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POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Winning its first sectional championship in school history in 2016, the Point Pleasant Beach wrestling team began the 2018-19 campaign looking for its fourth consecutive championship. This accomplishment alone is the type that makes any program legendary. The Garnet Gulls are now pushing to make history with their fourth consecutive title, absorbing the loss of 11 wrestlers from last year’s roster which included two second-place district 23 finishers and a combined 173 individual wins. It is truly a monumental task to overcome such odds.
“We were quite a bit nervous coming into the year after losing so many seniors last year. That was one of the largest classes we’ve had, losing 11-13 wrestlers. This year, most of our team is not just young, but many of my guys are first- year wrestlers,” said coach Jeff Bower, who is in his ninth season.
Beginning the season with a record of 17-3 overall, a Shore Conference record of 9-2 and a divisional record of 5-1 in B Central, Point Beach is well on its way to achieving that four-peat. The three blemishes on their record this year have come at the hands of Hopewell Valley on Dec. 29 by a score of 30-46, a tough loss to divisional nemesis Shore Regional, 27-40, on Jan. 3, and a loss to Point Pleasant Boro, 26-41, on Jan. 18.
Historically, the winner of the Point Beach/Shore Regional dual meet goes on to claim the B Central divisional title. “That’s usually the way it goes,” said Bower. “But we look forward to avenging that loss before the year is over.”
When they faced off in the last match of the 2017-18 season, Point Beach emerged victorious over Shore for the Group I title. Their 2016 and 2017 titles were won over Manville. Surely two teams like Point Beach and Shore, who know one another extremely well as they’re both division and group rivals, the duals between the two bring out the fire in both teams.
“This year’s team has 46 kids of between 360-370 total kids at our school. We’re a small school and roughly a quarter of all the boys here wrestle,” said Bower.
Sophomore Kip Lovgren (120 pounds) took third place in last year’s districts. “He started slow this year against a very tough schedule,” said Bower. “Since that point, he’s run off something like 10 to 12 straight victories. He’s ready.”.jpg)
Sophomore Riley Simon (126 pounds), who finished second in the district last year, has a current record of 20-3. Junior Jesse Bowers (132 pounds) is a second-place district finisher from a year ago, and junior Jared Kerr is a utility guy who works in multiple weight classes, including 132. Sophomore Macky Liotta (138 pounds) is holding his own with 12-plus wins so far, and junior George Kaiafas (160 pounds) has 16-plus wins already. At 170 pounds, junior Jason Sherlock is a returning second-place district finalist from last year, and is currently undefeated this season with more than 20 wins.
Rounding out the roster at 195 pounds is junior Liam Buday, third-place district finisher from a year ago, and a 20-win wrestler this season. Junior Noah Ramos is a 195-pound utility person assisting with multiple weight classes. At 220 pounds are senior Connor Smith, a first-year wrestler with 13 wins so far, and sophomore Josh Ramos.
Highly anticipated matches for the balance of the year include Toms River East on Jan. 22, the Shore Conference Tournament at Red Bank Regional, beginning on Jan. 25, hosting Allentown for Point Beach’s Senior Night on Feb. 1, and the team state meet in the following week.
Point Beach’s march to their fourth consecutive Group I state championship in what was initially thought to be a rebuilding year speaks to the commitment of this young team, the experience of the coach, and the overall dedication to uphold the Point Beach tradition.
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