Wrestling: Del Val, Central win on wild Wednesday

No one does big evenings better than Delaware Valley's wrestling program.

In front of a packed house on "Gold Rush" night, the Terriers gave their raucous fans plenty to cheer about with a thorough and certainly stunning 43-18 victory over Warren Hills in a Skyland Conference Raritan Division showdown on Wednesday in Alexandria Township.

Delaware Valley (4-4 overall, 1-1 division) won nine bouts -- five pins -- as it dismantled a highly-regarded Warren Hills team that came in ranked No. 15 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association. Key wins from seniors Matt Gilmore (132 pounds) and Ryan Metz (195) and pins from Alex Niemann (152) and Brian Baehr (220) sparked the Terrriers' upset victory.

"This is one of the all-time Del Val victories," said a very pleased Terriers coach Andy Fitz, who has guided Del Val to four straight wins in this series, which the Hunterdon County school leads, 26-18, dating to 1963. "We've been telling the kids to keep their heads up and we're not that far away. We've had great practices. The kids have really believed. I'm really proud and thrilled right now."

Needless to say, Warren Hills coach Jarrett Hosbach was less than thrilled with his team's performance. The Blue Streaks rated as solid favorites in this one, but the night started off a bad note and grew worse for the visitors as the evening wore on.

"We got blown out," said Hosbach, now 1-5 against Del Val in eight seasons in charge. "We got beat in every aspect -- on our feet, on the mat. They got bonus points and we couldn't get bonus points. Their guys didn't give them up and our guys did. Andy Fitz did a great job of having that team ready to go."

Gilmore got the ball rolling with his 3-2 win over Warren Hills state qualifier Joe Kratochvil in the opening bout. Kratochvil, a District 1 champ, took a 2-1 lead in the third on a reversal with 40 seconds left, but Gilmore got a reversal 15 seconds later for the decisive points.

It was Gilmore's second win over Kratochvil (16-2) this season. Gilmore (8-6) also decked his opponent in the John Goles Invitational finals.

"I'm ecstatic," said Gilmore, who improved to 60-26 in his career. "I knew he likes to slow it down and keep matches really close. I knew one slip or mistake can change the match. The crowd gave us a lot of energy. We got rolling and we wrestled awesome."

Junior Holden Baker followed with 9-3 win over Tom Rush at 138 -- nearly converting a takedown in the final 20 seconds for a major decision. Senior Kevin Bundschuh stopped the early run with a 10-4 win over Cory Lightner at 145 in a bout that the Blue Streaks were counting on bonus points.

Hosbach had his team weighed in down and opted to move Kratochvil and Bundschuh up a weight.

Del Val grabbed a 12-3 lead, when Niemann decked Evan Butka with 27 seconds left after building a 4-1 lead through two periods. Butka placed third in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament over the weekend, while Niemann did not place at the same weight class.

Xavier Adetula kept the Blue Streaks in it with a gutty 4-3 win over Nour Mays at 160, as Adetula got a reversal with nine seconds left on the clock. That made it, 12-6, through five bouts.

Kody Eichlin gave Del Val its fourth win at 170, and junior Luke Zehnbauer made it a 15-point advantage with his pin of Steve Cleaver at 182. That set the stage for Metz, who blew open a tight match with a four-point move in the second period en route to a 10-2 major of Region 1 qualifier Ryan Witner.

Metz (5-4) converted a textbook double-leg takedown with 56 seconds left in the third period for bonus.

"If you ask anyone on our team who has the best double-leg takedown -- it's Ryan Metz," Fitz said. "He's very, very good on his feet. He didn't wrestle as a sophomore and when he came back this year I was thrilled. You need upper weights."

Baehr all but sealed Warren Hills' fate with his pin of Tyler Bridygham at 220 -- reversing their result in the John Goles finals. Del Val led, 31-6, with five bouts left and state placewinner Mike Pongracz scheduled to go in the final bout. Needing a truckload of bonus points, Andrew Pacheco posted a 6-1 win at 285 and sophomore Austin Pidoto needed overtime for a 5-3 win at 106.

After a forfeit to Warren Hills county champ Max Nauta at 113, Mike Adam punctuated the Terriers' evening with a pin of Tai Adetula at 120. Adam, who was pinned by Adetula last season, was on his back early in the first before reversing the Blue Streak to his back for the fall.

Pongracz closed out the proceeding against Warren Hills sophomore John Fluck -- building a 13-0 lead before sticking him in 2:27.

Meanwhile, No. 20 Hunterdon Central scored an upset win of its own with a 34-30 victory over No. 4 Phillipsburg at The Pit. The Red Devils (7-0), who trailed, 24-6, after five bouts, got a huge pin from Dylan Nace at 126, and big wins from Collin Boylan (132), Gary Dinmore (138) and Tim Higginson (145).

The match started off a sour note, when Phillipsburg's Kyle Kinney, who was leading, 3-0, over Leo Aquino, sustained an injury and could not continue. That was the first of two potential nine-point swings for Central, as Nace decked Corey Zinsmeister with their bout tied at 4.

Boylan defeated P'burg region runner-up Anthony Johnson, 3-1, for the second time in five days. Higginson posted a 3-0 win over Stateliners senior Andrew Kaluzny, who was a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex finalist on Saturday and a Region 1 fourth place finisher last season.

Tyler Cote's pin at 170 and David Fenton's decision at 182 set the stage for Paul Rallis' match-clinching victory over Tim Hinkle in the final bout at 195.

It was Hunterdon Central's third win against P'burg in four seasons -- winning, 39-13, in a dual meet and, 39-11, in the North 2, Group 4 final in 2010.

P'burg leads the series, 34-6-1, dating to 1962. It was Central's third win at The Pit and first since a 39-26 victory in 2003. The only other road win was, 35-3, in 1963. Coach Steve Gibble is 4-20 all-time against P'burg in his 22 seasons at the helm, including four postseason meetings.

Warren Hills is looking to regroup with Thursday night's big showdown against P'burg at The Pit, while Hunterdon Central travels to North Hunterdon for another key Skyland Conference clash.

DELAWARE VALLEY 43, WARREN HILLS 18
132 -- Sr. Matt Gilmore (8-6), DV, d. Sr. Joe Kratochvil (16-2), 3-2.
138 -- Jr. Holden Baker (9-6), DV, d. Sr. Tom Rush (3-15), 9-3.
145 -- Sr. Kevin Bundschuh (15-5), WH, d.  So. Cory Lightner (1-1), 10-4.
152 -- Sr. Alex Niemann (11-4), DV, p. Jr. Evan Butka (12-9), 5:33.
160 -- Sr. Xavier Adetula (4-3), WH, d. Jr. Nour Mays (2-10), 4-3.
170 -- Jr. Kody Eichlin (11-2), DV, d. Jr. Ryan Ostir (12-10), 4-1.
182 -- Jr. Luke Zehnbauer (11-6), DV, p. Jr. Steve Cleaver (10-9), 1:48.
195 -- Sr. Ryan Metz (5-4), DV, md. Jr. Ryan Witner (9-7), 10-2.
220 -- Jr. Brian Baehr (13-4), DV, p. Sr. Tyler Bridygham (7-8), 2:38.
285 -- So. Andrew Pacheco (16-4), WH, d. Jr. Andrew Bloom (4-10), 6-1.

106 -- So. Austin Pidoto (11-6), WH, d. Fr. Vito Intili (9-8), 5-3 SV.
113 -- So. Max Nauta (13-4), WH, forfeit.
120 -- Jr. Mike Adam (11-6), DV, p. Jr. Tai Adetula (10-5), 1:27.
126 -- Sr. Mike Pongracz (12-0), DV, p. So. John Fluck (8-8), 2:27.
Records -- Warren Hills 9-3, 2-1; Delaware Valley 4-4, 1-1.

HUNTERDON CENTRAL 34, PHILLIPSBURG 30

220 -- So. Leo Aquino (4-3), HC, default over Sr. Kyle Kinney (10-7), 3:40.
285 -- Sr. Jarrett Williams (17-4), P, p. Jr. Dan Hausman (2-5), :33.

106 -- Fr. Tyler Agans (1-0), P, forfeit.
113 -- Sr. Zach Fisher (15-5), P, forfeit.
120 -- So. Steve Friedman (12-9), P, p. Fr. Gabino Careaga (0-7), 4:26.
126 -- Jr. Dylan Nace (10-6), HC, p. So. Corey Zinsmeister (14-7), 2:59.
132 -- Jr. Collin Boylan (13-2), HC, d. Sr. Anthony Johnson (3-2), 3-1.
138 -- Jr. Gary Dinmore (14-0), HC, md. So. Max Elling (11-8), 11-2.
145 -- Sr. Tim Higginson (12-4), HC, d. Sr. Andrew Kaluzny (13-8), 3-0.
152 -- So. Jimmy Schuitema (15-3), P, d. Sr. Dylan Cote (12-4), 8-3.
160 -- Jr. Jake Kocsis (14-5), P, d. So. Joe Scerbo (7-4), 3-0.
170 -- Sr. Tyler Cote (15-2), HC, p. Jr. Broderick Bupivi (12-8), :34.
182 -- Sr. David Fenton (14-2), HC, d. So. Joe Maso (4-3), 7-3.
195 -- Sr. Paul Rallis (11-5), HC, d. So. Tim Hinkle (9-9), 4-3.
Records -- Hunterdon Central 7-0; Phillipsburg 5-1.