CJA Wrestling

CJA News Archive 2000-01

Welcome to The Annihilator! The official CJA Newsletter

Congratulations to the following CJA students who placed at the Old Bridge Mat Rat Tournament, January 26, 2002
Note: The list may be incomplete. Please give your name and finish place to Gene for inclusion in our next update

1st Place finishers

Dan White, Anthony DeLeo, Scott Winston, Brett Epps, Sergio Garcia, Nick Parisi, Kyle Wadiak, Steve Pelcione, JC Bandiero, Josh Burgos, James Stewart, Sam Emburgia

2nd Place finishers

Justin DelPiano, Dave Amrhein, Mike Muha, James Pagano, Mike Bandiero, Gary Siriday

3rd Place finishers

Charlie Frankel, Conor Hayes

Congratulations to the following CJA wrestlers who medaled at the Edison Tournament! Their finishes are listed beside their names, in no particular order. Congratulations also to Luke Lanno who was named OW!

Scott Winston 1
Dallas Winston 1
Steve Fallon 1
JC Bandiero 1
Danny White 1
Sergio Garcia 1
Kevin Wadiak 1
Kyle Wadiak 1
Anthony Peterson 1
Jeff Peterson 1
Justin Delpiano 1
Brett Epps 1
Tom Hogan 1
CJ Mooney 1
Luke Lanno 1 OW

Cody Shelcusky 2
Michael Muha 2
Todd Marriot 2
David Amrhein 2
Jarrod Shine 2
Calvin Daly 2
Gary Thompson 2
Craig Batista 2
Billy Voutsinas 2

Brett Griffin 3
Sarah Dorsay 3
Darren White 3

Steve Miola 4
Sam Emburgia 4

CJA rises to 3rd at Toms River team tourney--misses second by three points

Toms River, NJ
December 16, 2001

Gene Lezark's CJA wrestlers sent notice to the wrestling world that they are a force to be reckoned with. After finishing near the bottom last year in their first team tourney, they climbed to third place this year, missing a second place finish by just three team points.
The Toms River Team tourney, held at TR North HS, invites the top youth wrestling clubs from around the State to its pre-season event. Wrestlers here see many of NJ's top 8th grade and under competitors.

Pascack Hills 1 easily captured the team title, followed by The Edge. But it was the match between The Edge and CJA that had the most thrills. Derek Shelcuskys pin at HWT had CJA fans jumping for joy, thinking they had captured the match by one point, but a check of the score revealed that an earlier match had gone to The Edge as a decision, giving them a 44-42 victory. CJA had to settle for third place honors.

Wrestling for CJA were: Gary Siriday (50), James Pagano (55), Charlie Frankel (60), Dan White (65), Steve Fallon (70), Tom Hogan (75), Billy Voutsinas (80), Craig Batista (85), Luke Lanno (90), Scott Winston (95), Kyle Wadiak (100), Justin DelPiano (107), Jon Falcone (115), Brett Epps (122), Nick Parisi (130), Victor Mocco (140), Anthony DeLeo (150) and Derek Shelcusky (HWT).

"Am I happy about rising to third place?" asked CJA Coach Gene Lezark. "Yes. Am I satisfied? No way. We have work to do."
Lezark said all his wrestlers worked hard, praising the team's collective heart. "But I saw some things we will definitely need to work on in The Loft from now on."
Lezark was referring to his second-floor wrestling club in North Brunswick.

Also participating in the tournament were teams from Buena, Pascack Hills 2 and Toms River.

12/9/01

Wall Pre-season Tourney awards medals to CJA students

Congratulations go out to five CJA wrestlers who returned from the Wall pre-season Half-day tournament wearing medals.

Dan White and Sam Emburgia captured Gold, while Kevin Wadiak and James Stewart earned Silver medals.

Mike Pysniak and Mike Bandiero each took home Bronze.


December 2, 2001

CJA Wrestlers continue winning ways

Another weekend tournament, another collection of medals for the wrestlers of Gene Lezarks CJA wrestling school.

This time the Toms River Shore Classic saw Gold medals go to Justin DelPiano, Anthony DeLeo, Dan White, Steve Fallon, Billy Voutsinas, Luke Lanno and Scott Winston.

Third place finishes went to Dallas Winston, Jon Falcone and James Pagano. Craig Batista won Bronze in two divisions.

November 25, 2001

Eight CJA Wrestlers take medals in weekend tourneys

For the fourth straight weekend, the wrestlers at CJA Wrestling Academy in North Brunswick reaped a medal harvest in two tournaments--one in NJ and one in Pennsylvania.

Locally, the perennially tough Voorhees (North Jersey) Turkey Day Tourney attracts some of the finest schoolboy wrestlers in the tri-state area.
Winning First Place trophies were Woodbridge's Chuck Sabin, Perth Amboy's Craig Batista and Victor Mocco of Bernardsville.
Earning Second Place honors were Perth Amboy's Brett Epps, and Charlie Frankel and Nick Parisi, both of Marlboro.
Sam Emburgia captured a third place medal.
Batista, a sixth grader at Shull School in Perth Amboy, also earned a third place trophy wrestling in the 7/8th grade category.

Further west in Nittany Lion territory at State College, PA, the Annual Thanksgiving Classic draws outstanding wrestlers from five states.
Two Jersey boys, Steve Fallon of Old Bridge and Danny White of Dayton, made it to the finals and each brought home Silver medals.
Gene Lezark, owner of CJA, said, "The kids are practicing and working hard to achieve their goals. There are no shortcuts to success."


November 20, 2001

CJA wrestlers take 52 medals at weekend tourneys

Gene Lezark's CJA wrestlers continued their winning ways this weekend by garnering fifty-two medals at two local tournaments.

The St. John Vianney (Holmdel) Fall Classic held on Saturday, which features top wrestlers from around the state, awarded twenty-two medals to CJA wrestlers in various weight classes and categories.

Taking Gold Medals were Jeff Zannetti, Gene Zannetti, Anthony Cavico, Tyler Solley, Andrew Gewain, Anthony Castro, Nick Parisi, Marcello Medini, Charlie Frankel, Dan White, Steve Fallon, Tom Hogan, and Evan Nathanson.

Silver medals went to Anthony De Leo, Corey Ritchings, James Pagano and Chuck Sabin.

Bronze medalists included Dallas Winston, Craig Batista, Billy Voutsinas, A.J. Blair, Scott Winston, Justin Del Piano, Brett Epps, Carmen Corona, Joe Bubenheimer, Kyle Pardun, Joe Parisi and Matt McManmon.

On Sunday, the Marlboro Fall Classic yielded fourteen more medalists. Winning Gold were Craig Batista, who earned gold in two separate categories, Dave Amrhein, Sam Campanella, Joe Bubenheimer, Marcello Medini, Anthony Castro and Nick Parisi.

Silver medalists were Tyler Solley, Charlie Frankel, Gary Siriday, Tom Hogan, Anthony DeLeo, Angel Soto, Tim Ackerman and Joe Parisi.

Winning Bronze medals were Jamie Guido, Andy Voutsinas, Sam Emburgia, Chuck Sabin, Dominic Forcella, Tom Milazzo and Brett Frimer.

Marcello Medini was awarded OW honors in both tournaments. Nick Parisi won OW at Marlboro.

Lezark's charges, all local students, won in the K-6 category, the 7th/8th grade category and in the High school divisions. The club is preparing for an 8th Grade and under team tournament to be held in Toms River on December 16.

November 12, 2001

CJA grapplers reap honors
at pre-season tourneys

Gene Lezark’s CJA Annihilators are winning medals--and turning heads-- at various pre-season wrestling tournaments in New Jersey.
At the Jackson Tournament last weekend, CJA registered thirteen medal winners with six champions, three second place finishers and four third place winners. Almost all wrestlers are Central Jersey/Middlesex County products.

CJA Gold medalists were:
Jeff Zannetti (JPS)--100
Andrew Gewain (HB)--108
Marcelo Medini (W)--130
Gene Zannetti (JPS)--145
Mike Valentino (SB)--160
Morgan Labello (BA)--HWT

Silver medalists were:
Travis Blasco (OB)--100
Joey Bubenheimer (PA)--115
Andy Voutsinas (RAR)--140

3rd Place winners were
Paul Strincoski (SB)--115
Joe Parisi (MRB)--152
Rusty Hun (FR)--130
Victor Mocco (BRND)--140

At the Hofstra Tournament the previous weekend, Lezark’s grapplers earned a total of five medals with Gold medal honors going to Andrew Gewain, Tyler Solley and Kyle Nasdeo. A Silver medal went to Mike Wojcik and a Bronze was won by Marcelo Medini.

Solley, from Edison, also garnered a Silver Medal the day before the Hofstra tourney at the Howell Graveyard Classic in Howell, losing a heartbreaker 9-7 in the final to Howell’s State Finisher Zack Cunliffe.

Lezark’s CJA Wrestling School is located in North Brunswick. Lezark, the sole instructor at the school, is a former East Brunswick wrestler with District, Regional and State wrestling titles to his credit.

CJA rocks the house at Stroudsburg!

Amidst some extraordinarily stiff competition, CJA wrestlers acquitted themselves with distinction at the Storudsburg Tournament last Sunday.

First place finishers were: Marcello Medini, Kyle Nasdeo and Gene Zannetti

Tyler Solley took a second place.

Paul Strincoski and Charlie Frankel earned Third place finishes.

Congratulations, Men!

CJA congratulates those wrestlers who won places in the Kids' States tournaments held at Union and Lakewood HS!

Danny White--JR 60--State Champion!
Chuck Gentles--B 65-- Second Place
Robert Meade--M 70-- 7/8 Place
Steve Fallon--JR 70-- Second Place
Kelley Lyon--INT 70--Second Place
Matt Pagan--INT 75--Third Place
Jonathan Hornung--INT 85--7/8 Place
Luke Lanno--JR 85--Third Place
Travis Blasco--INT 95-- Sixth Place
TJ Snook--M 110-- Third Place
Joe Bubenheimer--INT 112--Third Place
Kyle Pardun--INT 119--Third Place
Derek Shelcusky--INT 126--7/8 Place
Matt Clancy--INT 140--Sixth Place

John Bardacino--FR. INT 130--State Champion!
Stan Szmed--FR. INT 145--Fifth Place

You worked hard and earned your glory! Congratulations again!

CJA also extends congratulations to all those kids who tried their best, but did not make the top eight.
Your job now is to make your best better!

Because there will come a time when Winter asks, "What did you do all summer?"

CJA Kids' States Qualifiers 2001

CJA is proud to list the names of its younger students who qualified for the NJ Kids' States Tournament this year.

Bantam
Chuck Gentles--65--1st--Union

Midget
Tom Hogan--70--2nd--N. Burlington
Rob Meade--80--3rd--N. Burlington
TJ Snook--110--1st--N. Burlington
Charlie Frankel--55--2nd--Randolph
Ed Stivers--85--2nd--N. Hunterdon
Evan Nathanson--110--1st--N. Hunterdon

Junior
Dan White--60--1st--Toms River
Luke Lanno--85--1st--Toms River
Scott Winston--80--2nd--Highland
Kyle Wadiak--85--3rd--N. Burlington
Justin DelPiano--90--1st--N. Burlington
Anthony DelPiano--80-1st--Lodi
CJ Mooney--119--3rd--N. Burlington
Nick Gambino--80--3rd--N. Hunterdon
Mike Muha--80--2nd--Lodi

Intermediate
Brett Epps--105--3rd--Toms River
Joe Bubenheimer--1st--Toms River
Kelley Lyon--70--1st--Union
Matt Pagan--75--1st--Union
Jon Horning--85--2nd--Union
Corey Ritchings--100--1st--Union
Travis Blasco--95--1st--Toms River
Nick Parisi--119--3rd--Randolph
Phil Bujalski--95--3rd--N. Burlington
John Parke--2nd--112--N. Burlington
Kyle Pardun--2nd--119--N. Burlington

Best wishes for success in the Tournament!

CJA congratulates its five state finishers!

Five of Gene's men finished the 2001 wrestling season by earning places in the State Tournament. CJA extends its congratulations to these men for their hard work and achievements, and to their parents for their dedication and sacrifice.

103--Justin Smigelsky--Old Bridge--6th
103--Dan Hilt--Manalapan--7/8th

119--Mike Carro--Old Bridge--6th

125--Keith Ritchings--East Brunswick--7/8th

135--Kyle Nasdeo--South Brunswick--5th

CJA also extends its congratulations to those who wrestled their hearts out but failed to make the top eight.


Many of these young men will be back for another shot next year.

CJA will be there with them.

CJA congratulates its SEVEN Region Champs and FOUR States Placewinners!

Region 5 Champs
103- Justin Smigelsky, Old Bridge
125-Keith Ritchings, East Brunswick
135- Kyle Nasdeo, South Brunswick
140-Gene Zannetti, JPS
160-Anthony Cavico, Bishop Ahr
171-Rudy Medini, Woodbridge

Region 6 Champs
103-Dan Hilt, Manalapan

Region 5 Placewinners
2nd--103-Mike McGorvin, Edison
3rd--125-Vinnie Iodaci, Old Bridge
3rd--130-Kody Hamrah, Bishop Ahr

Region 6 Placewinner
2nd--112- Anthony Castro (St. John Vianney)

Congratulations to the following CJA students who won District Championships!

103
Justin Smigelsky, Old Bridge, 23-0
Andrew Gewain, Hillsborough, 24-1
Dan Hilt, Manalapan, 26-2
Mike McGorvin, Edison, 29-2
119
Mike Carro, Old Bridge, 21-7
Brett Bzura, Marlboro
125
Vinnie Iodaci, Old Bridge, 28-1
130
Rob Cook, Old Bridge, 25-4
135
Kyle Nasdeo, So. Brunswick, 28-1
140
Jad Duca, So. Brunswick, 23-3
Gene Zannetti, JPS, 25-2
160
Anthony Cavico, Bishop Ahr, 26-0
171
Rudy Medini, Woodbridge, 24-2
189
Morgan Lobello, Bishop Ahr, 19-10

Above: CJA students model their medals after the Mid-Jersey League 7/8 Grade Tournament held Feb. 25, 2001

L-R: Joe Bubenheimer (Gold/110), Brett Epps (Gold/105), Phil Bujalski (Gold/95), Corey Ritchings (Gold/100), John Parke (Silver-110), Jon Hornung (Bronze-85)

2/4/01
CJA wrestlers take titles at Greater Middlesex Conference Championships

Of the fourteen weight classes at the GMC championships, no fewer than eight featured CJA wrestlers. Six of those brought home titles to their respective schools.
At 103 lbs., Justin Smigelsky of Old Bridge dominated the field, taking the title with a 14-3 win over Perth Amboy's Mike Rodriguez.
Vinny Iodaci, also of Old Bridge, earned OW honors for the lower weights and captured the crown at 125, besting South Plainfield's Roberto Ramos.
Kyle Nasdeo (135) of South Brunswick, faced another region champ in Woodbridges Jason Bone and came out on top of a 15-2 score.
Gene Zannetti of J.P. Stevens battled nemesis Scott Doerr of South Plainfield at 140 lbs. in an exciting, grueling match and took the title by a 3-2 tally.
Bishop Ahr's Anthony Cavico pinned Spotswood's Jason Mar with five seconds remaining in the match to win top honors at 160 lbs.
Rudy Medini (171) of Woodbridge knocked off Perth Amboys top-seeded Jared Terrell with a big five-point move to win it all, 6-3.
Medini's brother Marcello wrestled gamely, but had the unenviable task of facing returning state champ Matt Anderson of South Plainfield at 119 lbs. where he earned second place honors.
The same situation faced Old Bridge's Rob Cook (130), who drew Kennedy's standout Ed Gutnick. Cook held his own but came up short to take second place.
CJA owner/teacher Gene Lezark said, "I was proud of each and every one of them. But I still saw some things we need to work on."

1/29/01

Five CJA wrestlers qualify for Kids' States

Five of Gene's wrestlers qualified--four by taking first place-- at the Toms River Kids States Qualifiers held last weekend.

Danny White (J-60), Luke Lanno (J-85), Travis Blasco (INT-95) and Joe Bubenheimer (INT-112) all blasted their way to first place finishes, thus securing first round byes at the State Tournament.
Brett Epps (INT-105) took a third with two first period pins sandwiched around a loss to the eventual champion.

Kyle Pardun (112) and Brett Epps (102) took Gold and Silver respectively at the Roselle Park Dad's Club Tournament in January.

Fall 2000

CJA takes fourth at Toms River--December 17, 2000

CJA took the fourth place trophy in a tough field at the Team Tournament at Toms River North HS held December 17.
Teams represented were Pascack Hills 1 and 2, Wrecking Crew, CJA, Toms River and the Tri-County composite team.

"We've got a lot of work to do," said CJA chief Gene Lezark. "We saw a lot of areas where improvement will be made in our wrestlers techniques."

Lezark added that the competition was stiff, but he expected as much. "We try to prepare our wrestlers to beat the better kids, so this was a learning experience for many. We'll do what we have to do."

Donn Ernst, Lezark's mentor, emphasized, "It's not about winning and losing at this level. It's about learning, and especially learning from your mistakes."

CJA Annihilators snare 24 medals in weekend tourney action!


Gene Lezark's CJA Annihilators racked up an impressive medal count in two weekend tournaments. Seventeen grapplers, competing in both the Junior and HS divisions captured a total of 24 medals in the action.

In the Junior division of St. John Vianney's Tournament, Travis Blasco (90) and Kyle Pardun (108) struck gold against top-notch competition, while Brett Epps (90) won two of three with pins in :46 and :34 to take Bronze. Craig Batista dropped a tough opening bout, but fought back hard and also earned third place bronze at 85.
In the HS division, 8th grader Joe Bubenheimer (108) also took Bronze, wrestling tough against high school juniors. Anthony Castro (112) and Marcello Medini (120) earned Silver, and Mike Carro continued his impressive pre-season run by taking Gold at 120.

In the upper weights at 145 CJA teammates Kyle Nasdeo and Jad Duca battled through an exciting double OT match for the Gold, with Nasdeo emerging victorious this time.

CJA was also well represented--and equally impressive--at Marlboro HS the next day in a field of 270 wrestlers.

At the Junior Level, Jonathan Hornung (80) marched unimpeded to a Gold medal. He was joined in the Gold Rush by an ever-improving Craig Batista (85) and his brother, the top seeded--and totally dominating--Joe Bubenheimer. Also top seeded, Brett Epps (100) needed just :38 to pin his opponent in the semis, but had to forfeit the Gold medal match due to severe back spasms. He settled for Silver--this time. Phil Bujalski (100) joined his teammate on the winner's stand by pinning his man in the consolation bout and nailing down the Bronze.

CJA's high schoolers joined in the medals chase. Andrew Gewain and Paul Strincoski (106) needed OT to determine the Gold and Silver medals with Gewain coming out on top. Vinnie Iodaci earned the Gold and Andy Voutsinas the Bronze at 128 to add to the CJA medal totals. Brian Ackerman (135) went to the gold medal match and came up just short to take Silver, and Jad Duca lost a close match in the Finals at 145 to take home Silver for the second day in a row. Kyle Pardun also took home his second medal of the weekend by capturing the Bronze at 108.

Both Gene and his mentor Donn Ernst were generally impressed with their students' performances, and cited some superior efforts using video tapes in practice the next day. Both men, however, continue to seek out and refine the details that they expect to move the wrestlers to the next level.

Medal winners from St. John Vianney and Marlboro Tournaments flanked by Gene and Donn Ernst