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The student news site of Colonia High School

The Declaration

The student news site of Colonia High School

The Declaration

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Colonia’s wrestling team goes the District tournament

Photo Credit: allen
Prior to the match, the varsity wrestling team gathers together after their warm-up before each wrestler takes the mat.

On February 22, 2020, the Colonia’s wrestling team goes to the District tournament. They traveled to Watchung Hills High School for the tournament. At first, Colonia starts off a little shaky however, the star wrestlers quickly find their rhythm and advance into the tournament. 

Season Review

The young team had their ups and downs this season but, they certainly have a bright future ahead. At the begging of the season, the team gained many first-time wrestlers. The team holds a record of 6-11. Coach Grasso states, “ The most rewarding thing is taking a new wrestler and watching them improve throughout a season. ” Coach Grasso is very proud of his wrestlers for taking on such a challenge and couldn’t be more satisfied with the season.  Colonia’s wrestling team goes the district tournament with confidence and excitment. 

District Tournament 2019

In 2019, John Poznanski wiped out his competition and placed first in the district. Senior of 2019, Justice Harris, made it to the semi-finals and finished in third place. Another junior won his matches up until the finals. Unfortunately, the junior fell short and placed second in the district. Each one of these wrestlers qualified for Regions. However, only John Poznanski moved forward into the New Jersey State Wrestling Tournament. As a junior, Poznanski finished second in the states but he’s determination is to take on the tournament differently this year.

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Districts 2020

The 2020 District 15 tournament had nine teams competing; Watchung Hills, Bound Brook, Rahway, Middlesex/ Dunellen, Colonia, Ridge, J.P. Stevens, Brearley/ Jonathan Dayton, and Newark Collegiate Academy. Colonia has not competed against any of these schools thus far in the season. 

Seniors

The star 182-pound wrestler John Poznanski once again dominates his opponents throughout the tournament. He takes home his fourth district championship. Poznanski is by far the most decorated wrestler in school history and has been a great role model for these teammates. Poznanski wrestled against Jahman McNeil from BOBR in the final and pinned him in the second period. He states he has “never felt better about his abilities and has more confidence in himself than ever before.” The future is bright for this senior and he is determined to take home the state title this March in Atlantic City. 

Senior, Kenny Shinski is a first time Colonia wrestler, however, he has some experience from his earlier years. Shinski has learned to adapt to the sport and has definitely impressed everyone with his hard work and dedication. He holds a current record of 21-9 and placed third in the district in the 152-pound bracket. He took a tough loss to Jack Murray from Watchung Hill but came back strong and beat Ronaldo Romero Ban from JPS in the third and fourth place match. 

 Mahmoud Saad wrestled in the 170-pound bracket and won his first match against Samad Jessamy from NCC. He has an overall record of 5-5 but with regret, he lost to John Braun from BJD. Senior, Jason Dizel, who is one of the team’s first-time wrestler, wrestled in the 220-pound bracket and lost to Jordan Campbell from MIDD. 

Juniors

Colonias’ 106-pound wrestler Joseph Caroscio has a record of 9-14 and sadly fell short against Tim Kolshorn from Ridge. The 145 pounder, Jibreel, Abduelal, has a record of 13-12 and had a bye his first match. A bye can be explained as the position of a participant in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing. Abduelal lost to Jake Fern from Ridge and was eliminated from the tournament. 

Sophomores

Sophomore, Micheal Torres began wrestling his freshman year and continued his training through the off-season and improved dramatically. He now wrestles on the varsity team at 160 pounds and has a record of 20-12. Torres dominated against Mike Meola from BOBR in the third and fourth place match and finished third in the tournament. Colonia’s 113-pound wrestler Dylan Harvatt, lost to Dylan Kolakowski from Watchung Hills in the first round. The first-time wrestler, Micheal Testa has a record of 6-16 had a bye and unfortunately lost to Syed Jeelani from JPS in the 126-pound weight class. The 138 wrestler, Vincent Diaz, beat Steven Brown from Watchung Hills but, fell short against Mark Venson from BOBR in the second round. Masino Rivituso is a 195 pounder who has an overall record of 17-10. He beat Carlos Zamora from BOBR and Reginald Howard from Rahway. Rivituso place second in his weight class and will be advancing into the Regional Tournament. 

Regions

Coach Grasso states, “This year’s district advancement is very pleasing, the guys who put in the most work are the ones who got the best outcome.” With this Micheal Torres, Kenny Shinski, Masino Rivituso, and John Poznanski all advance into the Regional Tournament this weekend. The tournament will take place Friday, February 28th and Saturday, February 29th. Colonia High School is very proud of these wrestlers’ hard work throughout the season and during the district tournament. We wish them luck this weekend and are very excited to see the overall outcome of this season.

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About the Contributors
Jacqueline (Jackie) Poznanski is a 17-year-old senior at Colonia High School. Poznanski has lived in Colonia all her life. She attended Lynn Crest Elementary School, graduated from Colonia Middle School, and now attends Colonia High School. She is grateful for all the memories and friendships Colonia has provided her throughout her childhood and high school years thus far. Poznanski enjoys many things, such as reading books, watching movies, dancing, and hanging out with friends and family. But most importantly she loves to dance, she has been dancing for about twelve years and continues to dance at the Center for Dance Education in Clark, NJ. The studio she attends has helped her grow a love for dance so much that she aspires to continue her dance education through a college. In addition, she pushes herself to be a straight-A student and continues to expand her academic ability every day. When she is not dancing or at school, she enjoys spending time with her brother and sister or going to the beach with friends and family. Poznanski is excited to continue her journey as a member of The Colonia Declaration Newspaper and hopes to inform her school and community on current events and news. 
Frankie Brock, Editor in Chief
Frankie Brock is a 17  year old Senior at Colonia High School. She is the Senior Class Presidents and loves getting involved in all Colonia High School programs. Brock is an active member in the multicultural club and student council. She attends many sporting events and school programs to support her friends and peers. Brock is part of the Colonia High School softball family, and is extremely dedicated to the sport. She prides herself in being a consistent straight A student, and enjoys learning all she can from school. She hopes to attend the University of Delaware for nursing. Brock loves to read and watch movies and analyze their importance. She loves spending time with her family and friends. Surprisingly, she has a twin sister, they are fraternal twins and consider each other best friends. She participates in many community service activities and loves to give back. Brock is excited to be a part of  the Declaration staff for the third consecutive year. Journalism is her favorite class and she is excited to develop even more skills this year. Brock is looking forward to the Journalism 3 course, and is excited to start working as a broadcast journalist. She will be taking on the roll of a editor, and can't wait to help her fellow classmates and be more involved in the editing of the Colonia High Declaration.

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Colonia’s wrestling team goes the District tournament