Absegami Wrestlers Prepare to Face the Best in Holiday Tournament

Kevin Stadtmueller is accustomed to wrestling some of the best high school wrestlers in the Garden State, and the Absegami 215-pounder, a state qualifier in 2010, and his teammates will take on the state's best 10 a.m. Wednesday morning in the Brick Memorial High School Tournament.

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place this morning, but was pushed back two days because of the snowstorm that led Acting Gov. Stephen M. Sweeney to declare a State of Emergency Sunday night.

"I don't expect anything less than a win every time," Stadtmueller said. "I need to push myself to get to the top."

Stadtmueller relishes a chance to take on the elite any chance he can.

"I like it a lot," he said. "It's always a good tournament. They are tough kids. Its all about individual drive."

Absegami is coming off a loss to Lower Cape May on Dec. 22, and some of the Braves want to use the tournament to put the dual meet result behind them. It will also be another test to gauge where the Braves stand individually and as a team.

"There a lot good teams going there," Absegami 140-pounder Nate Ross said. "I think High Point, South Plainfield and a lot of good teams will be there. This will determine where the team is and where certain individuals are at this stage."

"It's a very, very tough tournament, probably the toughest tournament in New Jersey as far as holiday tournaments go," Absegami coach Shawn Scannell said. "It's loaded.  High Point and Paulsboro are there.  For the inexperienced guys it will be a tough task. For the more experienced guys hopefully they will progress. That's why we wrestled in an introduction tournament (Princeton on Dec. 18) and then we are stepping up to a tougher tournament because we need to progress during the season."

For the inexperienced wrestlers, just watching other wrestlers may be as beneficial as wrestling. The underclassman will get to experience what it takes to be an accomplished wrestler, according to Scannell.

"They just need to be around it," the Absegami coach explained. "They need to see different positions and it's all about mat awareness. Some of them haven't seen it before. They just have to be around it."

For wrestlers like Ross, Stadtmueller and Mike Jiampetti, the tournament is a chance to gain a strong reputation and also strengthen their arguments for better seeds if they make it to states in March. It is also a chance for wrestlers to make a leap up from solid wrestlers to elite.

"It's huge. This is high criteria," Scannell said. "This is a prestigious tournament and we have to do our best."