Brackets
Palm Coast, FL... Some rest and relaxation on the beaches in Florida was well earned by The College of New Jersey wrestling team on Tuesday as the Lions wrapped up the Augsburg College Brute/Adidas Sunshine Open with three champions and six more grapplers placing in the event.
The Lions, ranked sixth in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Brute/Adidas Division III poll, boasted six finalists in the tournament put on by the second-ranked team in the country held at Flagler Palm Coach High School.
TCNJ's first champion was junior John Barnett (Oak Ridge, NJ/Jefferson Twp.) at 141 pounds as he was a perfect 4-0 at 141 pounds. He won the title in dramatic fashion pulling out a 3-1 overtime win against Cody Hansen of Augsburg.
Freshman Brian Broderick (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) came up big at 174 pounds taking first place with an 8-5 decision over Dan Jonhenry in the finals. He also finished the tournament winning all four of his bouts.
The final champion for the Lions came at 184 pounds as Mike Denver (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional) had a big tournament with four wins. He won his weight class with a 6-0 triumph over Sheldon Francis.
Senior Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny) claimed second at 149 pounds winning four straight bouts to move into the final. In that final match, Branham fell to second-ranked Tony Valek of Augsburg by a narrow 5-4 margin.
Junior Justin Bonitatis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) also finished second as he reeled off four straight wins to start the tournament at 165 pounds before falling Orlando Ponce of Augsburg in the finals. Bonitatis went 4-1 in the tournament putting him at 23 wins for the season.
At heavyweight, junior Ed Broderick (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) moved into the finals with two wins and nearly pulled an upset in the championship bout. Broderick fell to fourth-ranked Andy Witzel of Augsburg 6-3.
Adding to the strong showing by the Lions was graduate student Dan DiColo (Budd Lake, NJ/Mount Olive) at 157 pounds and junior Adam Koziol (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) at 197 pounds as both wrestlers battled back to place third. DiColo went 5-1 in the tournament, while Koziol garnered three wins in four matches.
Senior Al Wonesh (Columbus, NJ/North Burlington) added a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds.
