Brennan, Ghione Bringing Medals Back To Brick

When it comes to the state wrestling finals in Atlantic City, with very few exceptions, there is no such thing as an easy run through the brackets.

 For Brick Township's Conor Brennan and Brick Memorial's Joseph Ghione, their stories from Boardwalk Hall were as much about perseverance as they were success on the mats.

Of the two, Brennan, at 152,  will stand the highest on the medals stand.  After a disappointing loss in the semifinals, Brennan was able to pull things together to  win his third-place bout on Sunday morning.

In the semifinals against Christian Barber of Westfield, Brennan had a one point lead in the closing seconds. That all changed when a second stall call sent the competitors into overtime.

Brennan said that loss was a tough one to take. "I was pretty upset," he said. "I wanted to win the state and I wanted to win it so bad. With the stall calls I guess it was my fault but I had to refocus because coming all the way back to the semis to win it takes more character than winning states."

Before making it to the bronze medal match, Brennan had to regroup quickly to face Johnny Sebastian of Bergen Catholic. It was once again a one-point match, but this time the Dragons wrestler was on top with an 8-7 decision.

All that was left was a match against Frank Marotti of West Essex. Marotti earned his spot in the third-place bout with a 6-5 win over Vincent Favia of  Christian Brothers Academy.

Brennan did all he could to assert himself as the dominant wrestler right from the start. In the first few moments of the match, the senior put Marotti on the mat and on his back for a quick four points. By the time the first period was over he had built an 8-1 lead on his way to a 10-2 win.

With the match behind him, Brennan said all things considered it was a good trip to Boardwalk Hall.

 "I think I should have been in the state finals, but everything doesn't always work out the way you want it to," he said. 

If nothing else the senior knows he can say that he walked off the high school mats for the last time having his arm raised in victory.

 "In the future, looking back, at least I can say I won my last match," he said.

 Brennan will be spending the next few weeks getting ready for the national tournament while also deciding where he will continue his academic and athletic careers.

For Ghione at 103, the freshman had a long road to the medal stand but showed a maturity beyond his years as he worked his way through the field. After finishing third in the Region VI Tournament, Ghione picked up a 4-3 win and a 6-4 overtime win in his first two bouts.

It was in the quarterfinals where he finally suffered his first loss, losing to Jan Rosenberg, the top seed from Morris Knolls. Even in the 6-3 loss, the freshman showed he could compete against the very best the state has to offer.

Saturday's action featured three more tough matches with two more big wins for the Mustangs rookie. He beat Tony Giancola of Collingswood, 13-5, and then beat Mike Andreano of  Glen Rock Saddle Brook, 9-2, to advance to the consolation semifinals. 

Facing Delaware Valley's Cody Barbiche, Ghione was held scoreless in a 4-0 defeat to drop  into the fourth-place bout. Once again the match ended in a loss for the Brick wrestler as he fell 10-3 to Carl Buttitta of JFK Iselin. 

The match seemed to be out of reach from the start for Ghione but he said just making it this far was an accomplishment he can build from. 

His coach, Dan O'Cone, agreed that the freshman came a long way in his first year. "Joe had a good tournament," he said. Pointing to the fact that Ghione entered the field after finishing second in the district tournament and third in the region as factors making his rise to the podium that much more impressive.

The coach also knows there is more that can be done before Ghione's time is done. "Obviously, there's room for improvement and that's a good thing," he said. "I think he has the drive to do the work that he has to do in the offseason to hopefully come back and move up the podium."

O'Cone said he would eventually like to see Ghione standing at the very top of the standings before his career is done.

"Getting down here and placing that's a good job and it was earned and it was hard fought," he said. "But our expectations are to win state championships."

Between his time coaching at Point Pleasant Beach and at Brick Memorial, O'Cone has seen a lot of 103 wrestlers on the mats for his team. But looking at all of them, the coach said there is clearly something special about Ghione.

"He's the best 103 pounder that I've ever coached," he said. "I've never had a guy place at 103 so for me he's good."

O'Cone said he was not entirely sure but he believed that Ghione was the first freshman state place winner in the history of the program. And there are still three seasons ahead for him to keep making a name for himself.