Thursday, January 23, 2014

Wrestling: Pope John to continue without Murphy

Pope John's wresting team will press on this season without one of its best wrestlers, as junior Tommy Murphy, who transferred from Kittatinny in the offseason, will not wrestle for the Lions.

First-year coach Mark Piotrowsky on Thursday confirmed that Murphy, a two-time Region 1 qualifier, is not a member of the team, though he is still enrolled as a student at Pope John XXIII in Sparta.

"It was a family decision that he wasn't going to wrestle," said Piotrowsky, a former standout at Jefferson. "I don't know all of the details."

Murphy's defection from Kittatinny and his absence from the Pope John lineup has been the source of much discussion in the local wrestling ranks. Murphy would have been eligible to wrestle this week, as the 30-day sit period for all New Jersey transfers who do not have a change of address expired on Thursday.

Wrestling for coach John Gill's Cougars, Murphy compiled a 55-22 record over the last two seasons, winning a District 3 title at 138 pounds a year ago after a runner-up finish at 132 as a freshman. Murphy also finished fourth in Region 1 last season and is a two-time Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex placewinner, finishing second in 2012 and third in '13.

The loss of Murphy hurts a young Pope John team struggling to fill all 14 weight classes. The Lions (1-6) feature several wrestlers in Open Mike's Region 1 rankings, including junior Dominic Koert (fifth at 106), Austin Sisco (first at 113) and Noa Merritt (first at 285).

"We have a good group of wrestlers, but we've had some injuries that have hurt us," Piotrowsky said. "It's going to be a process. We have a good group of freshmen, but they're all near the same weight. This is a building year, but it's tough to win when you forfeit two or three weights."

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