"This feels great," said Fischer, who improved to 13-0 on the season with a workmanlike 5-0 win over Kittatinny junior Jacob Mafaro. "We always know it's going to be a close match against Kittatinny, and it feels great to come out with a win."
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| Newton is now 17-31 all-time against Kittatinny dating to 1976. |
"It's nice. They had our number for years," said Bollette, a former Kittatinny wrestler who is now 6-15 overall against his alma mater. "We'll take it. I thought we wrestled well."
Kittatinny (7-5, 0-2) was never able to get on track after losing four of the first five bouts and Newton racing out to a 14-0 lead. Cougars coach John Gill was hoping to win seven bouts, but they got six despite winning the flip and bumping the lineup from 138 to cover a vacancy at 160.
The match started at 126 pounds, a bad spot for the hosts, as sophomore JoJo Lotruglio got Newton going with a pin, followed by senior Matt Rosa's huge 3-1 win over Nile Mattar at 132.
"It started in a great spot for us," said Bollette, whose team never trailed in this one. "Rosa gutted one out at 132 and JoJo got a big pin."
Kittatinny made its big move at 138 by inserting backup Christian Shotwell and bumping seniors Derek Molfetto and Brian Hanna up one weight class each. Newton senior Michael Freda scored a technical fall over Shotwell, while Molfetto got Kittatinny on the board with a 5-0 win over Julian Sibblies at 145, a bout that turned in the second period with a reversal and three back points.
Braves senior Wyatt McCarthy worked Hanna for a technical fall -- appearing to have a pin but official Joe Rossetti was on the wrong side to see it -- and Newton had a 19-3 lead through five bouts. By the time Gian Knippenberg stepped on the mat at 160, Kittatinny was down 18-0 in takedowns. His 7-4 win over Trevor Aughenbaugh in a tossup bout and Blake Dippel holding heavily favored Nick Brigante to a 2-1 decision at 170, gave the Cougars a glimmer of hope with its solid group of upper weights on tap.
"We were hoping for a pin from Wyatt," said Bollette, whose team finished with a 24-11 edge in takedowns. "But we had Freda down for a decision [straight up at 138] and he got the tech so we were plus two there. So we came out ahead."
Kittatinny senior Zach Mafaro, a sixth-place finisher in the state tournament last season, decked Matt Somers with a cradle in 4:27, while junior Robert Bruce got the Cougars within four points when he came off his back and pinned Ryan Kaiser in a wild bout at 195. Kaiser, had just gotten a takedown and backs for a 7-3 lead, when he gave up a reversal and the fall with just 34 seconds left in the second period.
But Fischer recorded a pair of takedowns to slow Kittatinny's roll and sophomore Nathan Fitt all but iced it with a pin at 106, as the Braves were awarded a match-clinching forfeit at 113. Oddly, Gill wanted to bump Nelson to 113, where he would have been less of an underdog despite giving up about 10 pounds and the Cougars needing to make a desperation move, but the coaching staff as a whole decided against it.
"We were hoping to win seven matches and make it a really successful night," Gill said. "We had some nice efforts, but this [loss] is frustrating."
NEWTON 37, KITTATINNY 28
126 -- So. JoJo Lotruglio (10-5), N, p. So. Patrick Franco (9-7), 2:50.
132 -- Sr. Matthew Rosa (10-5), N, d. Sr. Nile Mattar (10-8), 3-1.
138 -- Sr. Michael Freda (10-4), N, tf. So. Christian Shotwell (0-4), 25-10, 5:37.
145 -- Sr. Derek Molfetto (8-8), K, d. Jr. Julian Sibblies (3-6), 5-0.
152 -- Sr. Wyatt McCarthy (12-1), N, tf. Sr. Brian Hanna (14-3), 21-3, 4:23.
160 -- Jr. Gian Knippenberg (11-7), K, d. Jr. Trevor Aughenbaugh (3-10), 7-4.
170 -- Sr. Nick Brigante (10-4), N, d. Sr. Blake Dippel (6-11), 2-1.
182 -- Sr. Zach Mafaro (14-1), K, p. Sr. Matt Somers (5-9), 4:27
195 -- Jr. Robert Bruce (11-6), K, p. Sr. Ryan Kaiser (6-8), 3:26.
220 -- Sr. Luke Fischer (13-0), N, d. Jr. Jacob Mafaro (5-1), 5-0.
285 -- So. Jackson Crawn (16-2), K, forfeit.
106 -- So. Nathan Fitt (11-1), N, p. Fr. Shane Nelson (10-8), 4:27.
113 -- So. Danny Cleary (7-7), N, forfeit.
120 -- Sr. Mike Nelson (9-3), K, md. So. Nick Costa (2-6), 9-0.
Records -- Newton 5-3, 3-0; Kittatinny 7-5, 0-2.
Official -- Joe Rossetti.
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