Highlanders Place Second at Morris Knolls Tournament

Earlier in the week, Governor Livingston Highlanders wrestling coach Rick Iacono stated a goal for Saturday's Morris Knolls Holiday Tournament: finish within the top two in the final points standings.

Mission accomplished.

And quite a feat at that, as GL finished a respectable second to last years' overall state champion South Plainfield in the ten-team tournament. The Highlanders closed with 183.5 total team points, to first-place South Plainfield's 218. Overall, eight Highlanders finished third or higher in their respective weight classes, capping off a solid tournament.

A pretty successful start to what hopes to be a great season.

"Overall, I thought we did a good job. I can't tell how successful it is, because I don't know how (the team is) going to come off of this," said Iacono. "That's the only way I can tell. I was very pleased with the overall effort."

It was an effort that featured Pat Eichner, wrestling at 160 pounds, taking first place in his weight class after a defeat of Morris Knolls' Steve Weiss.

Eichner, who has been accepted as an early decision to attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall, was one of five Highlanders to make it to his respective championship match, but the only one to win.

Still, the other four—Jon Miele, Ryne Morrison, Anthony DeFranco, and Shane Haddad, all had solid tournaments -- picking up convincing victories along the way.

DeFranco earned two pinfall victories before his championship match in the 119-pound bracket, while Miele (103) and Morrison (112) had impressive point victories in their first two matches. Haddad (171 pounds) appeared to be mounting an impressive comeback from a 9-3 deficit late in his championship match against Wallkill Valley's Brian Gallagher, tying the match at nine with less than a minute to go. Gallagher, however, would be credited with another takedown, and would come away with a close, exciting 11-9 victory.

Because of their effort, Iacono is pleased with his wrestlers, regardless of whether or not they placed first.

"Matches that we're losing, we're losing to people who are better than we are," said Iacono. "We're not losing to guys who are worse than us. We're getting beat by guys that are out-wrestling us, and I can live with that."

The Highlanders also saw strong third-place finishes from four of their wrestlers. Joe Hoy (140), Zack Heisler (189), Brian Sobol (152), and Mike Stepien (135) each had a loss in the earlier rounds of the tournament, but were able to come back strong and medal for Governor Livingston.

For Stepien, the third-place match was particularly special, as the win he earned was the 100^th of his Highlander wrestling career.

"It means a lot to me. I'm really happy to be part of a good program at Governor Livingston," said Stepien. "I worked really hard over the years and it paid off, and I hope to get more wins."

Added Iacono, "It's wonderful; he's the second guy I had at Governor Livingston that broke 100 (wins). He's probably, as long as he stays healthy, going to be the winningest wrestler in the history of the high school. He deserves it; he's put a lot of work in. He's a great kid, and I'm happy for him. I'm also happy that he's been accepted (as an) early-decision to Lehigh, so that should take some pressure off of him. We're really proud."

All in all, it was a triumphant day for the Highlanders, who now look to continue their success—and have some fun in the process.

"We're going to continue to work and get better," said Iacono. "I've got good kids, and I just love our attitude. I think it's going to be really good and we'll have a fun year. We'll see what happens."

Morris Knolls Tournament Results

1. South Plainfield (218)

2. Gov. Livingston (183.5)

3. Seton Hall Prep (141)

4. Watchung Hills (129)

5.  Morris Knolls (116.5)

6. Montville (108)

7. Northern Highlands (81.5)

8. Rutherford (58)

9. Wallkill Valley (53)

10. Morris Hills (31)