assistants
Rich Gildner
Jason Brandl
Nick Farrar

Volunteers
Todd Going
Peter Reilly
Anthony Gagliano
Sean Silverstein
Scott Festejo
Cole Cameron
Rich Famularo
Mike Verrochi

Section
CJ Group 5

Division
A-North

District
22

Region
6

 

2 - Group Titles
Last: Group 5 - 2018

5 - Sectional Titles
Last: CJG5 - 2022

14- District Team Titles
Last: D22 - 2022

4 - SCT Titles
Last: 2020

25 - Division Titles
Last: A-North in 2022 (tri)

5 - State Champions
Last: Hunter Mays - 2022

35 - State Medalists
Last: Hunter Mays - 2022

41 - Region Champions
Last: Xavier Ortega & Hunter Mays - 2022

152 - District Champions
Last: 8 in 2022

8 - SCT Champions
Last: Shane Reitsma & Justin Thomas - 2020

17 - SCT Medalists
Last: Shane Reitsma, Justin Thomas, Paul Jakub, & Neiko Malone - 2020

 

Career Wins Record - 165
Shane Reitsma
(2017-2020)

Season Wins Record - 42
Joey Langel
Harry Turner
(2008)

Kyle Slendorn
Eric Keosseian
(2017)

Kyle Slendorn
(2018)

Shane Reitsma
(2019)

Shane Reitsma
(2020)

 

100 Career Wins Club

Shane Reitsma - 165
Kyle Slendorn - 158
Darby Diedrich - 156
Zac Cunliffe - 138
Eric Keosseian - 133*
Joey Langel - 128
Christian Murphy - 128
Anthony Gagliano - 121
Cody Fobes - 119
Joey Schultz - 117
Mike Shaughnessy - 115
Kris Lindemann - 113
Jimmy Slendorn - 112
Ben Esposito - 111
Daniel Esposito - 110
Neiko Malone - 108**
Paul Jakub - 107
Billy Woodward - 101
Jason Ecklof - 101
Tom Tuminelli - 100

* - includes wins at Manasquan
** - includes wins at Rancocas Valley