A high school wrestling match featuring two of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top teams will celebrate the life of Marisa Tufaro and raise money for the foundation bearing her name.
Donations collected at the door during the ninth annual Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual between host Old Bridge and South Plainfield on Feb. 4 will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
The meeting of the Knights (12-4) and Tigers (7-7), who are ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the Home News Tribune Greater Middlesex Conference Top 10, will commence at 6 p.m.
An individual Most Valuable Wrestler plaque will be awarded to the top performer from each team at the conclusion of the dual.
Over the past eight years, the Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual has raised nearly $36,000 for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
“When it comes down to it, wrestling is a huge sport in both towns, but when we are getting together for an event like this, it goes beyond wrestling,” South Plainfield head coach Steve Johnston said. “Both teams want to come away with a win and perform well. We are giving back and continuing to show the state that while wrestling is very big in New Jersey, there are a lot greater causes and bigger things going on that we should continue to honor and pay tribute to.”
Since its inception in July 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated nearly $450,000 to fulfill its mission.
The foundation has also spearheaded multiple initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies, children’s books, school supplies, and other items for donation upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, the foundation has awarded 50 scholarships totaling $36,500 to high school seniors (including 10 from South Plainfield and Old Bridge) and sent 31 elementary and middle school students to a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctors’ appointments, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
Marisa is the daughter of longtime Edison Township Public Schools educator Cyndi Tufaro and former Home News Tribune and Courier News sports writer Greg Tufaro, who covered high school wrestling for both newspapers.
South Plainfield faces the daunting task of going up against the present and future of the Old Bridge wrestling program. Members of the township’s Mat Rats recreation and Salk and Sandburg middle school teams have been invited to attend the Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual as Old Bridge will also use the occasion to celebrate its annual Youth Knight with a youth match preceding the varsity dual.
“It’s great obviously to have your youth programs come in and be able to wrestle prior to the varsity match,” Johnston said. “It’s important to build that cohesive unity between all levels of your program. (Youth Knight) ultimately will help out our cause for spreading awareness about the Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual because it gets more eyes on the event and more people involved.”
Old Bridge’s theme of “One Team, One Town” will resonate throughout the gymnasium as a high school wrestling program steeped in tradition looks to connect the future with its present.
“We want those kids coming up to see what our standard is and the way we can represent the town in our program,” Old Bridge head coach John Post said. “We want the kids to remember at the end of the day we all wear purple (the high school’s official color). To incorporate Youth Knight with the Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual is really poignant for a lot of our younger kids and younger families. Parents of younger wrestlers can really get wrapped up in the performance aspect of the sport. You can get kind of myopic. Events like this create perspective and a bigger picture. Kids can realize they have an impact on and off the mat.”
South Plainfield faces a formidable foe in Old Bridge, which has won the three previous meetings between the programs and last weekend claimed its first ever Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament team title since Madison Central and Cedar Ridge merged to form the high school.
“I think for the last three years, that’s been a goal of ours,” Post said of his team winning the conference tournament championship. “We felt we had some really good teams (in recent years), competing with Saint Joseph, Monroe and South Plainfield, which always has a solid squad.”
By dethroning three-time defending conference tournament champion Saint Joseph, Old Bridge also avenged a 39-36 dual meet loss to the Falcons. The Knights’ only other losses this season are to Phillipsburg, Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven, all of which are state ranked.
“We just fell a little short that day,” Post said of the Jan. 19 loss to Saint Joseph. “When we got to the practice room (following the setback), we had them refocus. We reiterated that the goal (winning a conference tournament title) hadn’t changed. We felt we were a better tournament team. We have really good depth and everybody kind of held their own.”
With Old Bridge mathematically clinching the conference tournament team title before the start of the finals bouts, Post was able to let his wrestlers focus on individual goals.
Temiloluwa Odumbo, who was seeded 13th, won the Upper Weights Outstanding Wrestler Award after winning the 190-pound title, while Old Bridge teammate Zach Florio claimed the 215-pound title.
With 12 medalists, the Knights used their balance and depth to overcome Saint Joseph’s five individual champions.
David Peoples (106), Gavin Young (113) and Griffin Nugent (157) placed second for Old Bridge, while teammates Lorenzo Granato (126) and Viktor Ilnytskyi (132) finished third. Ryan Hoey (150) and Alex Kay (175) took fourth, while Cole Clawson (144) placed fifth.
South Plainfield finished fourth in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, where Joseph Stanzione, one of seven medalists for the Tigers, claimed the 150-pound title.
The Tigers, who reached last year’s North 2 Group III final, currently have the fifth most power points in the section as they jockey for qualifying position with the regular season winding to a close.
“We are in the part of the year where you are hoping to get as healthy as you can before the sectional tournament,” Johnston said. “These matches that you schedule prior to that are going to prepare you for going through a grind like battling through a sectional tournament, and get you prepared for the district tournament. It’s important to be battle-tested and at South Plainfield we feel like we are.”
Captains Justin Culver (15-7), Alex Pigna (11-5) and Stanzione (18-3) lead a senior-laden team which includes five returning region qualifiers and nine incumbent starters. The Tigers have also received leadership from veterans James Bermingham (11-7) and Aaron Everitt (11-6).
South Plainfield opened the season winning five of its first eight dual meets and defending its Morris Knolls Invitational title on the second day of the campaign. The team’s competitive schedule also featured the Colts Neck Duals and Henry Boresch Duals, where the Tigers fell to state-ranked North Hunterdon.
Before taking on the Knights, South Plainfield still has duals scheduled with Emerson, Park Ridge, Parsippany, New Brunswick, Saint Benedict’s, and Manville. Old Bridge is slated to meet Southern and Raritan.
“They are a great team,” Johnston said of Old Bridge. “They are well-coached and their kids battle. They are solid and at pretty much every weight they are going to throw a guy out there that’s going to give you their best effort, and that’s how you come away with Greater Middlesex Conference titles, you put 14 guys out there that can give you that type of effort and make deep runs in the tournament. We are going to be ready for the challenge of coming together and hopefully we can give our best effort.”
The Old Bridge and South Plainfield school communities are renowned throughout Middlesex County and beyond for their abundant support of others in need.
Through their participation in individual events or conference-wide all-star games and activities, the football, swimming, bowling, baseball, golf, girls soccer, and basketball teams from both high schools have joined their wrestling programs in fundraising for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.
“Words can’t adequately convey our gratitude to the South Plainfield and Old Bridge wrestling programs for continuing this wonderful annual tradition,” said Cyndi Tufaro, who is The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s executive director.
“We are eternally grateful and honored to pay forward their benevolence. The overwhelming support of these two outstanding school communities has enabled our nonprofit to assist countless children in need. The impact they have made is profound.”
State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., a lifelong South Plainfield resident whose legislative district includes his hometown, praised the Tigers and Knights for making the annual Marisa Tufaro Memorial Dual a resounding success.
“This type of response really proves why Old Bridge and South Plainfield are special places to live,” said Diegnan, who also serves on The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s board of trustees.
“People care about each other and support each other and when there is a need they do what is right. That’s what community is all about.”