GRAY BEES NEVER GET UNTRACKED AGAINST SETON HALL PREP

January 9, 2010

St. Benedict’s couldn’t quite get over the hump in its first home dual meet of the season.

The Gray Bees twice forged a tie against Seton Hall Prep, but could never take over the lead and eventually dropped a 43-25 decision to the Pirates on Saturday in Dalton Gym.

“We tried hard, but we couldn’t get anything going or string bouts together,” said St. Benedict’s coach Solomon Fleckman. “But Seton Hall performed well and just outwrestled us today.”

Fleckman’s team actually could have fared much better, but his team continually shot itself in the foot by giving up too many penalty points – mostly off restarts, which was mainly due the Gray Bees lack of conditioning.

“We got in our own way for the most part,” stressed Fleckman. “We made way too many mistakes and looked like we were out of shape – that was the perfect recipe for disaster.”

St. Benedict’s spotted Seton Hall a 12-0 lead by forfeiting the first two bouts, at 103 and 112 pounds. Zach Jacobs and Whitney Forte, however, got the Gray Bees, right back into the match with falls at 119 and 125 pounds, respectively. Jacobs battled off his back for a fall over Eamon Gaffney in 1:43, while Forte knocked off Mike Cali in 1:53.

The Gray Bees then lost the next two bouts before Chris Dowdy pulled his team to within one point at 19-18 with a quick fall at 140. Terrell Forbes looked poised to give Fleckman’s club its first lead, scoring the only two takedowns of his bout against Rob Barling.

But Forbes, a freshman, gave up two penalty points due to cautions off restarts and wound up losing by injury default, which cost the Gray Bees six very important points. Successive victories by Ochirbat Bayanjargal, a decision at 152 pounds, and Bobby Bah, a major at 160, forged a 25-25 tie, but Seton Hall had way too much for the Gray Bees to contend with in the upper weights.

Seton Hall closed out the match and St. Benedict’s by winning the final four bouts and turning the tie into an 18-point victory.

Notes: A broadcast of the match between St. Benedict’s and Seton Hall can be viewed on Verizon Fios1 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday or online at nj.com beginning on Monday.

Seton Hall Prep 43, St. Benedict’s 25

103: Brendan Calas, SH, won by forfeit.
112: Nick Polimeni, SH, won by forfeit.
119: Zach Jacobs, SB, pinned Eamon Gaffney, 1:43.
125: Whitney Forte, SB, pinned Mike Cali, 1:53.
130: Lou Mascola, SH, maj. dec. over Rob Ranalli, 13-4.
135: Rob Faugno, SH, dec. Matt Aaron, 10-8.
140: Chris Dowdy, SB, pinned Sam Furci, :23.
145: Rob Barling, SH, won by inj. default over Terrell Forbes.
152: Ochirbat Bayanjargal, SB, dec. Steve Oliver, 6-0.
160: Bobby Bah, SB, maj. dec. over Nick Mattia, 14-6.
171: Joe Lombardo, SH, pinned Greg Casimir 2:43.
189: Tyler Selby, SH, dec. Isaiah Cromwell, 7-4.
215: Frank Schaafsma, SH, dec. Riad Abu-Smail, 4-3.
HWT: Will Salovich, SH, pinned Agbon Edomwonyi, :20.

– By Ron Jandoli
– Photos by Christy Worsoe