Led by state placewinner Brian Meyer, one of five seniors in the lineup, Phillipsburg won 11 of 14 bouts in cruising to a 54-10 win over Washington on Thursday night in the sixth annual Pin Cancer match before a crowd of about 800 at Phillipsburg High School.
Last year, Washington earned a 28-24 victory at home, handing P'burg its first loss in this outstanding event that raises money for a very worthy cause.
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| Travis Jones seals a 12-6 win over Logan Nauta. |
"We might have talked about it [the loss in 2016] in the practice room this week," P'burg coach Dave Post said with a smile. "We mainly tell the kids that this is a charity event, so represent your town and team with pride and in a good manner. It's a fun summer thing, but when we go places, we always want to win."
Unfortunately, it was the second straight year that this designed outdoor event was forced inside due to rain -- which never came on this night -- in the forecast. Post made sure to thank the entire custodial staff, as well as new superintendent Greg Troxell and athletic director Tom Fisher for the making the shift in venue earlier in the day be as seamless as possible given that everything was stationed and ready to be set up at Maloney Stadium just down the road.
"It was all hands on deck," Post said. "Fisher is on vacation and was in touch with people to help get things set up. It's the summer, and people have plenty of things on their plate. The school recognizes what a great event and charity this is. We just couldn't take the chance [of being outside]. If it rains, it ruins the whole event. Even the threat of bad weather might have kept people away."
Meyer, who placed third in the New Jersey State Championships this past season, has been working hard in the offseason with his sights set on being two steps higher on the podium next March. He racked up three takedowns and two sets of back points off tilts, a move he used for a third time to pin Pedro Cruz in 3:27. All three periods as in years past were 1 1/2 minutes in length.
"This is summer stuff, but it gets you ready when it comes to the season," said Meyer, who missed out on back-to-back medals recently in the Cadet Junior Freestyle Tournament in Fargo, N.D. "You always want to win. Last year, we came up short [at Pin Cancer] and we took it to [Warren Hills] during the season [a 37-24 win]. This is entertainment, you get to kick back a little and have fun. We want to peak during the season."
Meyer's victory gave P'burg a commanding 34-7 lead with five bouts left. Lance Wissing's 25-second pin of freshman Logan Polcari in the next bout sealed the team win. Wissing should help solidify this season's lineup which was expected to be a little green up top -- making the jump from 138 to 170 pounds.
In one of the most exciting bouts, senior Shamyr Brodders came back from an early deficit for a 6-5 win over Nick Hildebrant in the 11th bout (there were no assigned weights). Tied at 4 after two periods, Brodders gave up an escape to start the third and converted a single-leg attempt for a takedown with 16 seconds left to win it.
Washington, which only had 12 of its own wrestlers, needed some help filling the lineup with Shane Reynolds of Delaware Valley and Brandon Prados of Pocono Mountain East coming aboard a day prior to the match.
Senior Kyle Wulff, along with juniors Chris Ostir and Nick Galka, were the only winners for the visiting team.
Down 21-0 after four bouts, Wulff racked up five takedowns in a 12-4 major of talented freshman Tyler Marason to get Washington on the board.
"Kyle was very aggressive on his feet," Washington coach Jarrett Hosbach said. "Which is what we wanted him to do. One of the things we stress is being aggressive. We think Kyle [sixth in Region 3 last season] can be [at the states] in Atlantic City. He just needs to keep working and improving."
Ostir hit a five-point move in the first period en route to a 5-2 win over Jared Kukor in the next bout. Galka's 10-5 win over Cody Cruts ended Phillipsburg's run of six straight victories.
"I thought we wrestled well in spots. It's July, and in some bouts, we looked like it's July," Hosbach said. "There were some good scrambles on both sides. This is a great event. Our numbers are a little down and Dave sought out two kids. It was nice that they joined in this event."
In what was the most entertaining matchup, Travis Jones scored a 12-6 win over fellow mat wrestler Logan Nauta. Tied at 2 after one period, Jones got a reversal and two back points for a 6-2 lead. In the third, Jones gave up his second takedown takedown -- making it 6-4 -- before escaping and hitting a headlock for a takedown and three back points to seal the win, giving up a late reversal for the final points.
Jones handed Nauta a 17-4 loss during last season after Nauta scored an 8-7 win in the Pin Cancer matchup.
"You never know, either one can hit a five-point move," Post said. "That's why we preach to stay in good position. Travis wanted that one. He has gotten immensely better on his feet. He's a student of the game. His goals are to be a state placewinner and contend for a state title."
PHILLIPSBURG 54, WARREN HILLS 10
Fr. Logan Maczko, P, p. Fr. Walker Heller, :26.
Sr. Cullen Day, P, p. So. Greg Slivka, 4:27.
Jr. Luke Hardin, P, p. So. Shane Reynolds, 1:29.
Jr. Travis Jones, P, d. So. Logan Nauta, 12-6.
Sr. Kyle Wulff, W, md. Fr. Tyler Marason, 12-4.
Jr. Chris Ostir, W, d. So. Jared Kukor, 5-2.
Jr. Kyle Tino, P, d. Sr. Cameron Nauta, 8-4.
Jr. Jayson Zinsmeister, P, md. So. Geir Nemeth, 9-1.
Sr. Brian Meyer, P, p. Sr. Pedro Cruz, 3:27.
Sr. Lance Wissing, P, p. Fr. Logan Polcari, :25.
Sr. Shamyr Brodders, P, d. So. Nick Hildebrant, 6-5.
Jr. Austin Roth, P, tf. Jr. David Shafer, 16-1, 2:40.
Jr. Nick Galka, W, d. So. Cody Cruts, 10-5.
Sr. Patrick Sharpe, P, p. Jr. Brandon Prados, 1:13.
Officials -- Joe Benvenuto, Chip Castner and Frank Leitner.
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