The were several impressive performances at the fifth annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament on Saturday -- both team and individually -- as 18 schools convened at the Hunterdon Central Field House for unquestionably the best county tournament in New Jersey.
Kudos to Central for changing the format to semifinals on two mats -- holding bouts until the completion of a weight class -- and championships on one mat. In previous years, the tournament was conducted as a speed race to completion with multiple mats for semifinals and two for the finals. It left a bitter taste in fans' and writers' mouths, including mine. Open Mike has blasted Central for doing so numerous times in the past. Hats off to those who made the change possible. One of the best moments came prior to the finals, when fans pitched in to sing the national anthem due to technical difficulties with the recorded version.
A few suggestions for 2016 would include announcements of mat assignments and match scores. The lack of announced results makes it a lot tougher to cover from a media standpoint, and fans like to follow the action by filling in their brackets. This also needs to be a two-day event, doing it in one is too much for wrestlers, coaches and fans.
Also, it's been clear for some time that most coaches do not want this event for any number of reasons. Believe me, their lists are endless. It was sad to see that High Point did not send its full contingent, including Dom Gallo (120 pounds), Jared Kobis (126), Jason Gaccione (145) and Tommy Hooker (160). Kobis is sidelined with a broken hand, but the others were held out due to match limits. Three of the four would have likely been in the finals, with Gallo and Gaccione as No. 1 seeds.
I have been a big advocate of this tournament since its inception, but maybe it's time to rethink the format, possibly making this a dual meet event, which Delaware Valley coach Andy Fitz and Voorhees assistant Brian Baumann have been advocating for years. The lack of fan attendance, especially for the finals, was an eye-opener to me. It will be a subject of debate down the road.
Let's take a look at some of the more memorable moments from Saturday:
1. Phillipsburg rolled to its fourth straight team championship -- going 4-for-4 in the finals -- as Brandon Paetzell (106) and Jake Kocsis (170) won their second straight titles. They were joined by first-timers Jimmy Schuitema (145) and Broderick Bupivi (160). P'burg easily outdistanced second-place Kittatinny (207-178.5) in the team race. Paetzell also became the first Stateliner to win the Outstanding Wrestler Award, racking up two pins and an 18-3 technical fall win over North Hunterdon's Paul Robinson in a finals rematch from a year ago. Paetzell is now 5-0 all-time vs. Robinson dating to last season. Kocsis also impressed with his run to a second title, knocking off three-time runner-up Kieran Gerrity of Kittatinny, 5-3, in their 170-pound final. Schuitema, a runner-up last year, handed Hunterdon Central's Collin Boylan his first loss with a 1-0 victory in the 145-pound championship. The four champions also pushed P'burg past North Hunterdon atop the all-time list, with 11 and nine, respectively.
2. Warren Hills junior Max Nauta, a two-time champion and three-time finalist, gave everyone in attendance one thrill after another, starting with his stunning pin of Phillipsburg's Corey Zinsmeister in the 138-pound semifinals. Trailing 6-3, Nauta countered a near-side cradle attempt by sitting out and popping up on top for the fall in 1:57. One of the most dangerous mat wrestlers around, Nauta had his opponent right where he wanted. "The last time I tried it, I actually got put on my back [as a freshman 106-pounder in a 15-5 win over Hackettstown's Tony Figueroy]." Nauta, now 6-1 all-time against P'burg opponents, surrendered two takedowns against Zinsmeister, who surely regrets not keeping the match on their feet. "I give him a lot of credit for the takedowns. After I banged my head [on the first one], I knew he was a real threat." In the finals, Nauta used a spladle to deck Sparta's Ian Burke, who got a takedown and two backs before giving up a reversal and two backs to Nauta in the second period. "Ian and I are close friends, we work out at SIR [Wrestling club in Sussex County] so we pretty much know what we do." Nauta, who intends on staying at 138 after winning district and region titles at 113 last season, wasn't aware that he is the first two-time county champ for the Blue Streaks. "I don't usually pay too much attention [to those stats]. I'm just working to achieve my goals."
3. Senior 132-pounder Dylan Nace of Hunterdon Central gave the home fans plenty to celebrate by winning his second county title with an impressive 6-2 win over High Point's Mike Derin, a state placewinner last season. Nace hit a five-point move from the neutral position in the second period that carried him to his first title since 2012. Earlier, Nace became the first four-time county finalist with a 5-1 win over Kittatinny's Austin Scrivani, a semifinals thriller that went into triple overtime, and notched his 100th career win in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 decision over Voorhees' Thomas Bieshke. Nace is one of 18 Red Devils -- the most for any Hunterdon-Warren school -- to reach the century mark in wins, joining teammate and fellow two-time HWS champ Gary Dinmore, who won his 100th earlier this season.
4. North Hunterdon junior Ryan Pomrinca surely warranted a few OW votes of his own with an impressive run to the 126-pound title. Pomrinca decked Delaware Valley's Rhys Zigich in the quarters and pinned Warren Hills' Austin Pidoto in the semifinals before a 7-2 win over North Warren's Matt Ritchie in the finals. Pomrinca converted three takedowns in the title bout to earn his second straight title in his third trip to the finals. Only North Hunterdon and Delaware Valley have produced at least one champion in all five HWS tourneys. Pomrinca, along with Paetzell and Nauta, will look to join Voorhees' Jadaen Bernstein as the only three-time winners next year at Hopatcong High School. North had the most top-six finishers with 10. See the complete rundown below.
5. There was quite an infusion of young talent in this year's tournament, with four sophomores reaching the finals, including champions Kyle DiNapoli of Voorhees (113) and Nick Klinger of Kittatinny (120), along with Paetzell. Hackettstown's Joe Renne made a nice run to the 120-pound final, where he dropped an 8-6 decision to Klinger, who is the Cougars' second county champion. Renne, his school's first finalist since 2011, knocked off District 17 champion and No. 1 seed Cody Ihling of Voorhees, 2-1, in the semifinals. Klinger cruised to the championship round with a technical fall over Hunterdon Central's Kyler Rodriguez in the quarters and a 49-second pin of Warren Hills' John Fluck, the No. 2, in the semifinals. Junior Gus Protogeropoulos made the right move up from 195 to 220, where he scored a 4-3 upset-win over High Point's Bobby McDonnell, a Region 1 finalist. The Braves are among seven -- P'burg, North Hunterdon, Delaware Valley, Hunterdon Central, Voorhees and Kittatinny as well -- with a finalist in every HWS event. Burke, a junior, is Sparta's first county finalist. Senior Noa Merritt became Pope John's second champ with a stunning 5-2 decision over returning champ Andrew Pacheco of Warren Hills, a junior, at 285. Pacheco decked Merritt in last year's Region 1 semifinals.
Placewinners by team (top six)
North Hunterdon 1+2+2+1+1+3=10; Phillipsburg 4+0+3+1+0+0=8; Delaware Valley 1+1+1+2+2+1=8; Kittatinny 1+3+3+0+0+1=8; Voorhees 1+0+2+1+1+2=7; Warren Hills 1+1+0+3+1+0=6; High Point 1+2+0+2+0+0=5; Hunterdon Central 2+1+0+0+2+0=5; Belvidere 0+0+0+0+3+1=4; Lenape Valley 0+0+1+2+0+1=4; Hopatcong 0+0+0+0+1+3=4; Newton 1+0+1+0+0+2=4; Sparta 0+1+0+1+1+0=3; North Warren 0+1+0+0+2+0=3; Pope John 1+1+1+0+0+0=3; Hackettstown 0+1+0+0+0+0=1; Wallkill Valley 0+0+0+1+0+0=1; Vernon 0+0+0+0+0+0=0.
No comments:
Post a Comment