But Phillipsburg senior Brian Meyer had nothing to hang his head about following a 5-4 defeat to Toms River South senior Cole Corrigan in the 152-pound final of the 85th State Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall.
Meyer (39-3), whose other two losses this season were to Pennsylvania state champions, capped a stellar career that included four district and three region titles -- the latter only done by five other Stateliners -- to go with his two state medals and setting the school's all-time wins record at 131-35. But least for now, all of it offered little consolation for not achieving his goal of winning a state title.
"This feeling won't go away," said Meyer, who was surprisingly turned for three back points right off the whistle in the third period with a cradle, a move once a staple of the Phillipsburg program, as the pivotal point in a 2-2 bout. "I don't really know [how Corrigan locked up the cradle], it seemed to come out of nowhere. He jumped on it and got it tight."
Phillipsburg juniors Travis Jones (120) and Cody Harrison (138) also took home state medals as part of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area's total of 18 overall. It was Jones' first -- a seventh-place finish -- while Harrison added a fourth place to last year's eighth. It's also the Stateliners' first time with at least three in one tournament since their five in 1998 and three in '99.
Corrigan (40-0), who had placed seventh two years ago, was tough on once he got on top, keeping Meyer flat on his belly for most of that final period. In fact, Meyer didn't even get to his feet until there were 17 seconds left to go. Corrigan was hit twice for stalling in the last 11 seconds and he yielded an escape at the buzzer for the final point.
"[The cradle] was there and I saw an opportunity," said Corrigan, who admitted he rarely hits that move. "Once I locked it up, I knew I had it."
There will no doubt be some second guessing on Meyer's choice to take bottom in the third, give he converted the only takedown of the bout in the first period and was in deep on two other single-leg attempts in the second period. Corrigan, meanwhile, never really came close to getting a takedown.
"We had talked about it [before the bout] a little bit," Meyer said of the pre-match plan for when it was his choice. "If I had a decent lead, like 2-0 or 4-2, I wasn't going down. I was going to stay on my feet. At 2-2, an escape wins it for you. It just didn't work out. I was confident. It's a position I struggle at, so I have some work to do."
Phillipsburg coach Dave Post, who was very emotional over the loss, offered his explanation on the choice to go underneath.
"He was confident going down," Post said. "[Corrigan] is tough on top, we knew that coming in. We kind of let [Meyer] dictate where he wanted to be. Brad [assistant coach Gentzle] and I, we wanted to see his reaction and how he feels. I don't know what was going on inside his head, but I'd like to think he was pretty confident."
Post also said they had some time to mull it over just prior during a blood timeout for Meyer, who took a good shot to the nose in his entertaining win in the semifinals against Bound Brook's Joe Casey -- 7-5 in sudden-victory overtime.
"It crossed our minds. We took probably one of the worst shots, and we still got the takedown," said Post, who has guided wrestlers to five finals appearances during his tenure, including the Stateliners' 33rd and last champion in Brandon Hull (220 pounds in 2012).
Meyer, who finished third as a junior and is headed to wrestle at Lehigh University for coach Pat Santoro, will no doubt use this as motivation at the next level.
"I have other goals. I know I'm going to continue to get better," he said. "I'm confident in my coaches [at Lehigh]. I know they will push me to be the best I can be."
CHAMPIONSHIPS
182 -- Sr. Bill Janzer (33-0), Delsea, d. Jr. Josh McKenzie (21-1), Bergen Catholic, 3-2 UTB.
195 -- Jr. Jacob Cardenas (28-4), Bergen Catholic, md. Sr. Sam Wustefeld (44-2), Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 10-2.
220 -- Sr. Peter Acciardi (37-2), Don Bosco Prep, d. Sr. Liridon Leka (41-4), Montville, 3-1.
285 -- Jr. Lewis Fernandes (43-0), Voorhees, p. Sr. Kody Wood (42-1), Pennsville, 3:00.
106 -- Fr. Joey Olivieri (42-3), Hanover Park, d. Fr. Dean Peterson (36-2), St. John Vianney, 6-3.
113 -- So. Anthony Clark (36-2), Delbarton, d. Jr. Samuel Alvarez (35-2), St. Joseph-Montvale, 3-2.
120 -- So. Robert Howard (36-1), Bergen Catholic, d. Sr. Michael Polito (37-1), East Brunswick, 5-2.
126 -- Sr. Patrick Glory (40-0), Delbarton, d. Sr. Joe Heilmann (44-1), South Plainfield, 7-0.
132 -- Jr. Lucas Revano (39-4), Camden Catholic, d. Sr. Kyle Slendorn (42-2), Howell, 4-3.
138 -- Sr. Quinn Kinner (44-0), Kingsway, md. Sr. Jake Benner (39-3), Ocean Township, 11-2.
145 -- Jr. Ricky Cabanillas (41-1), DePaul, d. Sr. Nick Bennett (37-7), Delsea, 5-2.
152 -- Sr. Cole Corrigan (40-0), Toms River South, d. Sr. Brian Meyer (39-3), Phillipsburg, 5-4.
160 -- Sr. Shane Griffith (39-1), Bergen Catholic, d. Jr. Robert Kanniard (45-1), Wall, 6-1.
170 -- Sr. Michael O'Malley (40-0), Hasbrouck Heights, d. Jr. Christopher Foca (28-5), Bergen Catholic, 7-2.
Donald Ringler Award (Outstanding Wrestler) -- Quinn Kinner, Kingsway.
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