Five Shore Conference Wrestlers Earn State Titles in Atlantic City By Jim Rosa

Five Shore Conference Wrestlers Earn State Titles in Atlantic City

By Jim Rosa

ATLANTIC CITY – After nearly three months of hard work and preparation, two boys and three girls from the Shore Conference finished the wrestling season at the top of the podium.

In the 160-pound boys state final, Robert Kanniard of Wall captured his first state title with a 9-4 decision over Connor O’Neill of DePaul. It was an impressive tournament for Kanniard, who finished the season a perfect 46-0. In addition, Kanniard ends his career as the Shore Conference all-time wins leader with 165 career victories. He is also just the third wrestler in Wall history to end his high school career as a three-time state place winner.

“It felt great to win this title,” Kanniard said. “It was a dream of mine ever since sixth grade to win a state title so I was happy to achieve my dream.

“I was thinking to myself before the match that there is no way that I am going to lose. It was my last high school match and I was not going to let losing be an option,” Kanniard said about how he prepared for his final high school match after reaching the state final the year before.

“It feels really good. I am not the first to break the record and I will not be the last,” he said of his undefeated season as well as breaking the Shore Conference wins record. “It’s my job to go out there and win and I have just been doing my job.”

In addition, he credits the fans that have stuck by his side throughout his career. “Winning a state title is as exciting as it gets, but winning with the people that you love makes it way more enjoyable. My town loves me and I love my town. I have a lot of pride in my town so I was happy to win it for them,” Kanniard said.

Another local wrestler who captured a state title was Saint John Vianney sophomore Dean Peterson. In the 113-pound state final, Peterson edged Emerson’s Nick Babin, 3-2, to become SJV’s first state champ. After finishing as the state’s runner-up in 2018, Peterson was a heavy favorite coming into the tournament. Now a state champ and a two-time state medalist, Peterson has already accumulated 71 career victories including a perfect 35-0 finish to this season. There is no doubt that Peterson can become a multi-time state champ next season as he most likely will close in on 100 career wins. With six state medalists returning from this year’s 113- pound bracket, it will be interesting to see which weight class they all wrestle in as Peterson looks for his second title.

“I have dreamt of winning a state title since I was four years old and I was honored to be the first to do it for my school and all the alumni that came before me. I wanted to do this for my coaches and my teammates as well as all the fans that have cheered for me over the years in New Jersey,” Peterson said. He also explained how his mind frame was different heading back to AC in 2019. “It was a completely different mindset and focus than last year,” Peterson said. “Everything was on a completely different level. I had something to prove and I considered it unfinished business.”

With the emergence of girls wrestling, the 2019 inaugural state tournament was introduced as three Shore Conference wrestlers captured state titles in front of an energized crowd. In total there were 14 Shore Conference girls to take the mats down in Atlantic City.

One of the girls to capture a state title was Manasquan’s Bella Serrano. It was a surreal moment for the Manasquan wrestling program as Serrano was their first overall state champion. No boy or girl has ever gotten to the top of the podium for the Warriors until Serrano propelled her way to a 6-4 sudden victory decision in the 111-pound title.

Serrano is one of the many talented girl wrestlers to have previous wrestling experience. She has been a four- year starter with the Manasquan wrestling program, and has been involved with the sport since fifth grade. Up until this season, Serrano had mostly wrested male competition. With the emergence of the girls wrestling, complete with a state tournament, Serrano was able to achieve her dream of becoming a state champ. Serrano is one of the girls who really benefited from having wrestling experience being a part of the Manasquan wrestling program.

Raritan’s Cristina Gavasheli and Manalapan’s Jesse Johnson were also crowned champions.

For Johnson, it was her experience as a USA wrestling All-American that helped her reach the goal of becoming a state champion. It didn’t take long for Johnson to accomplish her goal as she needed just one minute and 39 seconds to pin Monroe’s Veronica Whitacre for the NJSIAA 136-pound title. The competition in the girl’s tournament proved that anything can happen at any time. With that said, it was not an easy road for Johnson, who was pinned in Regions and had to wrestle back for third in order to qualify for the tournament. As they say though, anything can happen in Atlantic City, and Johnson made sure that once she qualified that she did not lose from there. Johnson is a sophomore and will have two more years to try and repeat as a state champion.

Gavasheli’s background consisted mostly of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and when it was announced that girls wrestling had become sanctioned in New Jersey, she decided to give wrestling a try. After several matches, Gavasheli picked up on the sport quickly and gained the confidence that she needed to win a state title. Like Johnson, Gavasheli also won her championship match by fall as she needed just two minutes and 31 seconds to pin Notre Dame’s Angelina Romero. Gavasheli was the youngest state champion from the Shore Conference, and as the freshman will have three more years to wrestle for Raritan.