For a program that has accomplished everything possible over the past four years behind an incredibly talented and unquestionably important senior class, it was only fitting that one of those seniors would cap off a brilliant era with a dramatic state championship.

Green Wave senior Scott Festejo sent the fans home buzzing after he upended returning champion Mike Morales of Brick Memorial, 7-6, to win the 2010 NJSIAA 135-pound state title in the final championship bout Sunday at Boardwalk Hall. Festejo led 6-3 on a takedown with 1:30 left in the third period before Morales tied the score at six with a takedown with 35 seconds left. Morales cut him to neutral with half a minute remaining and Festejo was able to withstand a flurry of takedown attempts by the Mustangs senior to emerge with the ninth state championship in Long Branch history.

Scott Festejo

"I still can't believe it," Festejo said. "Three or four years ago I wasn't thinking about a state championship at all, but I"m here and I did it."

Festejo wears his emotions on his sleeve and that's a trait Green Wave head coach Dan George acknowledged could be a double-edged sword. But it's also what makes Festejo the wrestler he is and also provides great moments like him leaping over the boards and into his father Scott's arms after winning the championship. It was a special moment that marked the pinnacle of a tremendous journey that got kick-started last year.

During Long Branch's loss to Phillipsburg last season, Festejo was majored by John Horak and let his frustration out, costing the Green Wave a team point. Since then he has become a better wrestler and matured along the way to the point where his fiery demeanor on the mat is a huge advantage. He started the run by placing third at 125 pounds last season and the momentum carried through to his senior season and ended with a state title.

"He feeds off the excitement and sometimes that's a double-edged sword," George said. "But we didn't throw him out like the trash. We learned from it. He made mistakes and learned from them. He made more mistakes and learned from those, and the whole time he never gave up on himself and we never stopped correcting him because we knew the upside was a state championship."

"We saw the evolution of Scotty. He came in talented and full of energy and he turned into a complete wrestler."

Festejo took plenty away from his 7-6 loss to Morales in the Region VI final and thought he could capitalize on some things if they met again in the state final.

"At regions I could sense he was getting tired at the end and the problem with regions was that I gave up two early takedowns," Festejo said.

"After the loss in regions we broke down the tape and saw some mistakes," George said. "This time we were able to contain the high crotch of Morales, which was critical, and Mike is such a competitor that he tried to stay with Scotty's tempo and I thought that played into our hands."

Festejo had a phenomenal tournament that also included a 5-3 overtime win over South Plainfield senior Nick Heilmann, who was undefeated before Festejo topped him in the quarterfinals. He pinned Absegami's John Harvey in the semifinals to reach the championship bout.

Festejo wasn't alone at the top of the medal stand as teammate Nick Visicaro successfully defended his 160-pound title with a 5-3 victory over Eastern's Preston Keiffer. Visicaro joins the legendary Luke Skove as Long Branch's only multiple state champions. Skove won three straight from 1979-1981. With the bout tied at two in the second period, Visicaro scored on a slick takedown with 25 seconds left for a 4-2 lead that he would not relinquish.

Nick Visicaro

"I wanted to be in control the whole match because last year that didn't happen," said Visicaro, referring to last year's state final opposite Delran's Anthony Saulle in which he needed a five-point move off a merkle in the third period to win 7-6. "I'm really happy with this year."

For most of the season Visicaro did what was expected of him, so much so that there wasn't any drama in the majority of his bouts. He continued to dominate in the state tournament with his lethal shots and advanced to the final with a 13-4 major decision, a pin in 1:31 and a 7-1 decision in the semifinals. Against Keiffer, a nationally-ranked wrestler who is headed to Indiana University and had not lost since the Beast of the East tournament in December, Visicaro never lost control. In fact, throughout the entire tournament he made winning a state title look easy.

"Not to sound redundant, but I'm so proud of him," George said. "There's a lot of guys who win it as juniors and really don't prepare or work or look as good or got better their senior year. Nick did."

Visicaro will continue his wrestling career next season at Rutgers University where he hopes to one day become an NCAA champion.

"It's a great thing to be mentioned with Luke Skove and even Jude, even though he only won one time, he's an NCAA champion (Jude Skove won a state championship in 1980 at 129 pounds and was an NCAA champion in 1986 at Ohio State). That's something I strive to do."

Senior Staff Writer Bob Badders can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it