Saturday,
December 31, 2011
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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North Bergen sophomore Anthony Giraldo won his second BCCA title in as many tries with a 6-0 win over Dean Piterski in the 120-pound final. |
SUFFERN – Moments after Luis Gonzalez became the first North Bergen sophomore to win his second straight BCCA Holiday Tournament title, he interrupted a reporter's question to turn the attention to the mat, where his teammate Anthony Giraldo was trying to pull off the same feat in the 120-pound final. The sophomores share the same goal of winning four straight BCCA championships and both will carry it into next year's tournament as Giraldo used a takedown one minute into the match to take the lead for good on the way to a 6-0 victory over Pascack Valley's Dean Piterski.
“Being the only Hudson County team here we are kind of like loners here, but it doesn't feel that way really because as teammates we are all really close and we are really rooting for each other,” said Giraldo, who was the top seed. “Me and Luis [Gonzalez] were like a duo, but when [195-pound champ] Eric McMullen came we got a third guy to join us in trying to win this tournament. That the goal, to get all three.”
Giraldo, a fourth-place finisher at the state tournament last season, held up his end of the bargain by getting the early takedown and then controlling Piterski from the top for the rest of the first period and most of the second. Giraldo chose to start the third period on the feet, got a takedown 20 seconds later and didn't take any unnecessary chances the rest of the way to pick up his second BCCA gold medal.
“These two guys [Giraldo and Gonzalez] push each other every day and they deserve all of the accolades that they get because they train at a high level, they are driven to succeed and they have set high goals for each other and this is just another step along the way for both of them,” said North Bergen head coach Jerry Maietta. “In Anthony's match, he is pretty strong in all three positions and he is a well-rounded wrestler. He is comfortable, I think, with wherever a match goes and he did a great job tonight.”
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