Long Branch vs Ocean Wrestling Gets a New Wrinkle

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

The second girls wrestling match between Long Branch and Ocean had Nicolly Oliveria (bottom) of Ocean getting a pin on Emely Rodriguez of Long Branch at 114 pounds.

Two of the most decorated wrestling programs in Monmouth County and longtime rivals just added a new exciting wrinkle to their competitions. January 10, 2026 for the very first time, the two programs had female wrestlers facing each other.

Ocean Township leads Monmouth County with seven NJSIAA Sectional titles while the Green Wave of Long Branch has six. They have been longtime foes with matches bringing in large crowds. Both schools have produced record numbers of district, sectional and state champions. But this season, with the added excitement of girls competing brings ushers in a new era for the programs.

The first match for the girls featured Danielle Silva De Jesus, a junior from Long Branch. Her Spartan opponent at 107 pounds was Marisza Leal of Ocean Township. “We are really proud of Danielle, she is a Shore Conference Tournament finalist, and two-time NJSIAA regional semifinalist. We are hoping that this season she will make it to the finals,” said William “Billy” George, head coach for the Wave. Silva De Jesus won the match with a pin.

The second of three contested girl matches had Nicolly Oliveria of Ocean Township getting the Spartans first pin in their history. She won her match with Emely Rodriguez of Long Branch at 114 pounds late in the third period with a reversal and pin.

The last of the matches was at 120 pounds. Carol Bomtempo, freshman at Long Branch, faced Rafaella Alves of Ocean. Bomtempo also won with a pin. All three matches were exciting and had fans from both schools cheering.

The heavyweigh bout had Nikolas Soria of Long Branch earning a 9-6 decision over Jose Siguenza of Ocean.

Leading the Green Wave female wrestlers in victories this season is Khrissy Oliveira, sophomore. She has six wins and competed recently at the Elizabeth Lady Minuteman Tournament, one of the most competitive for wrestlers.

“As a coach, I reach out to other coaches and see what they do in their programs in regards to the girl wrestlers. Coach Cippy Apicelli of Ocean and I both have the same philosophy, we want to make it the best possible experience for the girls as we grow the programs,” said George.

After the girls competed, it was time for the Green Wave and Spartans to face off. Both teams had already wrestled Jackson Township early in the morning. “Jackson Township is one of the top 20 programs in the state. They combined two high schools into one, making it a big Group 5 school,” said George. Long Branch lost 53-13 and Ocean lost 45-20 to Jackson.

“One of the things I tell my wrestlers is that wins are important to your development and so are losses. But not to focus on either, just keep track of your progress and stick to the program and you will be successful,” added George.

Going into the Ocean matches, George and the Green Wave were missing their top gun, Toko Kajaia, the 190 pound wrestler, who just last week recorded his 100th career win. According to George, Kajaia just announced that he will be attending The College of New Jersey on an academic scholarship and will wrestle. “Because of the right decisions he has made in the classroom, he will be given a huge opportunity on the next level. Unfortunately, he is unable to be here today for the Jackson and Ocean matches,” George said.

Of the 14 contested weight matches, Ocean won all but three and took the 55-15 win over the Green Wave. “In all my years coaching here at Long Branch, that is one of the best all-around teams that Cippy has put on the mat. They were very tough, and I knew it was going to be a hard day. But, but as I told my wrestlers, you need to wrestle the best to get better,” Said George.

Individual results between Long Branch and Ocean.

120 pounds: Jordan Vieira (LB) pin over Kersaint Ganthier (OT)

126 pounds: Justin Penta (OT) pin over Louis De Angelis (LB)

132 pounds: Jason DeNoia (LB) pin over Anthony Terry (OT)

138 pounds: Steven Perez (OT) major decision 12-2 over Tristen Hepburn (LB)

144 pounds: Dominick Voley (OT) pin over Ephraim Celius (LB)

150 pounds: Greyson Gill (OT) technical fall 15-0 over Angel Panohaya-Hernandez (LB)

157 pounds: Jake Volek (OT) technical fall 18-1 over David Olivera (LB)

165 pounds: Justin Farina (OT) pin over Diego Mata (LB)

175 pounds: Nicholas Allen (OT) 12-6 decision over Sam Brewer (LB)

190 pounds: Josh Calixte (OT) pin over Leonardo Arcos (LB)

215 pounds: Taejon Nevins (OT) 20-9 major decision over Fredy Morales (LB)

285 pounds: Nickolas Soria (LB) 9-6 decision over Jose Siguenza (OT)

106 pounds: Michael Apicelli (OT) technical fall 20-5 over Ryan Jeffrey (LB)

113 pounds: Qays Ismael (OT) technical fall 15-0 over Jael Maldonado (LB)

“I try not to look at our record. Our goal each season is to get better and to make the tournaments. However, when I looked at the two line-ups against Jackson and Ocean, I was wondering where we would get some points as they are both so strong,” said George.

With the win Ocean improved to 5-3 overall and are 0-2 in the Shore Conference B division. That division is led by Jackson Township followed by Howell, Middletown North, Ocean then Wall Township. A very strong group pf wrestling programs.

Long Branch with the two losses drops to 1-9 overall and are 0-1 in the D division. That group is led by Colts Neck followed by Middletown South, Toms River East, Toms River South, and Long Branch.

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