'Cats make their 'Point' in win over Kittatinny

High Point's wrestling team heard all of the doubters coming into the season.

After losing a wealth of talent from last year's Group 3 championship team, many felt this was the year for the Wildcats' stranglehold on Sussex County and rival Kittatinny to end.

Not so fast.

Buoyed by a pair of huge wins at 132 and 138 pounds, High Point seized the momentum early and never relinquished its grip in an impressive 32-12 win over archrival Kittatinny on Thursday in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference clash before a packed house in Wantage.

High Point (13-3) extended its winning streak in the series to seven -- its longest in the 37-match rivalry dating to 1976. The 'Cats, who lead the series, 25-11-1, overall, also have won 61 straight conference matches and 51 in a row against Sussex County opponents dating to their last loss -- 39-18 to Kittatinny on Jan. 22, 2005.

"Our kids did a great job tonight, coming out and performing the way they did against Kittatinny," said High Point coach John Gardner, now 7-7 against the Cougars in his 14 seasons on the bench.

Senior Jason Snider returned to the mat for the first time this season and delivered a huge 5-1 victory over Kittatinny sophomore Nick Romyns at 138. Snider, third in District 3 last season, has missed time with some personal issues but sure didn't show any signs of rust. He earned a takedown in the second period and another in the third as he dominated most of the action against Romyns (18-4), a district runner-up. Snider pinned Romyns in High Point's 52-16 win last year.

That win came on the heels of Jason Gaccione's clutch 2-1 win in triple overtime against fellow freshman Tom Murphy at 132. Gaccione (17-4) gave up an escape with 14 seconds left in regulation to force OT, but was able to ride out Murphy (14-9) in the first 30-second rideout period. Murphy cut Gaccione immediately in the second rideout, a questionable decision, and that proved to be the difference.

The two Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex runners-up also had a number of great scrambles during the bout, as both nearly came up with takedowns.

"Jason [Gardner's nephew] is a quality kid and he's adding a lot to our [practice] room the way he works," Gardner said.

But the turning point of the match came early when sophomore Chris Auer overcame an early 4-2 deficit to record a 15-4 major decision over Kittatinny's Kevin Jelinek in the evening's third bout at 126.

Jelinek raced out to an early lead on the strength of two takedowns and nearly had Auer decked with a cradle as they went out-of-bounds near the end of the first period. But Auer (12-7) turned it on in the second period with a takedown and two sets of back points for another five and a 10-4 lead heading into the final period.

Freshman Mike Derin's 11-4 win at 120 started High Point on a run of four straight wins, capped by Snider's victory at 138 that gave the hosts a 13-4 lead. The 'Cats also won the flip and were able to control key matchups at 145 and 182.

At 145, Kittatinny ace Clarke Moynihan drew the Cougars closer with a pin of Moses Yasin, but High Point was able to bump Alec Alvino away to match up with freshman Brandon Olsen. Alvino hit a five-point move in the first en route to a 10-2 major decision.

High Point also got some clutch performances in losses, as sophomore Antonio Porraspita did an admirable job as a heavy underdog against Kittatinny sophomore Kieran Gerrity. Porraspita was down 8-0 in the third period, but managed a takedown with a minute remaining to avoid the major. Gerrity decked Porraspita in last year's dual meet.

Senior Kevin Pettinger followed with a big 4-3 win over Kittatinny junior Jake Brook at 170 in what was one of the key tossups of the night. Kyle Stoll's 5-1 win over Garrett Armstrong all but sealed the deal for High Point, which led 23-13 with four bouts to go.

"I just went out and did what had to be done," said Stoll, whose father, Joe, was a region champion at heavyweight for Vernon in 1984. "There was a little more pressure, but you just have to take the same approach and wrestle how you know how to do."

Heavyweight Chris Epperly officially clinched the match in the next-to-last bout, decking Kittatinny's Tom Smith in 40 seconds to make it an eight-point lead.

"You can't be successful unless all 14 kids give a quality effort," Gardner said. "Tonight they did."

HIGH POINT 32, KITTATINNY 21

113 -- Sr. James Elphick (5-0), K, md. Sr. John Torppey (13-8), 12-2.

120 -- Fr. Mike Derin (20-2), HP, d. Jr. Dave Popek (15-7), 11-4.

126 -- So. Chris Auer (12-7), HP, md. So. Kevin Jelinek (1-3), 15-4.

132 -- Fr. Jason Gaccione (17-4), HP, d. Fr. Tom Murphy (14-9), 2-1 OT3.

138 -- Sr. Jason Snider (1-0), HP, d. So. Nick Romyns (18-4), 5-1.

145 -- Sr. Clarke Moynihan (20-2), K, p. Jr. Moses Yasin (2-2), 3:10.

152 -- Sr. Alec Alvino (17-9), HP, md. Fr. Brandon Olsen (8-14), 10-2.

160 -- So. Kieran Gerrity (20-2), K, d. So. Antonio Porraspita (10-12), 8-2.

170 -- Sr. Kevin Pettinger (12-8), HP, d. Jr. Jake Brook (14-8), 4-3.

182 -- So. Kyle Stoll (18-4), HP, d. So. Garrett Armstrong (14-6), 5-1.

195 -- So. Dylan Wunder (18-4), K, md. So. Drew Bye (9-11), 12-2.

220 -- Sr. Jake Drelich (14-8), K, md. So. Gunther Wassong (10-8), 14-3.

285 -- Sr. Chris Epperly (6-11), HP, p. So. Tom Smith (7-10), :40.

106 -- Fr. Dom Gallo (12-7), HP, d. So. Christian Silva (12-10), 4-2.

Records -- Kittatinny 11-2; High Point 13-3.

Officials -- Chip Castner and Frank Leitner.