NJSIAA Wrestling Notebook - Warriors' Hewitt rebounds from early-round upset

NJSIAA Wrestling Notebook -
Warriors' Hewitt rebounds
from early-round upset

By GREG TUFARO • STAFF WRITER • March 6,
2010

ATLANTIC CITY — Franklin High School junior
Colin Hewitt, a two-time state placewinner, endured
the biggest upset of the early rounds of the NJSIAA
Wrestling Tournament when Kingway's Joseph
Renard pinned him in 1:08 during Friday night's
152-pound prequarterfinals.

Hewitt rebounded to win his next two matches,
pinning Burlington Township's Cody Spatz in the
first round of wrestlebacks and defeating Madison's
Christian Mazzocchi 7-2 in the ensuing round.

"I still believe that I'm the best kid in the bracket,"
Hewitt said. "I just want to show everyone here what
I can really do. I want to show everyone here that I'm
the best at 152, and I'm going to take third (place)."

With his wrestleback semifinal victory over Roselle
Park's Russell Benner, Hewitt will get a shot at third
place.

He will face Eric Reger of Delsea, a 9-2 overtime
winner in the wrestleback semifinals over Renard.

Falcons Fly High

Monroe teammates Sam Emburgia (135) and Marc
Tyson (215) impressed in the wrestleback rounds.

Emburgia, a four-time state qualifier, will wrestle
South Plainfield's Nick Heilmann for third place.

The senior won just one match in three previous
trips to Atlantic City.

"He definitely got the monkey off his back," Monroe
coach Bill Jacoutot said. "He was able to exorcise
some demons. He did a nice job in the wrestlebacks.
He looked like he had that look on his face, like I've
been here before and I know what to expect. He got
the job done, and now he has an opportunity to
finish third, which is of course what he's looking for
at this point."

Tyson, known more for his prowess on the football
field, where he led Monroe to the Central Group III
championship, was a late-comer to the sport of
wrestling. Jacoutot said he wishes he had one more
year to work with the senior.

"He's starting to really learn how to wrestle,"
Jacoutot said. "We all know he's a tremendous
athlete, but he's learning how to win scrambles and
he's learning how to manage a match. I wish I had
more time with him. I think he's really ending the
year here on a heck of a run and with a lot of
momentum."


Tyson, who will wrestle for fifth place today, said
he, too, wishes he had one more year to work with
Jacoutot.

"I picked up a whole bunch of technique (from
Jacoutot)," Tyson said. "He brought a new element to
the table and (the Falcons) are building on that."

Heart Stopping

South Brunswick coach Joe Dougherty walked off the
mat following Brendan Vercammen's 1-0 quarterfinal
victory over St. Peter's Prep's T.J. Shea patting his
heart.

Dougherty said he didn't know how many more
close matches he could take from Vercammen, who
advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win on an

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ultimate tiebreaker over Ramapo's James Fox.

The coach got a bit of a breather in the semifinals,
but not in the fashion he wanted.

Vercammen lost by technical fall to Wallkill Valley's
Ryan Callahan, who improved to 42-0 this season.
Vercammen is wrestling for fifth place today.

Sing a Song

Al Kiley, the former coach at Madison Township and
Madison Central High School, returned to the
wrestling arena on Saturday, not as a coach, but as
a singer.

Kiley, who sings baritone, and his barber shop
quartet, Evolution, performed several songs before
the start of the semifinal round.

Other Placers

South Plainfield's Troy Heilmann (112), Old Bridge's
Conor Hayes (140) and Old Bridge's Nick Orak (189)
will all wrestle for fifth today.

Rahway's Diego Chavez (145), South Plainfield's
Ryan Sacco (145) and Perth Amboy's Joel Perez (215)
will all wrestle for seventh.

Source: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103060334