Brick Memorial has not one, but two state wrestling champs

JEFF GRANIT staff Brick Memorial's Mike Morales wrestles Point Pleasant Boro's Jordan Beverly in the 130- pound championship match at the NJSIAA tournament on March 8 in Atlantic City. Morales won 5-4.

ATLANTIC CITY — Brick Memorial's Steve Santos and Mike Morales were still reflecting on the long road to their victories hours after they became the fifth and sixth wrestlers in school history to win state championships.

"It still hasn't hit me yet," Morales said.

He scored two takedowns early for a 5- 1 lead en route to a 5-4 decision over familiar foe Jordan Beverly of Point Pleasant Borough at 130 pounds. The outcome was never in jeopardy, with the poise he showed in a 40-2 season.

"It feels good winning this and even better winning it with a great friend," Morales said.

Santos was the first champion crowned from Brick Memorial on Sunday, before 11,300 fans at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

He scored an 8-4 decision over Ramon Santiago of Sayreville at 152 pounds to become the first state champion at the school since Nick Angen in 1996. It was the crowning glory to a 43-0 season — the first unbeaten one at the school — and a 149-14 career that far surpassed the previous school record of 126 victories by Marc Rosenfeld earlier in the decade.

Santos also will immortalized on the gymnasium wall banner of the many district champions, with his four titles as only the third wrestler to ever accomplish that feat and a Region VI title this season, one of the 47 won by Mustang wrestlers.

It also was only the second time Brick Memorial had two state champions in the same season since starting its program in 1981. The other came in 1994 with Angen at 125 pounds and Steve Bruschino at 189.

"It feels indescribable," said Santos, who will begin a college career at Columbia University in the fall. "It's just hard work."

Coach Dan O'Cone said afterward that Santos "is what our program is about" and will become the standard by which wrestlers coming after him can be measured. That includes his talented junior brother D.J., who had just missed being another of the four wrestlers from the township who advanced when he dropped a tough 1-0 decision in the Region VI wrestleback semifinals.

The other two from the township who competed in the state finals but fell short of placing were Brick Township's Kevin Johnson at 145 and Brick Memorial's Bill Miller, who won his first two bouts at 215 pounds on Friday before dropping the next two on Saturday, the latter one an 11-6 decision after giving up the last six points. Miller finished 33-9. Johnson dropped his opening bout on Friday, 3-1, to High Point's Ethan Orr to finish 27-9

It was the second straight trip to the finals for Santos, who dropped a one-point decision to Sean Byrnes of Jackson Memorial in the 145-pound bracket a year ago. Just as with his season and career, Santos won with his high level of intensity that O'Cone says sets him apart from other wrestlers and his aggressive style from the outset.

"I just wrestled my own style, setting up quick and moving forward," said Santos, who had advanced to the Sunday showdown with a technical fall over Cinnaminson's Justin Pencook in the semifinals. "I just kept pushing."

As for Morales, he made the most of his experience in the state finals, where he placed fourth last year against a familiar opponent with whom he works out in the off-season. Beverly's only losses in his 40- 2 record came in his last two meetings in the Region VI and state finals after he beat Morales in the District 23 championships. Morales apparently learned from that experience as he had a 6-5 lead when he got put on his back. He returned the favor in the region finals, building an 11-1 lead in the process for his 21st pin.

"Everything that could have gone wrong in the regions did go wrong," Beverly said before the state finals. "I lost my head, stopped wrestling and did things I never do."

O'Cone stressed to his wrestlers that at this late stage in the season, building an early lead is vital. Morales made certain of that."

I just made sure he didn't get over my leg," said Morales, who advanced with an impressive 14-10 decision over Washington Township's Anthony Curcio, a state runner-up last year.

It was the crowning glory for a team that won its second straight NJSIAA Group IV championship and high hopes for it to continue next season with a strong group of returnees led by Morales and D.J. Santos. And with a 1110-11 [have to check this]career record, Morales has a chance to pass Santos for career victories next season.