Wrestling: Meyer 3-peat, Jones thriller big for 'Liners

WEST ORANGE -- Phillipsburg senior Brian Meyer seems to be involved in some aspect of program history with each passing win these days.

He was at it again on Saturday, becoming just the sixth Stateliner to capture three titles -- no one has won four -- with his 2-1 decision over Caldwell senior Gerald Jones at 152 pounds in the Region 3 Tournament at West Orange High School.

"It's a really cool feeling," Meyer said of joining Rick Thompson (1970-71, '73), John Rutledge (1977, 79-80), John Barna (1980-82), Marc DeFrancesco (1994-96) and Brandon Paetzell (2013-14, '16) in that exclusive club featuring some of the program's all-time greats.

"Obviously when you get to high school, the goal is to be a district, region and state champion. It's a great feeling to get [a third region title]. It shows the hard work is paying off."

Travis Jones heads to AC as a Region 3 champion.

Meyer was one of three champions for Phillipsburg, as junior Travis Jones (120) and Cody Harrison (138) won their first titles. The Stateliners, who produced five region finalists for just the third time since 1998, with 2016 also being the last for three winners, advanced six wrestlers to next weekend's state tournament in Atlantic City. Joining those three were runners-up Cullen Day (113) and Kyle Tino (132), along with third-place finisher Lance Wissing (170).

Hackettstown had two champions for just the second time in Alex Carida (145) and Joe Andes (285), while Warren Hills had two runners-up in Jarod Ostir (182) and Nick Galka (220). Belvidere junior Quinn Melofchik, second at 106, rounded out the local contingent in the championship round. Warren Hills senior Codey O'Rourke (126) also earned a trip to AC with a fourth-place finish.

Meyer (35-2), a four-time district champion and a third-place finisher in the state 145 last season, needed only a first-period takedown -- that came just before the buzzer -- to knock off Jones for a second straight Saturday. In the District 9 finals, Meyer got the decisive takedown with 32 seconds left in sudden-victory overtime for a 3-1 win over Caldwell's all-time wins leader.

"I would like to score more points, but it was hard to get to his legs," Meyer said of the rematch. "I think I opened him up more this time, but I couldn't finish."

Meyer, who is 127-34 in his career, needs just two victories to surpass Max Elling (128-37 from 2011-15) as Phillipsburg's all-time leader.

Jones' victory came with much more dramatics and flare as he got a reversal with six seconds left in the third period for a nail-biting 6-5 decision over Delbarton sophomore Alex Strashinsky in the opening title bout.

"You always want to get the first takedown, but if I don't, I know I can come back," Jones said. "I still got the win, but it was a little closer than I would have liked with 20 seconds left. I knew I could at least get one."

Jones led, 2-0, with a reversal in the second period and got another with 1:11 left in the third as the two engaged in several wild scrambles. Strashinsky, also a tough mat wrestler, started on bottom in the third and got a reversal -- after Jones got a one-count with a tilt -- to knot it at 2. He escaped after Jones' second reversal to trail, 4-3, and funked his way to a go-ahead takedown with 31 seconds left in the bout. But his strategy to stay on the mat with Jones, one of the most dangerous mat wrestlers around, was a colossal mistake.

"I know I'm really good on the mat, not that I'm the best ever, but I also thought I was better [than Strashinsky] on the mat," said Jones, now 66-19 overall. "I knew I could beat him there. I think this is the best match I wrestled [in this tournament]. On Friday, I was pretty slow and not really myself, and then I got caught in a spladle [late in third period before going on to a 5-3 win in sudden victory against Mendham's Dom DiGena in the semis].

"It's better being the underdog, it's a lot more fun. When you're the top seed, there's something to prove, there's expectations. It's a different motivation."

Harrison, who finished third in his two previous region appearances, was a winner in his third attempt, as he had to hang on for a 6-5 win over Verona senior Frank Gabriele.

Leading, 5-1, after two periods, Harrison (32-3), an eighth-place finisher in last year's state tournament, was firmly in control until Gabriele escaped and converted a double-leg takedown with 1:44 left in the third to make it 5-4.

Harrison managed to escape 15 seconds later and was hit for stalling twice down the stretch as Gabriele pressed the action but couldn't come close to getting a decisive takedown. After the second stall call, Harrison, who seemed to run out of steam in the third period, took an injury timeout with 16 seconds to go.

Tino and Day ran into returning state champions in their finals matchups.

At 132, Hanover Park junior Nick Raimo put on a clinic with eight takedowns, including a five-pointer with a headlock, in a 21-6 technical fall win over Tino, making his first finals appearance.

Day dropped a 5-0 decision in his finals rematch with Delbarton sophomore Anthony Clark, who scored a 3-1 win in last year's title bout at 106 en route to capturing the state title a week later.

Championships

120 -- 1-Jr. Travis Jones (37-4, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-So. Alex Strashinsky (21-3, D10-1), Delbarton, 6-5.
126 -- 1-Sr. Patrick Glory (35-0, D10-1), Delbarton, tf. 2-Jr. Domenic DiFrancescantonio (33-7, D11-1), Hanover Park, 17-2, 3:26.
132 -- 1-Jr. Nick Raimo (37-0, D11-1), Hanover Park, tf. 6-Jr. Kyle Tino (24-9, D9-1), Phillipsburg, 21-6, 4:09.
138 -- 1-Jr. Cody Harrison (32-3, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-Sr. Frank Gabriele (36-3, D10-1), Verona, 6-5.
145 -- 3-Sr. Alex Carida (40-1, D9-1), Hackettstown, d. 1-Sr. Travis Tavoso (30-5, D10-1), Delbarton, 2-1.
152 -- 1-Sr. Brian Meyer (35-2, D9-1), Phillipsburg, d. 2-Sr. Gerald Jones (33-3, D9-2), Caldwell, 2-1.
160 -- 2-So. Kieran Calvetti (27-8, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 1-Sr. Matthew Liberato (26-5, D11-1), Hanover Park, 5-4.
170 -- 1-Sr. Marco Gaita (33-2, D11-1), West Morris, d. 2-Jr. AJ Lonski (26-11, D10-1), Delbarton, 7-6.
182 -- 1-Sr. Cole Kreshpane (27-8,  D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Sr. Jarod Ostir (27-2, D12-1), Warren Hills, 7-3.
195 -- 2-So. Gage Armijo (35-2, D9-2), Mendham, d. 4-Sr. Anthony Siragusa (18-10, D10-1), Delbarton, 5-0.
220 -- 1-Sr. Trey Zgombic (19-6, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Jr. Nick Galka (24-4, D12-1), Warren Hills, 10-7.
285 -- 1-Sr. Joe Andes (39-1, D9-1), Hackettstown, p. 2-Jr. Ryan Knox (25-15, D12-1), Randolph, 1:54.
106 -- 1-Fr. Joey Olivieri (37-3, D11-1), Hanover Park, d. 2-Jr. Quinn Melofchik (36-3, D11-2), Belvidere, 3-1.
113 -- 1-So. Anthony Clark (31-2, D10-1), Delbarton, d. 2-Sr. Cullen Day (29-10, D9-1), Phillipsburg, 5-0.
Outstanding Wrestler Awards -- Patrick Glory, Delbarton and Alex Carida, Hackettstown.
Coach of the Year Award -- Dave Post, Phillipsburg.
Assistant Coach of the Year Award -- Mark Delia, Belleville.