Our wrestling season started with a new Novice Wrestling Clinic from October 4th through November 15th, 2013. The clinic was a success with many young wrestlers registering and learning about the sport. Upon completion of the clinic many of the wrestlers joined the regular HYAA wrestling team to compete in the regular season.
During the regular season we competed in two leagues, our regular Jersey Shore Junior Wrestling League (JSJWL) and our new entry into the Mid-Jersey Wrestling League (MJWL).
In the more competitive JSJWL league’s “B-1” Division, the boys competed against a tough Ocean team and lost a close match against Rumson. For the season we finished with a 7-5 record after starting the year 2 -4 due to some tough early season matches. An impressive week of beating Colts Neck, Marlboro, BYAA II and Red Bank enabled us to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons where we finished fourth.
In our end of season JSJWL “B” Division Individual Tournament Holmdel finished in 5th place out of 14 teams, our highest finish ever! Holmdel sent three wrestlers to the finals with Zach Bair capping a perfect 17-0 season with a tournament title. Scott Dupont and Dean Gallo finished second and John Dietrich finished third in their respective weight classes. Holmdel also had three fourth places finishes as 11 out of 12 wrestlers finished in the top seven in their respective weight classes.
Our new entry into the MJWL league ran concurrently with the JSJWL season so our wrestlers had plenty of opportunity to compete. The boys wrestled in both the “A” and “B” divisions of the MJWL. In the end of the season “B” Tournament, 12 out of 16 wrestlers earned medals, while in the “A” division Tournament Tom Ammirati won the 90 pound weight class.
During the regular season the team practiced every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:45pm to 7:15pm November 15th through February 27th. With many inexperienced wrestlers, the coaching staff stressed wrestling fundamentals and athletic training early in the season. This focus paid dividends during the regular season in both the JSJWL and MJWL leagues.
Holmdel will conduct a Spring Wrestling Clinic beginning April 2nd and ending in early June, 2014. Practice will be from 5:30pm to 7:00pm every Wednesday and Friday with all boys 7 thru 17 welcomed. We will enter a few tournaments during the clinic as a team and also have some duel matches in our wrestling room. The clinic is designed to stress basic wrestling technique as well as strength and conditioning training so we can continue the progress our team has made.

Front Row (left to right) Jack Cleary , Demetri Lazarou , Brian Frothingham , AJ Fernandez , Michael Todisco, Franky Boardwick, Jett Londell, Thomas Cleary, AJ Todisco , Jason Spalin , Luke Podesta, Kevin Spalin, Alex Reyes Middle Row(left to right) Matteo Pinnero, Jake Leroux, Thomas Ilvento, Jack Podesta, Nick Ammirati, John Spalin, Jaden Gallo, Thomas Ammirati, Luke Dupont, Tyler Lambert, Trey Tulenko, James Vanderham , Jason Tiller, Zack Rabkin Back Row (left to right) Asst. Coach Orlando Reyes, Asst. Coach Andrew Pinnero, Asst. Coach Scott Dupont, Zach Bair, Scott Dupont, Dean Gallo, Matt Lionette, Tiago Braga, John Dietrich, Head Coach James Ilvento