Newton's wrestling team hasn't exactly had lady luck on its side this season. In fact, if not for a ton of bad luck, the Braves would have had no fortune at all.
A tough and trying season got a little better Tuesday night, as sophomore Niko Grello came through with a upset-win at 138 pounds to help Newton earn a 33-29 victory over Hopatcong in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division match at Hopatcong High School.
Newton (3-7 overall, 1-2 Freedom Division) also gave coach Eric Bollette his 150th win in 11 seasons at the helm of the Sussex County school. Despite missing several key starters, including state qualifier Steven Churchill, the Braves were able to rise to the occasion and record their first divisional win.
"We figured it was going to be tough [to win] coming in because we have a lot of guys out with sickness and injuries," said Bollette, now 150-97-1 overall. "Hopatcong has a scrappy team and they wrestled us really well. Our kids were talking about [win No. 150]. I wasn't even aware of it before that. It means a lot."
Leading 30-23, senior 106-pounder Ashley Iliff sealed the victory with her 5-3 win over freshman Joe Aumann in the next to last bout. Newton leads the all-time series, 23-15 dating to 1976, and has won six straight against Hopatcong (1-9, 0-3).
Grello (9-10) posted a thrilling 2-1 decision in triple overtime against Region 1 qualifier A.J. Bongiovanni, who placed third on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament, in the fourth bout of the night. Neither wrestler came close to getting a takedown in regulation or sudden victory. Grello escaped three seconds into the first rideout session and that was the difference as he rode out Bongiovanni (14-5) in the final 30-second period.
"That was big for us," Bollette said. "Niko is one of the hardest workers I have and he's tough on the mat."
Grello's win gave Newton a 9-8 lead, which stretched to seven after Hopatcong forfeited 145. Sophomore Michael Larsen also came through earlier with a big pin at 126. Braves freshman Robert Reese, wrestling in his first varsity bout, also held HWS champ Joe Cruz to a technical fall at 132, saving a big team point.
Freshman Gus Protogeropoulos contributed another huge win -- his first in nine varsity matches -- with a 7-0 decision over Tommy Donnelly at 182.
"I knew I had to step up," Grello said. "I felt that my match gave us a big lift."
Senior Logan Morales gave Newton an 18-8 lead with his 7-1 win over Tommy Rieg at 152. The Braves seemed in control, but senior Aric Webster stunned everyone by decking Justin Hu with 39 seconds left in the third period to get Hopatcong back in the match.
Webster (6-8) trailed 7-4 after two periods before getting two takedowns in the third. He stepped over on the second takedown and planted Hu for the fall to make it a four-point match.
Troy Bongiovanni's pin at 170 gave Hopatcong a short-lived lead, before Protogeropoulos gave Newton the lead for good. Senior Jake Connelly took a forfeit at 195 to make it 27-20, and after Chris Houterman's win at 220 brought the Chiefs back within four, senior Brandon Grant all but ended Hopatcong's comeback bid with a clutch 3-1 win over Victor Burgos at 285.
"We got a tough break to start because we lost the coin toss and couldn't get Jake on their 220," Bollette said. "It all worked out for us. [Grant and Burgos] both pinned each other on JV last year. Protogeropoulos got his first varsity win in a big spot. That was just a great effort from him."
Newton travels to winless Wallkill Valley for another Freedom Division clash on Thursday and closes the week by hosting state powerhouses Phillipsburg and Bound Brook in a tough triangular-meet on Saturday.
NEWTON 33, HOPATCONG 29
120 -- So. Victor Cotto (6-11), H, d. Jr. Jason VanDerGroef (2-8), 7-6.
126 -- So. Michael Larsen (2-4), N, p. Jr. Santiago Henao (0-4), 1:58.
132 -- Sr. Joe Cruz (14-2), H, tf. Fr. Robert Reese (0-1), 17-2, 5:18.
138 -- So. Nike Grello (9-10), N, d. Jr. A.J. Bongiovanni (14-5), 2-1 OT3.
145 -- So. Ronnie Mulford (1-0), N, forfeit.
152 -- Sr. Logan Morales (6-5), N, d. So. Tommy Rieg (3-5), 7-1.
160 -- Sr. Aric Webster (6-8), H, p. Sr. Justin Hu (0-3), 5:21.
170 -- So. Troy Bongiovanni (6-10), H, p. Jr. Julio Maidana (0-3), 2:48.
182 -- Fr. Gus Protogeropoulos (1-8), N, d. So. Tommy Donnelly (1-10), 7-0.
195 -- Sr. Jake Connelly (17-0), N, forfeit.
220 -- Jr. Chris Houterman (5-10), H, d. Fr. Nick Grant (1-3), 8-3.
285 -- Sr. Brandon Grant (10-8), N, d. Jr. Victor Burgos (7-10), 3-1.
106 -- Sr. Ashley Iliff (6-5), N, d. Fr. Joe Aumann (5-9), 5-3.
113 -- Jr. Joey Spaziani (13-6), H, p. So. Anthony Brown (3-9), 3:27.
Records: Newton 3-7, 1-2; Hopatcong 1-9, 0-3.
Official: Chris Rebels.
No comments:
Post a Comment