A late pin puts Pirates into final

Mitch Sparks had never wrestled with the meet on the line before, but in his first home match at Cinnaminson, he came through in the clutch last night.

With the score tied at 30-30, Sparks ended matters by scoring a 24-second pin in the evening's final bout at 215 pounds to lead second-seeded Cinnaminson to a 36-30 win over No. 3 Buena in a South Jersey Group 2 semifinal.

Cinnaminson (17-4) will meet host Point Pleasant in tomorrow's South Jersey Group 2 final.

"I knew what I had to do," Sparks said. "I didn't want to do anything stupid, but I was going for six" points.

Sparks made quick work of Buena's Mark Eighmey.

This was just Spark's second match for the Pirates. He was a Region 7 runner-up at 215 while competing for Shawnee last season.

He transferred to Cinnaminson in the beginning of January and had to sit out 30 days under NJSIAA transfer rules.

"I'm a foster child, and the state moved me here," Sparks said. "It's been fun being a foster child. People say there are disadvantages, but I have had so many good experiences."

Especially at Cinnaminson.

"I absolutely love it here," he said. "Everybody has been great to me."

Sparks' heroics did not surprise Cinnaminson coach Jerry Boland.

"I was an assistant coach at Shawnee his freshman year, and I know his attitude and toughness," Boland said.

Besides earning its second straight trip to a sectional final, Cinnaminson showed sportsmanship in the 140-pound bout, in which Buena's Fred Shea defeated Justin Pencook, 6-4, in overtime.

With 21 seconds left in regulation, Shea was called for an illegal slam that cut his lead to 4-3. Had Pencook not been able to continue, he would have won the bout.

Apparently wobbly, Pencook not only continued but earned an escape to send the bout into overtime. Shea won the bout on a takedown with five seconds left in the extra period.

"He was probably only about 75 percent ready to go, but it's not our style," Boland said about continuing to wrestle. "Was it the right thing to do? I don't know."

Trailing by 27-21, Buena tied the score, 27-27, on Mike Gamble's third period fall at 160. Buena then took a 30-27 lead when Sal Zeuner used a second period reversal to take a 2-0 decision at 171.

Cinnaminson then tied the score at 30-30 with Dan Reed's 3-1 win at 189. Trailing John Pierotti by 1-0, Reed scored a takedown with two seconds left in the second period and added a third-period escape. That set the stage for Sparks' clincher at 215.

Buena began the evening by defeating Burlington Township, 35-33, in a quarterfinal that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Chiefs clinched the match when Ryan Grusemeyer scored a 4-1 decision at 145 pounds, giving Buena a 35-9 lead with four bouts left.

Realizing he had another difficult match against a Cinnaminson team that had a first-round bye, Buena coach Doug Castellari forfeited the final four bouts.

SEMIFINAL

Cinnaminson 36, Buena 30

HWT: Justin Embler, C, pin, Dom Hinrichsen, 0:44. 103: Mark Rodriquez, B, won by forfeit. 112: Rich Kelly, B, pin Alex Verbaro, 1:19. 119: Jerry DeSanto, C, pin, Zach Bergohf, 5:08. 125: Jeff Jones, C, pin, Tommy Breder, 1:20. 130: Andrew Mogel, C, dec. Dan Renner, 8-1. 135: Chris Kaighn, C, dec. Bobby Cantoni, 5-1. 140: Fred Shea, B, dec. Justin Pencook, 6-4 OT. 145: Ryan Grusemeyer, B, pin, Joe Breder, 3:55. 152: Kyle Hess, C, dec. Josh Gamble, 6-3. 160: Mike Gamble, B, pin Terrance Roach, 5:01. 171: Sal Zeuner, B, dec. Mark Wojcik, 2-0. 189: Dan Reed, dec. John Pierotti, 3-1. 215: Mitch Sparks, C, pin Mark Eighmey, 0:24.

QUARTERFINAL

Buena 35, Burlington Township 33

215: Tony Franco, BT, pin Mark Eighmey, 1:25. HWT: Dom Hinrichsen, BU, pin Tom Varanyak, 1:56. 103: Mark Rodriquez, BU, tech (18-1) over Alex Radcliffe, 5:09. 112: Terrance Scotton, BT, dec. Rick Kelly, 12-5. 119: Tommy Breder, BU, pin Karl Fairchild, 4:36. 125: Zach Berghof, BU, pin Eriq Morris, 5:44. 130: Dan Renner, BU, dec. Todd Weaver, 7-6. 135: Bobby Cantoni, BU, dec. Dylan Quinn, 3-2. 140: Fred Shea, BU, dec. Joe Senni, 8-4. 145: Ryan Grusemeyer, BU, dec. Jared Holliday, 4-1. 152: Miles Little, BT, won by forfeit. 160: Craig Strassel, BT, won by forfeit. 171: A.J. Derita, BT, won by forfeit. 189: Tony Senni, BT, won by forfeit.