Wrestling: 'Cats claw back -- again -- to win G2 title

TOMS RIVER -- It wouldn't have been any other way for High Point's wrestling team, a program that is no stranger to thrilling comebacks.

Down by 19 points through eight bouts, the Wildcats made their move -- winning the last six to pull off a stunning 30-25 victory over Raritan to win the Group 2 championship on Sunday at RWJBarnabas Health Arena.

Sophomore Billy Talmadge capped the methodical run with a 5-2 decision over AJ Erven to help give High Point (24-1), which advanced with a 37-23 win over Point Pleasant Boro in the semifinals, its fifth state title and third in Group 2. It was shades of the Sussex County school's last championship thriller here in 2014, as the 'Cats registered four straight pins to knock off Hanover Park, 34-33.

High Point celebrates its first state title since 2014.

"Some of our success has to do with the kind of schedule we wrestle," said veteran coach John Gardner, who also guided the program to titles in 2008 and '11 in Group 3 and the program's first in Group 2 in '13 ."We've had some long weekends and miserable days. This is nothing new for them. Raritan wrestled very well and had a lead on us for most of the match. Hats off to them. I'm very proud of our effort."

Talmadge (30-5), a fifth-place finisher in Region 1 last season who said he's wearing an old-school Gardner singlet from 1987, got the opening takedown just 21 seconds into the bout. Up, 3-1, in the third period, he countered a shot by Erven, who was outmatched in the strength department, for another takedown before giving up a meaningless escape with 14 seconds to go.

"I just tried to stay calm and confident," Talmadge said of his approach. "Getting that first takedown is really big. My mindset is first takedown wins."

Raritan (27-3), which scored a 34-32 win over Hanover Park in a tough semifinal, held a 25-6 lead after Ethan Wolf's major at 220. Senior Thomas Hubmaster, who has quietly had a nice season at heavyweight, started the comeback with an all-important 5-1 win over Matt Spirko.

Hubmaster (24-8), who was buried on the depth chart as a freshman before going 4-13 and 16-9 the previous two seasons, got an early takedown and one late with five seconds to go to ice it as Spirko made a desperation attempt with the clock winding down. It isn't often, maybe never, that you'll see a heavyweight sprint back to the center of the mat, but Hubmaster was ready to go from the opening whistle in a crucial situation.

"We've been working harder than ever [in the practice room]. We didn't want to lose," said Hubmaster, a cross country runner during the fall who credits assistant coach and all-time High Point great Billy Smith for helping him develop as a wrestler the past two seasons since the former state champion joined the staff.

"This is a credit to our depth. You don't win state championships with three guys, you need the whole team. I may not be stronger [than my opponent] but I feel like I'm in better shape. I may not be better than you, but [sprinting back to the center circle] shows I want it more than you do."

Sophomore Devon Liebl (106) and junior Brandon LaRue (113) followed with back-to-back pins in under a minute -- LaRue with a leg cradle after looking like he would give up an early takedown against Raritan district champion Robert Taddeo.

Freshman Josh Gervey also turned in a heroic performance with a wild 9-7 win -- thanks to a four-pointer on a headlock in the third period -- at 120. Gervey (8-8) began the season as a backup until junior Devin Flannery suffered a season-ending left elbow injury in mid-January. Senior Maverick Liebl gave High Point its first lead in the 13th bout with a workmanlike 10-4 decision at 126 -- setting the stage for Talmadge to ice the championship.

"It doesn't matter which 14 kids go out, we are able to mix and match, and save some bonus points," Gardner said. "Josh Gervey did a heckuva job and the seniors leading this group."

High Point won the toss and opted to send out first on the odd bouts to control pivotal matchups at 160 and 182. It got the 'Cats a split as senior Robbie Turro dropped a tough 4-1 decision in the second tiebreaker after giving up a late escape in the third period with six seconds left in OT. But at 195, junior Grayson Sabo used a late second-period takedown for a pivotal 3-1 win over Region 5 qualifier Justin Acevedo.

"We went through it and felt we could win nine bouts if everything worked out," said Gardner, who brought back memories of 2014 by pacing up and down the bench in the closing moments at 132. "When they sent out [Russell Benson against 'Cats senior Shane Kobis in the opening bout at 138], it told me they thought they needed to win both [at 138 and 132]. We didn't plan on being down as much as we were, but we had a lot of kids out there trying their best. I'm very proud of the kids and the coaches."

HIGH POINT 30, RARITAN 25

138 -- Sr. Russell Benson (32-2), R, d. Sr. Shane Kobis (28-5), 7-3.
145 -- Sr. Christian Sookdeo (26-8), R, d. Sr. Sawyer Fenlon (10-14), 7-4.
152 -- Sr. Trey Osborn (27-5), HP, d. Sr. Andrew Bohal (8-3), 2-1.
160 -- Jr. Anthony Aquilano (28-6), R, p. So. PJ Soldano (1-3), :46.
170 -- Sr. Dylan Lonnay (21-9), R, d. Sr. Robbie Turro (22-13), 4-1 TB2.
182 -- Jr. George Burdick (31-3), R, p. Jr. Jonathan Morris (8-15), :24.
195 -- Jr. Grayson Sabo (22-9), HP, d. Jr. Justin Acevedo (26-8), 3-1.
220 -- Sr. Ethan Wolf (32-2), R, md. Jr. Andrew Lewis (17-11), 11-3.
285 -- Sr. Thomas Hubmaster (24-8), HP, d. Jr. Matt Spirko (24-7), 5-1.
106 -- So. Devon Liebl (25-4), HP, p. Jr. Aiden Dennehy (7-19), :23.
113 -- Jr. Brandon LaRue (31-2), HP, p. Sr. Robert Taddeo (20-14), :58.
120 -- Fr. Josh Gervey (8-8), HP, d. So. Mike Lonnay (18-15), 9-7.
126 -- Sr. Maverick Liebl (28-5), HP, d. Jr. Cameron Rafalko (11-17), 10-4.
132 -- So. Billy Talmadge (30-5), HP, d. Sr. AJ Erven (26-7), 5-2.
Records -- High Point 24-1, Raritan 27-3.
Officials -- Doug Bush and Russ Scorese.

Semifinals

HIGH POINT 37, POINT PLEASANT BORO 23

132 -- Billy Talmadge, HP, p. Luke Schumatti, 3:07.
138 -- Shane Kobis, HP, d. Ty Bailey, 8-2.
145 -- Spencer Robinson, PB, p. RJ Brevot, 3:41.
152 -- Francis Marshall, PB, tf. Sawyer Fenlon, 24-9, 4:06.
160 -- Trey Osborn, HP, d. John McTaggart, 2-1.
170 -- Robbie Turro, HP, d. Ben Gilmore, 5-0.
182 -- Grayson Sabo, HP, d. Dylan Ippolito, 1-0.
195 -- Billy Borowsky, PB, p. Hunter Flores, 3:47.
220 -- Andrew Lewis, HP, d. Gabe Fattizzi, 5-1.
285 -- Anthony Bonavito, PB, d. Thomas Hubmaster, 1-0.
106 -- Devon Liebl, HP, p. Nick Torre, 1:33.
113 -- Ben Sabo, PB, d. Nick Douma, 4-0.
120 -- Brandon LaRue, HP, md. Jack Bailey, 15-1.
126 -- Maverick Liebl, HP, p. Jake Magley, 2:22.
Records -- High Point 23-1; Point Pleasant Boro 19-2.

RARITAN 34, HANOVER PARK 32

132 -- Nick Raimo, HP, md. AJ Erven, 14-5.
138 -- Russell Benson, R, md. Michael Rubin, 13-5.
145 -- Sean Conley, HP, d. Christian Sookdeo, 5-2.
152 -- Andrew Bohal, R, d. Connor Mildon, 5-1.
160 -- Matthew Liberato, HP, md. Dylan Lonnay, 13-4.
170 -- Anthony Aquilano, R, d. Nick Zarra, 3-1.
182 -- George Burdick, R, p. Sebastian Bassolino, :56.
195 -- Justin Acevedo, R, p. Gianluca Birnbaum, 5:26.
220 -- Ethan Wolf, R, p. Daniel Gregory, 2:41.
285 -- Matt Spirko, R, p. Daniel Jimenez, :51.
106 -- Joey Olivieri, HP, p. Jordan Rafalko, :21.
113 -- Jake Bursese, HP, p. Robert Taddeo, 2:31.
120 -- Dom Merola, HP, d. Mike Lonnay, 7-5.
126 -- Domenic DiFrancescantonio, HP, forfeit.
Records -- Raritan 27-2, Hanover Park 17-3.