Rocket wrestlers benefiting from a beefed-up schedule

The Raritan Rockets took on a challenging schedule for the wrestling season. Their slate of matches has taken them on a tour of New Jersey, and they are more than battle-tested going into the postseason tournaments.

“We’ve had some pretty competitive matches, and we’ve been all over the place,” head coach Rob Nucci said. “We embraced the grind of traveling and wrestling.”

Raritan has wrestled everyone from Long Branch High School to Morris Knolls High School. Such a wide range of competition is exactly what Nucci wanted his team to face, with the ultimate goal being a strong showing in the conference and state tournaments.

And Raritan quickly came together as a team, Nucci said, giving him confidence that the Rockets will prove to be a tough opponent in the team tournaments.

“Our wrestlers understand the team concept. We are wrestling pretty well and beating some tough teams. Hopefully, it will pay off when we get to the state team tournament,” said Nucci, who is in his 11th season as Raritan’s head coach.

In addition to beating Shore Conference rivals Long Branch, Rumson-Fair Haven, St. John Vianney and Shore Regional, the Rockets won two of three matches at the Henry Boresch Duals, an event held at Newton High School that Raritan won last year. Raritan beat Waldwick, 52-18, in the opening match and got past Morris Knolls, 43-26, before losing in the final to South Plainfield, 47-18.

Raritan stumbled after beating St. John Vianney on Jan. 11, losing three days later to both Brick Township and Brick Memorial. But Raritan grapplers continue to register personal victories. Freshman Dylan Seidenberg (14-4 at 106), senior Matt Lindo (14-3 at 113), junior Anthony Scarcella (11- 4 at 120), senior Nick Liguori (10-2 at 126), junior Vin Masi (9-3 at 126), junior Jason Bohal (13-3 at 132), sophomore Kyle Lynch (11-6 at 160) and seniors Vic Ianello (9-7 at 195) and Nick Rice (13-3) are leading the team in wins.

“We knew we were going to be good,” Nucci said. Raritan, now 11-4, also lost to St. Augustine last month.

“The team is balanced. Besides Nick Liguori, I don’t know if we have a superstar. We have guys that know they are stars, and they get wins for us. Everyone knows their role, and they help us be successful. They are wrestling as a team, and they get the team concept maybe even more than the individual concept,” the head coach added.

This season is the continuation of what has become a program consistently filled with talent. After losing a strong senior class to graduation, the Rockets have shown versatility by starting five seniors and three freshmen this season.

“We have a great program. We don’t have to rebuild, just constantly reload,” Nucci said.

So far, Raritan seems to have benefited from a tough schedule that sent the Rockets into tough matches early in the season. Nucci sees the team getting better as it nears the final stretch of the season, and the Rockets are betting on their depth and experience to taken them deep into the state tournament.

After competing in what Nucci called the “brutal” North Jersey II Group II section last season, Raritan expects greater things this year.

“Our goal is to win a state sectional championship. From my experience, this team has the best potential to win a sectional title and, if we get there, a group championship as well,” Nucci said. “The way things are going, the team that comes out of our Central Jersey Group II section will be the favorite for a state championship.”