Overall Record: 17-5 / Shore Conference: 13-4 / B-Central: 4-0
2024 Record: 17-5
CJG1 State Sectional Finalists
B-Central Champions
6th Place District 22
30th Place Shore Conference Tournament
East Brunswick Invitational Champions
Schalick / Cumberland Tournament
ShoreConferenceWrestling.com Wrestler of the Year
(Sr) Marcos Kaiafas - Hwt
Record: 26-6
District 22 Champion
East Brunswick Tournament Champion / Schalick-Cumberland Tournament Champion
Team Leader in Wins
2024 Season
Point Beach reclaimed the B-Central Championship in 2024, defeating Shore Regional, 56-16, on January 24th to seal the deal. It is the 25th Divisional Title in the program's history.
It was one of three championships the Gulls claimed this season, as they also captured the team titles at both the East Brunswick Invitational Tournament and the Schalick / Cumberland season opening tournament.
For the 10th consecutive time, Beach made it to the CJG1 Sectional Finals. They now have the longest active streak of consecutive Sectional Finals appearances in the Shore Conference.
Senior Marcos Kaiafas, led the team in wins with 26. He won the Gulls' first District Title since 2020, claiming the heavyweight championship at District 20. It was the 40th District Title in the program's history.
REGION 6 TOURNAMENT
Pt Beach (0 Medal Winners)
WB1: Marcos Kaiafas (Hwt)
PQ: Jude Bowers (150)
DISTRICT 22 TOURNAMENT
Pt Beach (6th Place / 1 Champ / 2 Medal Winners)
1st: Marcos Kaiafas (Hwt)
3rd: Jude Bowers (150)
Senior Marcos Kaiafas won Beach's first District Title since Jesse Bowers and Jason Sherlock in 2020, and became the first heavyweight to win for the Gulls since Andrew Gross in 2011.
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1 SECTIONALS
QF: Pt Beach 54 - Shore 24 (BOX SCORE)
SF: Pt Beach 44 - Keansburg 33 (BOX SCORE)
F: Delaware Valley 81 - Pt Beach 0 (BOX SCORE)
2/2: NON-DIVISION
Holmdel: Reyes (27-3); Placca (24-4); Vanderham (21-6); AJ Todisco (21-6); M Todisco (20-9); Cleary (20-8)
Beach: Kaiafas (22-3); DeBenedett (15-4)
1/31: NON-DIVISION
Red Bank 36 - Pt Beach 32 (BOX SCORE)
Red Bank: Palumbo with a walk-off pin at 175 for the Bucs; Lopez-Castro, Ruland, & Huss also pin; Sena techs
Pt Beach: 215 - Kaiafas d. #9 Eckerstrom; Schulter (19-4); Bowers (20-3); Yedman (19-6); DeBenedett (14-4)
1/30: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 53 - Marlboro 24 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: DePaul, Yedman, & Scannell pin; Bowers techs
Marlboro: Hall, Falcone, Evans, & Avanesyan win by pin
1/26: THE BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT
Pt Boro 51 - Pt Beach 12 (BOX SCORE)
Boro: Bonus wins for M DeAngelo, Matta, J DeAngelo, Drewes, Burgio, Clayton, Acquisto, & Hynes
Beach: Kaiafas (19-3); Schulter (17-4); DeBenedett (12-4)
1/24: B-CENTRAL
Pt Beach 56 - Shore 16 (BOX SCORE)
Pt Beach: Wins B-Central Title; 25th Divisional Title
Shore: White (19-7); Calabria (16-8); Doremus pins
1/23: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 63 - Pinelands 11 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Bowers (17-2); Acevedo (15-2); Yedman (16-5); Loughran (12-3); Kaiafas (17-3)
Pinelands: Platti (13-2); Hart (15-6)
1/20: PT BEACH TRI
Pt Beach 47 - Bordentown 21 (BOX SCORE)
Pt Beach 63 - Hamilton West 15 (BOX SCORE)
1/17: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 42 - Matawan 36 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Schulter with the walk-off pin; Kaiafas (14-3); Bowers (14-2); Yedman (14-4); Acevedo (12-2)
Matawan: L Liss (17-3); Palumbo (16-5); Targali (16-6); A Liss (10-5)
1/13: BRICK TWP TRI
Pt Beach 48 - Brick Twp 23 (BOX SCORE)
Pt Beach 68 - Nottingham 12 (BOX SCORE)
1/12: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 50 - Monmouth 22 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Bowers (11-2); Acevedo (9-2); Yedman (11-4); Loughran (7-2); Schulter (11-4)
Monmouth: Walsh (13-5); Bruno (10-6); Preziose (11-6); Palmieri (12-2)
1/10: B-CENTRAL
Pt Beach 50 - Keansburg 27 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Clinches share of B-Central; Schulter (10-4); Yedman (10-4); Bowers (10-2); Niethe (9-2)
Keansburg: CTerracciano (12-1); Retta (11-3); Pisano (10-2)
1/8: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 41 - Manchester 32 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Schulter with the walk-off pin
Manchester: Mitrosky, Buccine, & Mortellite win by fall
1/6: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Pt Beach - 30th Place
1/3: NON-CONFERENCE
Pt Beach 60 - West Windsor Plainsboro South 17 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: DePaul, Napolitano, Bowers, Acevedo, Loughran, Scannell, Schulter, Kaiafas, Torres, & Stizza win by pin
1/3: B-CENTRAL
Pt Beach 56 - Asbury Park 21 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: McLoughlin, DeBenedett, Yedman, Loughran, Schulter, & Kaiafas win by pin
Asbury: Crawford, Herrera, & Lavarin win by pin
12/28: BEAR INVITATIONAL at East Brunswick
Pt Beach - 1st Place
1st: Jude Bowers (138) / Thomas Schulter (190) / Marcos Kaiafas (215)
2nd: Connor Loughran (175)
3rd: PJ Niethe (132)
4th: Brandon Stizza (106) / Hudson DePaul (113)
5th: Sam Yedman (165) / Christian Torres (Hwt)
12/21: B-CENTRAL
Pt Beach 54 - Keyport 21 (BOX SCORE)
Beach: Niethe, Setrakin, & DePaul win by pin
Keyport: Prevost, Fernandez, & D Ferm win by pin
12/20: NON-DIVISION
Wall 34 - Pt Beach 33 (BOX SCORE)
Wall: Carrillo-Solano decision in final bout wins it for Knights
Pt Beach: Niethe (5-0); Kaifas (5-0)
12/19: NON-DIVISION
Pt Beach 37 - Manasquan 24 (BOX SCORE)
Pt Beach: Torres, DePaul, DeBenedett, Niethe, and Acevedo win by pin; Yedman majors
Manasquan: McNulty & Brewer win by fall
12/16: SCHALICK-CUMBERLAND TOURNAMENT at Arthur P Schalick
Pt Beach - 1st Place
1st: PJ Niethe (132) / Jude Bowers (138) / Marcos Kaiafas (215)
2nd: Brandon Stizza (106) / Luke DeBenedett (126) / Antonio Acevedo (144) / Sam Yedman (165)
3rd: Hudson DePaul (113) / Gavin McLoughlin (130) / Thomas Schulter (190) / Christian Torres (Hwt)
2024 Pt Beach Wrestling
CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE
Head Coach: Jeff Bower (14th Season / Career: 232-69)
B-Central / CJG1 / District 22 / Region 6
Where They Open: 12/16 - SC Holiday Tournament at Arthur P. Schalick
12 wrestlers with at least 13 varsity matches return for a Pt Beach team looking to reclaim the B-Central title, after having a streak of three consecutive championship seasons snapped by Shore Regional last year.
Beach is led down low by the 1-2 punch of junior PJ Niethe, and senior Luke DeBenedett, both of whom are three-year starters. Niethe is a 2-time District medal winner, and has recorded 49 wins through the first two years of his career. DeBenedett, who placed 3rd at Districts last season, led the Gulls in wins in 2023 with 27 victories. Senior Gavin McLaughlin and junior Chris Napolitano shared the duties at 106 last season, and join DeBenedett and Niethe to give Beach an experienced core to break some newcomers into the lineup around.
Three more starters are back in the middle stretch from 138-157 in seniors Aedan Finn and Connor Loughran, and junior Jude Bowers. It is the third season in the starting lineup for both Bowers and Loughran.
Up top, the Gulls are led by seniors Sam Yedman and Thomas Schulter, both of whom had huge leaps from their sophomore seasons. Yedman went from 1-1 in 2022, to a 15-bout winner, and a 3rd place finisher at the Districts. Schulter improved from a 4-7 record in 2022, to 26-7 as a junior, and placed 4th at Districts. Juniors Dan Micheletti, Chistian Torres, and Erick Sanchez all saw a significant amount of action last season, and will be looking for similar breakout seasons to the ones had by Yedman and Schulter. Another junior, Ryan Scannell, joins the team after transferring from Donovan Catholic, where he was a 2-year starter for the Griffins.
The Gulls will no doubt be looking to ascend back to the top of B-Central after having their bid at a 4-peat, and 25th division title overall, stopped by Shore Regional. If they get through the rest of the divisional opponents along the way, Shore would be the team they could clinch the title against on January 24th, at home. And "the best rivalry match in the Shore" will take place on January 26th, at Pt. Boro. If you get the chance, try and check it out. Arguably the best atmosphere for a dual meet in the Shore Conference.
Possible Lineup
Wgt | Wrestler | 2023 | Notes |
106 | (So) Max Esposito | 2-2 | |
106 | (Fr) Brandon Stizza | | |
113 | (So) Alberto Lopez | 2-1 | |
113 | (So) Hudson DePaul | 1-1 | |
113 | (So) Harry Ventresca | | |
120 | (Sr) Gavin McLaughlin | 8-6 | |
120 | (Jr) Chris Napolitano | 7-12 | |
120 | (Jr) Angel Montoya-Jimenez | | |
126 | (Sr) Luke DeBenedett | 27-10 (D-3rd / R-WB1) | |
132 | (Jr) PJ Niethe | 26-9 (D-2nd / R-PQ) | 2x-District medalist |
132 | (Fr) Jack Swider | | |
132 | (Jr) Jake Salerno | 1-1 | |
138 | (Jr) Jude Bowers | 16-11 | |
138 | (Fr) Danny Neal | | |
138 | (Fr) Lucas Adams | | |
138 | (Jr) Esgar Montoya-Jimenez | | |
144 | (So) Antonio Acevedo | | |
144 | (Jr) Michael Curry | 0-1 | |
144 | (So) Randy Figueroa | | |
150 | (So) Mattix Sickel | 0-2 | |
150 | (Sr) Aedan Finn | 3-20 | |
157 | (Sr) Connor Loughran | 15-13 | |
157 | (Fr) Gael Santiago | | |
165 | (Sr) Sam Yedman | 15-16 (D-3rd) | |
175 | (Jr) Ryan Scannell | 8-17 | Transfer: Donovan Catholic |
175 | (Jr) Dan Micheletti | 7-6 | |
175 | (Jr) Ronnie Thorn | 1-1 | |
175 | (Sr) Nick Solarte | | |
175 | (Fr) CJ Engelhardt | | |
190 | (Sr) Thomas Schulter | 26-7 (D-4th) | |
190 | (Jr) Christian Torres | 3-4 | |
190 | (Jr) Erick Sanchez | 5-11 | |
190 | (Sr) Frank Derienzo | | |
215 | (Sr) Marcos Kaiafas | | 3-6 in 2022 |
215 | (Fr) Alan Micheletti | | |
215 | (Sr) Kevin Gambert | 1-3 | |
215 | (Jr) Jerry Santiago | | |
215 | (So) JJ Sichuga | | |
Hwt | (Sr) Jamie Setrakian | | |
Hwt | (Fr) Kyle Kelly | | |