Howell's Keosseian Wins State Wrestling Title; Slendorn Takes Silver

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — It has been a memorable senior season for Howell wrestler Eric Keosseian. For his teammate, junior Kyle Slendorn, it has been another step in his progression and a building block for the future.

The two capped a season that saw the Howell wrestling team win its first Shore Conference championship in school history with a trip to the finals at the NJSIAA Championships in Atlantic City over the weekend, with Keosseian bringing home gold with a dramatic pin in the 220-pound final and Slendorn taking home silver after a tough battle for the 126-pound title.

And the duo got to watch as their coach, John Gagliano, was named the 2017 NJSIAA Wrestling Coach of the Year in recognition of the Rebels' achievements, which included four wrestlers winning Region 6 titles and a total of seven reaching Atlantic City. In addition to Keosseian, the 220-pounder, and Slendorn at 126 pounds, freshman Luke Rada (113 pounds), sophomore Darby Diedrich (120 pounds), junior Daniel Esposito (132), sophomore Christian Murphy (160), and freshman Shane Reitsma (170) made the trip.

Diedrich, who won a Region 6 championship, also reached the medal round, winning seventh place when he pinned Michael Kelly of St. Peter's Prep at the 2:59 mark. He also avenged a pair of losses to Hunter Graf of Hunterdon Central with 6-3 decision in the fourth round of wrestlebacks. Graf was leading 3-1 with 18 seconds left when he went for a final takedown and Diedrich surprised him, turning him on his back for the victory.

Rada, Murphy and Reitsma, the other Region 6 champion, all will have the chance to build on this season's success next year, as will Slendorn, who advanced to the finals after finishing out of medal contention in both 2015 and 2016.

Slendorn reached the final after upsetting second-seeded Shane Metzler of West Morris Central in the quarterfinals and then beat Anthony Duca of Paulsboro with a 5-2 decision in the semifinals Saturday night. But in the final, Slendorn couldn't gain any leverage against sophomore Nick Raimo of Hanover Park. Raimo, who finished second in 2016, won 10-4 to take the title.

Keosseian captured his title with a resounding pin of Don Bosco junior Peter Acciardi in the second period of their title bout. Keosseian came out aggressive, scoring a quick takedown, and then battled Acciardi for the rest of the first period for a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Keosseian chose bottom position, and quickly turned and put Acciardi on his back, pinning him 23 seconds into the period.

Gagliano, who was honored before the finals began, has accumulated a record of 411 wins and 75 losses in 20 years as the Rebels' coach, including a 30-1 season that included winning the NJSIAA Group V championship.

Check out photos from Sunday below:

Kyle Slendorn battles Nick Raimo in the 126-pound state final.

Photos by Karen Wall