After two epic matchups against former Lenape Valley state champion Nick Palumbo in the previous two events, Meyer, a third-place finisher in last year's state tournament, finally broke through with his first tri-county title -- scoring an impressive 10-2 major decision over Newton junior Wyatt McCarthy at 152 pounds to highlight action on Saturday at Phillipsburg High School.
"It's nice to get one," said Meyer, a Lehigh recruit hoping to take the same path as Palumbo, who finished third in the state as a junior before becoming his school's first state champion by winning at 145 last season. "We had some good battles [Palumbo won by fall in the 2016 and '17 finals at 145]."
Meyer (16-2), joined teammate Travis Jones (120), Hunterdon Central freshman Brett Ungar (106), Hopatcong senior Anthony Mastroeni (126), Newton senior Jonathon Borgognoni (160), Kittatinny senior Josh Hiler (170), Warren Hills senior Jarod Ostir (182), Sparta senior Robert Gennat (195), Voorhees junior Lewis Fernandes (220) and Hackettstown senior Joe Andes (285) as first-time winners.
Can't hold that Tiger
Hackettstown senior Alex Carida became his school's first two-time champion and Outstanding Wrestler with a 6-4 victory over Pope John junior Robbie Garcia, a fourth-place finisher in the state last season, in their highly-anticipated 145-pound final. Carida and Andes are just the fourth and fifth champs for the Warren County school and the first Tigers to win in the same tournament.
"I'm just trying to improve every year," said Carida, who racked up three takedowns against Garcia. "Every time I step on the mat, I have the mentality to win that match."
Carida (18-1), a Region 3 champion and a gentleman on and off the mat, has faced stiff competition already this season -- with wins over state qualifiers Jeff Johnson of Middlesex and Matt Beyer of Pascack Valley, in addition to a tough 1-0 loss to DePaul's Ricky Cabanillas, a state runner-up last season. Carida likes to take them one at a time, but he's well aware that his school has just one state champion -- Doug Blake (1967-68).
"My goal is to win a state championship," said Carida, now 114-27 overall and nine wins shy of Joe Renne's school mark. "I've gotten a lot of good matches that will help me down the road in regions and Atlantic City [site of the state tournament]. I have to thank my coaches, they have helped me a lot."
Lions are golden
Pope John rolled to its second straight team championship -- with 244 1/2 points, the second-highest total behind Phillipsburg's 269 in 2013-- led by three-time champions Jake Rotunda (132) and Joe Aragona (138). They're just the fourth and fifth wrestlers to win three titles in the tournament's nine-year history. Sophomore Eddie Ventresca repeated as the 113-pound champion, giving the Lions a tournament-best three winners.
"We came here to make a statement," said Rotunda, who rolled to a 6-3 win over Hunterdon Central senior Hunter Graf, an eighth-place finisher in the state in 2016, for his third tri-county gold. "This tournament is pretty tough, there's a lot of good competition."
In all, Pope John had a tournament-high 11 wrestlers place in the top six as sophomore Kaya Sement (120) and senior Jake Brown (220) finished second.
Aragona (21-1), a two-time state medal winner and runner-up last season, also made a case for the OW Award as he decked North Hunterdon senior Andrew Gapas, a returning state placewinner and last year's OW after winning his first HWS title.
Championship heart
In one of the uglier scenes we'll ever see, Ostir won by disqualification as he showed both class and guts by finishing the 182-pound final with an aching left knee against Kittatinny junior Zach Mafaro. Ostir (13-0), a runner-up as a junior, led 5-4 in the third when he and Mafaro tumbled out of bounds onto the hardwood floor. Ostir immediately grabbed his left knee, which was surgically repaired in April after tearing his ACL playing lacrosse, and was awarded a penalty point for unnecessary roughness.
After one minute of injury time, the bout continued, with Mafaro slapping at the injured knee on several occasions, taking Ostir out of bounds excessively for second time and attempting to bend the leg awkwardly. After awarding Ostir three more penalty points, referees finally halted the bout with him leading 8-6 and just six seconds left on the clock.
"It wasn't fun," said Ostir, who has dealt with knee and elbow surgeries the past two seasons. "I pushed through it. My goal was to win a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex title after I got pinned in the first period last year [by Michael Fernandes of Voorhees in the 170-pound final]. I knew if I retaliated [against Mafaro], I would have points taken off. I needed to keep my cool. This was my last shot to win."
Ostir, who is the Blue Streaks' eighth champ and first since Matt Valli won at 126 in 2016, doesn't believe the injury is as serious this time and he expects to be ready for action again soon.
"It doesn't hurt nearly as bad [as the torn ACL]," he said. "I think I'll be fine."
Better the second time
Gennat has shown a penchant for winning rematches over his career. The biggest redemption was pinning Voorhees senior Scott Fernandes for the 195-pound title after being decked in 29 seconds when they met on Dec. 30.
"It feels great," said Gennat, who joined Gavin Lally (2015) as Sparta's only HWS champions. "I got my 100th win [on Thursday against Morris Hills] and this totally eclipses it. Last time, I went in guns blazing [against Fernandes]. This time, I tried to slow the pace, not take shots that weren't there and try to control the match."
Gennat was down 5-2 in the second period, fighting off his back at one point. The Stevens-bound wrestler has had some battles with the Fernandes brothers, losing three times to Lewis Fernandes (two pins and a major) last season, including the HWS third-place bout and the state tournament wrestlebacks at 195.
"It's nice to get a win over a Fernandes," Gennat mused.
Back points
Sussex led the way with seven champions as Borgognoni, who earned a 3-0 win over Hunterdon Central senior Kevin Ciresa, became Newton's fourth champion and first since Gus Protogeropoulos (220 in 2014). Warren was next with five, while Hunterdon had two winners for the second time in three years.
Mastroeni (17-1), who rode a four-point move in the second period to a 6-5 win over Delaware Valley junior A.J. DeRosa, made the drop to 126 pay off with school's fourth title and first since Joe Aumann in 2015.
Jones (18-4) is a threat to earn his first state medal later this season as he pinned Sement, who was trying to funk for a takedown and ended up on his back, in 5:07. He has Meyer's vote of confidence. "Jones is wrestling awesome and should place."
Meyer lamented not letting it all hang out more in his final with McCarthy after the two were at different weights for a dual meet on Dec. 23. "I didn't open up at all in the first and second periods. Toward the last minute, I wrestled well. I was in good position the whole time and I could've racked up some more points."
High Point, which didn't have a champion for the third straight year, managed a fourth-place finish despite missing one of its best wrestlers -- junior Devin Flannery, who would have been a solid bet to at least make the semifinals at 120. The 'Cats had one runner-up in Brandon LaRue (113), who earned a tough 1-0 win over Phillipsburg's Cullen Day in a good semifinal matchup. Maverick Liebl (126) and Billy Talmadge (132) finished third, while Shane Kobis (138) and Robbie Turro (160) were fourths.
No comments:
Post a Comment