After Greene's win, St. Anthony's rolls
St. Anthony's Andres Vanegas, bottom, grapples with Kellenberg's James Sullivan, top, in the 140 lb. match in the CHSAA high school wrestling match. (Jan. 5, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The St. Anthony's wrestling team's cupboard appeared somewhat bare. On the mat, the Friars decided to rest defending CHSAA state champions Jimmy Morris and Paul Alessandrini for yesterday's CHSAA meet with Kellenberg to keep them healthy for tournament action.
Off the mat, coach Tony Walters was sick and could not attend.
Despite the ailments and maladies, the host Friars still had more than enough in the cupboard to overcome an early deficit and win, 47-19, in their conference-opener.
"It's nice to be able to put in those backups and second-string guys and know that they'll be able to go and get the job done against a tough team like Kellenberg," Friars assistant Keith Eckert said.
After a technical fall loss at 96 pounds, Kellenberg regrouped. Pat Skinner notched a major decision over Nick Ronan at 103, Chris Vono pinned Mike Senia at 112 and Chris Federlin needed 5:07 to pin Andrew Pryor at 119.
Down 16-5, the Friars relied on 125-pound ace Grant Greene to narrow the gap. Greene corralled Kellenberg's Zach Indovino to the mat early and built a 20-5 lead before earning the technical fall.
After a defeat at 140, St. Anthony's took the lead for good when Mike Gangarossa pinned John O'Brien at 5:15 of their 145-pound match as the Friars won the final seven matches.
Their depth proved to be too much for an outmanned Kellenberg team, which defeated Nassau stalwart Long Beach earlier in the season.
"When you can put more than one guy at a weight, nobody knows what is coming," Greene said.
Dariyan Riley, a natural 171-pounder, filled in for Alessandrini at 189. A junior transfer and Louisiana state champion from John Curtis High School near New Orleans, Riley made it 37-19 with a 14-6 MD over Joshua Broschardt.
"Everybody has to step up to the plate whenever they get a chance," Riley said. "We train hard and do what we have to do."
