You could picture Ian McCabe being the kind of guy who helps old ladies cross the street and darts up trees to rescue cats.
“He’s a Boy Scout,” Monroe wrestling coach Joe Eurell said with a laugh. “He really is. … He is just a well-rounded kid. He’s so polite, respectful. He never wants to disappoint anybody, and I think that was one of his problems.”
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Problems? Yes, at least when it comes to wrestling. Of course you always show sportsmanship, but great wrestlers often have that pit bull mentality in them.
“He was almost too nice last year,” Eurell said. “And then this year, he got a little mean streak in him. That nice guy persona that he has all the time, he’s able to turn it off this year finally when he steps on the mat and it’s really helped him. … It’s almost like you have to kind of see red sometimes and that’s something that I don’t know if he had prior to this year.”
Credit working out with fiery teammate Nicholas Weikel to get him going. Last Saturday, McCabe (38-0) remained undefeated by capturing the Region 6 title at 152 pounds. The fourth-seeded McCabe pinned third-seeded Jerry Andaluz of Nottingham in 2:54 in the final. In the semifinal, McCabe pinned ninth-seeded Eren Ibas, who upset top-seeded Spencer Robinson of Point Pleasant Boro via a pin in 3:49 in the quarterfinal.
The Monroe junior had his own tough match in the quarterfinal against Northern Burlington’s fifth-seeded Ryan Feig. On Jan. 12, McCabe beat Feig 1-0. Friday, Feig took a 3-0 lead. Enter McCabe's new attitude.
“It kind of lit the fire under him,” Eurell said.
McCabe rallied for the 6-3 win en route to the title. Earlier this season, McCabe defeated North Hunterdon’s Michael Wilson 2-0 at 160. Wilson captured the Region 5 championship at 160.
Last season as a sophomore, McCabe went 25-12 and didn’t advance out of the region at 145. In the offseason, Eurell said he had 70-80 matches and got stronger.
“He has tremendous grip,” Eurell said. “He’s got like a vice grip, it’s tremendous. He’s very difficult to keep a hold of and he’s got very heavy hands. He can turn anyone, I truly believe that … He’s a tough kid His gas tank is something else.”
Then there’s working out with Weikel, Monroe’s 170-pounder.
“Weikel wrestles with an edge,” Eurell said. “He wrestles aggressive. He wrestles like he’s ready for a brawl. I guess when he steps on the mat, he doesn’t necessarily demand respect based on his physical attributes, but he takes all his opponents by surprise. In my opinion, he’s not the biggest 170-pounder this year, but he’s able to just come out of nowhere. Turn it on. He has really, really heavy hands. He can get his opponents to move and the mentality that he has rubbed off on McCabe, I think. They compete in the room. They go back and forth. It’s exciting to watch even in practice, watching those two compete against each other.”
Weikel (35-3) has three losses this year – all to Robbinsville’s Garrett Bilgrav (41-0). Each time, he got a little closer. Bilgrav pinned Weikel in 3:38 on Dec. 27 and won 11-0 on Jan. 12. In Saturday’s region semifinal, Bilgrav won 5-3. Eurell said that Weikel trailed 5-1, but cut it to 5-3 and nearly got back points.
“He’s improved each and every time that he saw him,” Eurell said. “And I think his confidence is going up, and I think he knows that he’s going to go down to Atlantic City, and he can wrestle with the best of them. He’s definitely ready and he’s looking forward to the opportunity.”
Earlier this season, Weikel won 6-5 over Manalapan’s Matt Benedetti, the Region 5 runner-up at 160, and won 10-4 over Piscataway’s Gabriel Rodrigues, the Region 5 runner-up at 170.
The Falcons had two other state qualifiers as Michael Bilardo (126) finished second and Corey Fernandez (138) took third.
The NJSIAA State Individual Championships take place at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall from Thursday to Sunday
No neighbors in Region 6
In the region, Monroe had no Tigers, Bombers or Bears to contend with. The Falcons were the lone GMC team in Region 6 with the others placed in either Region 4 or 5. The NJSIAA district and region realignment is based on power points to have more parity in each section.
The two-year cycles took away regional pairings. So instead of having scintillating rematches against Middlesex opponents, Monroe contended with a mix of teams from Burlington County, Mercer County and the Shore Conference.
“It was strange at first when we first heard it, but you know what, Region 6 – same thing as Region 5 – it’s going to change every two years,” Eurell said. “So you can’t really get too used to it. … I think everyone’s getting acclimated to the new regions and the new process that the state is doing with the realignments.”
Once the sections were announced in late August, Eurell said the coaching staff tried to add Region 6 teams. They picked up Northern Burlington and Robbinsville and went to the Neptune Classic and the Walter Woods Holiday Classic, tournaments that included Region 6 teams.
They may add additional Region 6 teams next season. But they also have a full GMC Red Division slate with additional Middlesex teams to help in seeding for the GMC Tournament.
“It makes it a little tricky to try and get all those matches in one season,” Eurell said. “We have to worry about Region 6 teams. We have to worry about GMC teams. It’s a little rough.”
Middlesex’s O’Connor guts out berth
Middlesex-Dunellen’s Troy O’Connor has been in some tight matches this year. Saturday, he needed to gut one out to clinch a berth to Atlantic City – and it was against a familiar nemesis.
Last season, Watchung Hills’ Nick Ciraulo nipped O’Connor 6-4 in the Region 4 quarterfinal at 132. Two weeks ago, Ciraulo won 10-7 in the District 15 final at 138.
Saturday in the Region 4 semifinal, O’Connor defeated Ciraulo 6-4 in sudden victory with a takedown off a scramble.
“He stepped up,” Middlesex-Dunellen coach Ryan Boyd said. “He knew this is his last year and he really wanted to make a stamp on the season. … So just beating him and punching his ticket, that was big for him and big for his confidence.”
In the final, the third-seeded O’Connor (34-5) took top-seeded Kyle Tino of Phillipsburg to overtime tied at 4-4. Tino, though, got a quick takedown and pin to win in 6:12. O’Connor’s five losses have included three overtime losses and two defeats by a combined four points.
“Troy has pretty much been wrestling good kids in every tournament we’ve been through and he’s right there,” Boyd said. “Troy’s been working his butt off to go to Atlantic City. He’s extremely happy about it and he should be pretty proud of himself.”
GMC qualifiers by school (27 total):
Carteret: Jacob Vega; Colonia: John Poznanski; East Brunswick: Youssef Gamel; Edison: Michael O`Brien; Middlesex/Dunnellen: Troy O`Connor; Monroe: Michael Bilardo, Corey Fernandez, Ian McCabe, Nicholas Weikel; New Brunswick: Keshon Davila; Old Bridge: Alec Meyers; Perth Amboy: James Rodriguez; Piscataway: Joseph Hatcher, Nicholas Lodato, Nick Recine, Gabriel Rodrigues; Sayreville: Benedict Arthur, Savon Kirksey; South Plainfield: Alex Amato, Jacob DelVecchio, Zach DelVecchio, Thomas Fierro, Brenden Hedden, David Loniewski, Luke Niemeyer, Joe Sacco, Anthony White
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