Overall Record:  17-4  /  Shore Conference:  13-2  /  B-North:  5-1

 

2024 Record: 17-4
#9 in Shore Conference
CJG3 Sectional Finalists
2nd Place District 22
2nd Place B-North
15th Place Shore Conference Tournament
7th Place Mustang Classic
2nd Place Delaware Valley Tournament

ShoreConferenceWrestling.com Wrestler of the Year
(Sr) James Farina - 150
Record: 39-4
Region 6 Champion  /  District 22 Champion
Shore Conference Tournament Champion
Delaware Valley Tournament Champion  /  2nd Place Mustang Classic
4x-Region Medal Winner

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2024 Season

NJSIAA STATE TOURNAMENT
WB4: James Farina (150)
WB2: Michael Poniros (175)
WB1: Dom Volek (132)

Senior James Farina's career with the Spartans came to an end in Atlantic City at this year's State Tournament. Farina went 3-2 in AC, ultimately falling one win short of his first State Medal.

REGION 6 TOURNAMENT
Ocean Township (1 Champ / 3 Medal Winners)
1st: James Farina (150)   -  1st Title for Farina, 4th Medal; 25th Region Champion for Spartans
3rd: Dom Volek (132)  /  Michael Poniros (175)
5th: Justin Penta (106)  /  Boomer Volek (144)  /  Daniel Farina (215)
WB1: Steven Perez (126)
PQ: Josh Calixter (157)

James Farina became the 25th Region Champion in program history for the Spartans. It is the 4th Region medal for Farina, and along with Michael Poniros and Dom Volek, will be making the trip to Atlantic City. It will be the 8th time in 9 years Ocean will be sending multiple qualifiers to the State Tournament, and 14th year in a row in which they'll have at least one participant.
 

DISTRICT 22 TOURNAMENT
Ocean Township  (2nd Place  /  4 Champs /  8 Medal Winners)
1st: Steven Perez (126)  /  Dom Volek (132)  /  James Farina  (150)  /  Michael Poniros (175)
2nd: Justin Penta (106)  /  Boomer Volek (144)  /  Daniel Farina (215)
3rd: Josh Calixte (157)

The Spartans had a streak of 18 seasons with a District Champion snapped last season, but got back on the board with 4 champions this season, matching their highest amount since they had 6 champions in 2012. Their 8 medal winners is their most since they had 9 in 2020, and their 4 champions gives them 118 all-time, 9th best in the Shore Conference.
 

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 3 SECTIONALS
QF: Ocean Twp  51  -  Somerville  27  (BOX SCORE)
SF: Ocean Twp  48  -  Robbinsville  28  (BOX SCORE)
F: Hopewell Valley  33  -  Ocean Twp  32  (BOX SCORE)
 

2/2: NON-CONFERENCE
#9 Ocean Twp  56  -  Demarest  12  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: Penta, D Volek, James Farina, Calixte, Petite, Hill, & D Farina win by pin; Poniros & Perez major
 

1/31: B-NORTH
#9 Ocean Twp  63  -  Matawan  18  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: D Volek, Calixte, Hill, D Farina, Penta, Apicelli, J Farina, & Perez win by fall
Matawan: L Liss (23-3); Palumbo (22-5); & Targali (21-8)
 

1/27: NON-CONFERENCE
Phillipsburg  66  -  #10 Ocean Township  18  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: Poniros, D Volek, & Calixte pin for Spartans

1/25: NON-DIVISION
#5 Brick Memorial  29  -  #10 Ocean Twp  27  (BOX SCORE)
Brick Mem: Bonus points from Ludington, Szuba, Martin, & DiMatteo; 175 - #5 Tallmadge d. #6 Poniros, 4-1
Ocean Twp: Won 8 bouts; Farina (25-1); B Volek (23-4); D Volek (20-7); Perez (15-5)

1/24: B-NORTH
#10 Ocean Twp  49  -  Red Bank  17  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: Ja Farina (24-1); B Volek (22-4); D Volek (19-7); D Farina (17-5); Penta (14-2)
Red Bank: Ruland (19-2); Sena (19-3); Palumbo (18-4); Eckerstrom (15-2)
 

OCEAN TOWNSHIP QUAD
#10 Ocean Twp  66  -  TR South  18  (BOX SCORE)
#10 Ocean Twp  72  -  Neptune  9  (BOX SCORE)
#10 Ocean Twp  61  -  Barnegat  13  (BOX SCORE)
 

1/17: B-NORTH
#10 Ocean Township  45  -  Long Branch  24  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: James Farina (20-1); B Volek (18-4); D Volek (16-7); D Farina (14-5); Penta (13-2)
Long Branch: (175) #4 Kajaia d. #6 Poniros, 7-4; Cunalata (14-4); Ramirez (13-5); Taylor (11-6)
 

1/13: OCEAN TOWNSHIP QUAD
Ocean Twp  51  -  Depaul Catholic  27  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp  63  -  Freehold Twp  18  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp  44  -  #9 Jackson Memorial  31  (BOX SCORE)
 

1/12: NON-DIVISION
Ocean Twp  42  -  Raritan  33  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: (132) #8 D Volek d. #9 Davis, 3-2; B Volek, James Farina; Poniros; D Farina; Apicelli, & Justin Farina pin for Spartans
Raritan: Zach Reilley - 100th career win; Delaurier, Acevedo, Sheldrick, & Gazerwitz win by fall
 

1/10: NON-DIVISION
Ocean Twp  47  -  Manalapan  21  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: Poniors majors in season debut; J Farina (15-1); B Volek (13-4); Penta (9-1); D Volek (12-6)
Manalapan: Kain (11-0); Andrew Mucciolo (13-2); Kilaras (11-3)
 

1/6: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Ocean Twp - 15th Place
4 Medal Winners
1st: James Farina (150)
5th: Boomer Volek (138)
6th: Dominic Volek (132) / Josh Calixte (165)

Ocean Township: After a 2nd-place finish at 150 last season, James Farina captured the 150 title this season, as one of four medal winners for the Spartans.
 

1/3: B-NORTH
Ocean Twp  46  -  Manasquan  24  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean: Penta, Perez, D Farina, & Andre pin; B Volek & Calixte win by tech
Manasquan: Princiotta, Lee, & Mammeri win by fall
 

12/27: MUSTANG CLASSIC at Brick Memorial
Ocean Township - 7th Place
2nd: Boomer Volek (144) / James Farina (150)
4th: Daniel Farina (190)
5th: Jake Volek (132) / Dom Volek (138)
 

12/22: NON-DIVISION
Ocean Twp  39  -  Jackson Liberty  30  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: J Volek, B Volek, J Farina, & Penta win by pin
Jackson Liberty: Ayyash, Niewiadomy, Huchko, Urso, & Pazinko win by fall
 

12/20: B-NORTH
Colts Neck  39  -  Ocean Twp  34   (BOX SCORE)
Colts Neck: Michaels pin at 106 clinches with 1 bout left; Barone, Borao, Russ, Natale, Shakhnavazov also pin
Ocean Twp:  D Volek, B Volek, James Farina, & D Farina win by pin 
 

12/16: WENDY PANDY-LEH INVITATIONAL at Delaware Valley
Ocean Township - 2nd Place
1st: Justin Penta (106) / James Farina (157)
2nd: Mike Apicelli (106) / Justin Farina (113) / Dominic Volek (138) / Boomer Volek (144)
3rd: Jake Volek (132)
4th: Steven Perez (126) / Josh Calixte (165) / Daniel Farina (190)
5th: Ab Andre (Hwt)
 

12/14: NON-DIVISION
Ocean Twp  72  -  Shore  12  (BOX SCORE)
Ocean Twp: Penta, Perez, D Volek, Beale, J Farina, D Farina win by fall
Shore: Stetter & White win by pin

 

 

 

 

 

2024 Ocean Township Wrestling

Head Coach: Cippy Apicelli (13th Season / 181-88)

2024 SCHEDULE

Where They Open: 12/14 vs Shore Regional
Opening Tournament: 12/16 - Delaware Valley Tournament

 

With just a pair of starters lost to graduation, the Spartans bring back a good chunk of experience and talent to go along with another very promising freshmen class.

Down low, the Spartans look to have some pretty good depth, giving them plenty of head coach Cippy Apicelli a lot of lineup flexibility. Chaunci Jones, a senior, and sophomores Justin Penta and Steven Perez are returning starters. Both Perez and Penta placed 4th at Districts last season. Perez was a 24-bout winner, while Penta won 19 matches while being an undersized 106-pounder. He's grown into the weight class and could be primed to have a very big year with the added pounds. Those three provide a nice base for the team to break in some of the members of this freshmen class into the lineup. Among them looking to make an impact are Michael Apicelli, Justin Farina, Chris Tenas, and Jake Volek, an Intermediate School State qualifier last season. 

In the middle, 3-time State qualifier James Farina returns. Farina, who enters the season with 71 career wins, led Ocean with 34 victories in 2023, and was one win away from a spot on the podium in Atlantic City. He's joined by fellow returning starters Malcolm Beale and Boomer Volek, both juniors. Volek was 2nd on the team in wins last year with 31, and was one win away from joining Farina in Atlantic City, finishing 5th at the Region 6 Tournament. Boomer's brother Dominic, who was a runner-up at last year's Intermediate State Tournament, is another freshman looking to make a big impact in the lineup for the Spartans this year.

Up top, it's the last year of Ocean's run with at least one of the Poniros brothers in the lineup. A run that started all the way back in 2012! Senior Michael Poniros had a solid bounce back year, after having his sophomore season cut short due to injury, by winning 30 matches and finishing 2nd at Districts. Also back up top for the Spartans is sophomore Josh Calixte, who is coming a nice rookie season that saw him win 22 bouts. Juniors Danny Farina and Abi Andre gained valuable experience last year, and if they can step up in 2024, it will be a big boost to an upperweight group to compliment what looks to be a very sound group of middle and lower weights.

The potential is here for the Spartans to get back to being a potential Top 10 team in the Shore. They have their proven veterans, and will be looking for the group of sophomores that showed a lot of promise last season to take the next step forward, while also getting contributions from a freshmen class with a lot of potential. If it all happens, they should be contending for the B-North title, and a nice run as a team, and individually, come February.

Possible Lineup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

550 West Park Avenue
Oakhurst, NJ 07755
(732) 531-5650
(Monmouth County)
~ SCHOOL WEBSITE ~

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Head Coach
Cippy Apicelli
(13th Season in 2024)

Assistants
Ben Duronio
Dave Illaria

Volunteers
Sean Flynn

Section
CJ Group 3

Division
B-North

District
22

Region
6

 

 

8 - Sectional Titles
(Last: CJG3 - 2020)

18 - District Team Titles
(Last: D24 - 2020)

14 - Division Titles
(Last: A-Central - 2021)

3 - State Champions
(Last: Jake Benner - 2017)

35 - State Medalists
(Last: Shane Cartagena Walsh - 2022)

25 - Region Champions
(Last: James Farina - 2024)

118 - District Champions
(Last: Steven Perez, DomVolek, James Farina, & Michael Poniros - 2024)

3 - SCT Champions
(Last: James Farina - 2024)

12 - SCT Medalists
(Last: 4 in 2024)

Career Wins Record - 146
Jake Benner (2015-2018)

Season Wins Record - 42
Jake Benner (2017)