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Brick Memorial Upends No. 1 Jackson Memorial For Central Jersey Group IV Crown

Mustangs earn first sectional championship since 2001

The freshmen and sophomores came through when Brick Memorial needed them most.

Freshman Cliff Ruggiero had another big pin and sophomore Joe Ghione scored a major decision that clinched the match, as the Mustangs beat Jackson Memorial 35-29 to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship on Friday night at Jackson. It's Brick Memorial's 13th sectional crown and its first since 2009. Jackson Memorial came in as the No. 1 team in the state.

Brick Memorial advances to the Group semifinals on Sunday at Poland Spring Arena on the campus of Toms River High School North. The Mustangs will face Shore Conference foe Southern Regional, which won the South Jersey Group IV title on Friday night, at 10 a.m.

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Ruggiero, who was not even in the lineup the first time the teams met -- a 35-24 win by Jackson on Dec. 21 -- beat senior Randy Royle, a two-time district placewinner, scoring the fall at 1:45 of their 145-pound bout. That started a string of four straight by the Mustangs, including a first-period pin by Evan Berti and a major decision by Tyler Richardson at 170, giving Brick Memorial a 22-16 lead.

Jackson won the next two bouts, but junior Matt Moore pinned at 220 and  sophomore Ty Poling reversed the outcome of his bout from the first meeting, earning a 5-4 decision this time over Mike Lopez, making it 31-24 Brick Memorial.

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Jackson took the next bout by technical fall, closing the gap to 31-29, meaning whoever won the 113-pound bout would win the title, and Ghione left no doubts that he wanted it, with a 10-1 major decision over Austin Clarke.

Bout-by-bout results

120: Sean Stephenson (BM) d. Hunter Reese,  8-5
126: Brian Hamann (JM) tf Connor Maliff,  17-2
132: Brad Royle (JM) p. Alec Donovan, 4:21
138: Spencer Young (JM) tf. Griffin Carney,  19-3
145: Cliff Ruggiero (BM) p. Randy Royle,  1:46
152: Evan Berti (BM) p. Charles Cook,  1:32
160: Nick Costa (BM) d. Dylan McLaughlin,  8-3
170: Tyler Richardson (BM) md. Dylan Harrington,  10-1
182: Ken Bradley (JM) md. Jarred Eccles,  12-4
195: Dallas Winston (JM) md. Anthony Miller,  13-5
220: Matt Moore (BM) p. Corey Johnson,  1:52
Hwt: Ty Poling (BM) d. Mike Lopez,  5-4
106: Fred Terranova (JM) tf. Sean Millea,  16-1
113: Joe Ghione (BM) md. Austin Clarke,  10-1

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