Senior Devin Flannery was back in dual-meet action for the first time in just over 11 months after missing most of last season with a left elbow injury, and his pin at 120 pounds helped spark the Wildcats to an impressive 49-20 win over Kittatinny on Tuesday in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division matchup.
High Point (1-0, 1-0 division) won 10 bouts (five pins and a major) as it snapped a two-match skid in the series with its first win over Kittatinny since a 32-31 victory in the North 1, Group 2 sectional quarterfinals in 2015. The longtime rivals did not meet last season for the first time since the series began in 1975, as the 'Cats now own a 28-14-1 edge overall.
"This was a good win," said Flannery, who used an arm bar to flatten Connor Hanna, who was filling in for senior Mike Nelson (head injury) in 1:01. "We lost to them my freshman and sophomore seasons. It was good to get a win over Kittatinny my [senior] year."
Kittatinny (0-1, 0-1), which came in as a heavy underdog, won four bouts -- three against backups. High Point is dealing with injuries as well, as senior 195-pounder Grayson Sabo will have season-ending should surgery on Wednesday. 'Cats coach John Gardner took the opportunity to get some of his younger wrestlers some experience in a big match.
Still, longtime Cougars coach John Gill was pleased with some of what he witnessed in this one.
"On paper, we though we'd get three, and maybe squeak out four. We darn near squeaked out five," said Gill, now 13-24-1 all-time against High Point. "I saw good effort. I'm more pleased than depressed. Hats off to High Point. They are an outstanding, well balanced, well coached team."
The tone was set early in this one as senior Liam Whitteaker, who had never wrestled in the youth level and had never seen a live match before this season, scored a 6-3 upset-win over freshman Brycen Mafaro in the opening bout at 285. Whitteaker, a trumpet player in the school band who outweighed his opponent by nearly 80 pounds (280.5 to 203.3), used that to his advantage as he countered Mafaro's attempts to go upper body for a pair of takedowns in the win.
Then came High Point's powerful lightweight surge as the 'Cats won the first seven bouts in racing out to a 37-0 lead. Freshman Clayton Utter (106), senior Brandon LaRue (132) and junior Billy Talmadge (138) all had pins, while Devon Liebl (113) received a forfeit. Sophomore Josh Gervey, one of the heroes in last season's Group 2 final win over Raritan, racked up two takedowns and three back points in a 14-2 major over Patrick Franco at 126.
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| Devin Flannery (front row right) celebrates the Group 2 win. |
"We're good," Flannery said of the team's lower weights. "From 106 through 138, everyone is solid. I think we're as good as any group [High Point has ever had]."
Flannery, who sustained a UCL injury that is common with pitchers in baseball, did not undergo Tommy John surgery, and he was able to get back on the mat sooner this past offseason. Flannery said it was tough watching last season's team make a run to the Group 2 title -- the program's fifth championship overall and third in Group 2. That squad was honored prior to the match against Kittatinny.
"It wasn't fun to put all that hard work in and get hurt," said Flannery, now 72-18 in his career. "That was motivation to work hard all summer and put in a lot of hours to get better. My goal is to get high on the podium [at the state tournament in Atlantic City]."
Kittatinny finally broke through at 145, when senior Brian Hanna scored a technical fall over Ben Intili. Junior Gian Knippenberg followed with a hard-fought 10-6 decision over Alex Buchwald at 152. Buchwald built a 4-0 lead in the first period, but Knippenberg rallied with five points off a headlock in the second period and another takedown to grab a 7-6 lead.
Super freshman Brian Soldano got High Point back on track with a pin at 160, and the 'Cats won three of the last five to close it out.
"Anytime you can get an early-season win against a quality team like Kittatinny, you'll take that," said Gardner, now 10-10 overall in this rivalry, not including his three wins as a High Point wrestler from 1988-90. "There are a lot of little things we can still improve on. This was a good start to the [dual meet] season."
High Point will have little time to savor this one as it will host Southern, last season's Group 5 runner-up and one of the top teams in New Jersey, as part of a tri-meet that includes Roxbury at noon on Saturday.
"Our schedule is going to be a challenge," said Gardner, whose team scored a 28-25 win at Southern last season. "We can't get too high or too low. We have to keep building and perform as consistently as we can perform."
HIGH POINT 49, KITTATINNY 20
285 -- Sr. Liam Whitteaker (1-0), HP, d. Fr. Brycen Mafaro (2-2), 6-3.
106 -- Fr. Clayton Utter (4-0), HP, p. Fr. Shane Nelson (2-2), 1:09.
113 -- Jr. Devon Liebl (4-0), HP, forfeit.
120 -- Sr. Devin Flannery (3-0), HP, p. So. Connor Hanna (0-1), 1:01.
126 -- So. Josh Gervey (3-1), HP, md. So. Patrick Franco (2-2), 14-2.
132 -- Sr. Brandon LaRue (4-0), HP, p. Sr. Nile Mattar (1-3), 1:39.
138 -- Jr. Billy Talmadge (4-0), HP, p. Sr. Derek Molfetto (1-3), 1:58.
145 -- Sr. Brian Hanna (3-1), K, tf. Sr. Ben Intili (0-1), 16-0, 4:53.
152 -- Jr. Gian Knippenberg (1-3), K, d. So. Alex Buchwald (4-2), 10-6.
160 -- Fr. Brian Soldano (4-0), HP, p. Jr. Kyle Raposo (0-4), 1:29.
170 -- Jr. PJ Soldano (4-1), HP, d. Sr. Blake Dippel (1-3), 9-7.
182 -- Sr. Zach Mafaro (1-0), K, p. So. Sean Van Wingerden (0-1), 1:51.
195 -- Sr. Jonathan Morris (3-1), HP, d. Jr. Robert Bruce (3-2), 5-3.
220 -- So. Jackson Crawn (3-1), K, p. So. Justin Klass (0-1), 2:24.
Records -- Kittatinny 0-1, 0-1; High Point 1-0, 1-0.
Officials -- Frank Leitner and Barry Jackson.
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