Sports
10 Schools Grapple in 1st Kinnelon Tournament
Nearly 200 wrestlers compete in Kinnelon Colt Classic.
Ten schools from four counties descended upon Saturday for the first Kinnelon Colt Classic wrestling tournament.
There were 199 wrestlers who participated in 260 bouts in the first wrestling tournament ever held at the high school.
“It's going really well,” Athletic Director Scott Rosenberg said during the event. “We hope to make this an annual event, and it's been competitive for all of the teams involved.”
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Wrestlers from Chatham, Morris Catholic, A.L Johnson, East Orange, Woodbridge, Wayne Valley, Bayonne, JFK and Hasbrouck Heights joined Kinnelon in both varsity and junior varsity tournaments, filling both gyms.
While many teams in the area have wrestling programs, the tournaments are often held at distant locations. On Saturday, Kinnelon athletes enjoyed a much shorter commute, and it proved to be an advantage.
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“I'm so used to waking up at 5 a.m. for tournaments, this was so convenient,” joked Luke Maroldi, whose first-place finish in the 140-pound division was one of two championship wins for Kinnelon. “Having the tournament here is good for our program and great recognition for the school.”
Maroldi and Cary Feliciano were winners for the Colts, but every JV wrestler was able to medal in the tournament. For head coach Brian McDonald, the experience was most important.
“Most teams do two to three tournaments in a season. We're gonna do seven,” said McDonald, who is in his third season at the helm. He explained that because wrestling ultimately ends with district and regional tournaments, he needs to get his team acclimated to the atmosphere.
“There are a multitude of benefits from tournaments. Besides having more matches in a day, we get a variety of competition," he said. "This is where they become battle-tested.” Despite the from his team this season, McDonald was excited about his squad Saturday. “New guys are improving weekly. Things are looking up for us,” he said.
Rosenberg maintained that the tournament would now become an annual event. McDonald, who put the event together, said he wouldn't change much, although he wanted it to “get bigger.” Even the tournament administrator, Joe Yuskaitis, had positive things to say about KHS.
“It was very good. These teams will want to come back,” he said.
