By Nathan Mayberg
MONTICELLO — February 4, 2005 – Cornwall defeated Monticello 58-13 Wednesday night in an intense wrestling dual meet which gave fans a glimpse of several talented wrestlers in the area.
Most of the matches in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division II contest were tightly fought between the two teams. Both teams gave exceptional efforts in many highly physical battles.
Cornwall (8-5, 2-2 Division II) received pins from Angel Nieves (215 pounds) in 1:04, Jon Cheng (171) in 2:35, Joe Cornett (160) in 2:38, Andrew Lowry (135) in 4:50 and Rob Priess (112) in 5:03. The team also received a 13-point win by Jeff Smith (145).
Monticello’s three victories came from the impressive brother tandem of Anthony and Chris Ng and Alexis Bruno. Anthony Ng (140) dominated Glenn Waller by a tally of 10-0 in their 140-pound match. Chris Ng won on a 11-6 decision in his 125-pound bout with Jeff Marinan. In the 189-pound match, Bruno pinned Mike Kelly in 1:22 – which was the second fastest pin of the evening.
Monticello (1-7, 0-4 Division II) was hampered by three forfeits, in the 119, 130 and 275-pound classes. The forfeits put the team down 18 points.
In addition, Cornwall won a narrow 4-2 decision in the 103-pound weight division. Drew Bloss scraped by John Bowens in a spirited match, in which neither wrestler would give up.
The match-up between Cornwall’s Jeremy Shanker and Monticello’s Andrew Moss in the 152-pound weight division, was among the many tough battles of the night. The two grapplers engaged in a grueling duel that went the full six minutes. In the end, Shanker came on top with a 5-1 decision.
Clearly, the two most scintillating performances of the evening were the lightning-quick wins posted by Cornwall’s Nieves and Monticello’s Bruno. Both appear to have all-star talent. Bruno, just a sophomore, may have a lot of important matches ahead of him.
“We wrestled very well on our feet,” Cornwall Coach Don Blaine said. “I was pleased with the way we wrestled in the third period.”
In addition, Blaine said his team was well-conditioned.
“I was real pleased with the way we wrestled,” he said.
When asked why his team was successful, the coach had a simple reply.
“We matched up a little better tonight,” he said.
Blaine gave due credit to Monticello and Coach Ed Kaufmann. Blaine said that Kaufmann “has a good group of kids.”
Kaufmann, for his part, said his team is “working hard.”
He lauded the three wrestlers on his team who picked up victories. He also noted the good effort from Moss.
As to how the Ng brothers have been so successful, Kaufmann said they work with each other, and go to camps. Chris Ng, a senior, has 84 career wins, while Anthony Ng, a junior, has 69 wins. Kaufman said their awareness of exactly how many wins they have is an example of why they win so much. The brothers were Section IX-placed last year and are considered among the best in their respective weight divisions in the section this season.
Kaufmann said that he is impressed with Bruno’s efforts. The athlete’s success this early – Bruno has a career record of 18-9 – is exceptional for such a high weight class, Kaufmann said.