Wrestling: P'burg pulls away late for Pin Cancer win

PHILLIPSBURG -- Twenty minutes or so after the final bout of the night, Phillipsburg senior Jacob Wicks was ready to go again. That's typical for the high-energy wrestler.

In the 11th of 14 bouts, Wicks iced things with a decision at 193 pounds as the Stateliners scored a 36-16 victory over newcomer Frenchtown before an estimated crowd of about 1,000 in the eighth annual Pin Cancer event on a picture perfect Thursday night on the new turf at Maloney Stadium. The result was the exact score and outcome from when the teams met during this past high school season.

Anthony DeRosa was among 5 winners for Frenchtown.

P'burg, now 7-1 all-time in Pin Cancer matches, won nine bouts in all and five of the last six, including sophomore David Pierson's 2-0 decision at 180 that started a four-bout run to the finish. After Wicks scored a workmanlike 7-1 decision over Zach Zuchowski, junior Gage Horvath (218) and senior Cody Cruts (288) capped the night with victories in matchups considered tossups.

"We thought coming in that if we wrestled the best we could, we could win 10," said P'burg coach Dave Post, who co-founded this event with former Washington/Warren Hills coach Jarrett Hosbach. "In reality, we could have won 12. We like the balance with this team. There are no superstars, but they are going to give us everything they've got."

Wicks, who went 24-16 and won a district title in a breakout junior campaign this past high school season, will be one of the leaders for a P'burg team that will be extremely young, but certainly not short on talent. His father, Jamie, was a legend for Delaware Valley, winning state titles in 1987 and '88. Jacob is now 2-0 in Pin Cancer matches.

Jacob Wicks controls Zach Zuchowski in a 7-1 win.

"I know these [Del Val/Frenchtown] guys really well and we're friends, but not on the mat," said Jacob Wicks, who has been working on improving this offseason and getting in some evening running sessions. "A lot of the guys have been telling me, 'Hey Wicks, transfer to Del Val. Sorry, I'm not doing that. [P'burg] is my team. We don't have any stars, but we have a lot of talent. We're going to do what P'burg always does and fill in some spots, and compete for state championships."

Frenchtown, which joined this event in March when Washington/Warren Hills pulled out for undisclosed reasons, was thrilled with its introduction to a unique summertime tradition. Terriers coach Andy Fitz is looking forward to hosting in 2020.

"There was a ton of enthusiasm going into the match," Fitz said. "I want to thank Hosbach, Post, the P'burg administration. This doesn't happen without someone like Jarrett thinking of doing this. In the big picture, this is about having fun in a great environment for a good cause."

P'burg fell behind early after dropping two of the first three bouts, including a tight one at 122, where Frenchtown junior Cooper Gill rode out Hakeem Ransdell in a 30-second period for a 4-3 win to give the Terriers a 6-5 lead, their final advantage of the night. The Stateliners won three of the next four, including a 7-3 win by senior Jared Kukor in a pivotal bout at 143 that swung the momentum for the hosts.

One of the most impressive performances came from P'burg sophomore Nate Zastowny, who scored a 12-2 major over Andrew Larsen. Keep an eye on Zastowny, who was tough on top with three sets of back points in his victory, after a collarbone injury derailed most of his freshman campaign. His return will be one of the keys for P'burg in the program's quest for sectional and Group 4 titles.

"He would have been a starter for us [last season]," Post said. "We're not too worried about Nate. He came back at the end of [last] season, but he didn't get enough mat time."

One of the best matchups of the night potentially would have pitted Zastowny against highly-touted Frenchtown freshman Garrett Tettemer, who did not compete due to a coaching decision. Fitz said he has been using multiple lineups this summer and Pin Cancer adopted the weights used in the upcoming 1,000 Island Duals, which feature one fewer class in the middle.

Junior Anthony DeRosa scored an 11-1 major at 170 for Frenchtown's fifth and final win of the match. P'burg led 24-16 through 10 bouts before pulling away up top.

In a wild one at 218, Horvath gave up a go-ahead reversal to Nick Moose with 19 seconds left before getting an escape to tie the bout at 3. With 14 seconds left in sudden-victory overtime, Horvath converted a low-single shot off the whistle to win it. P'burg finished with a 15-12 overall edge in takedowns.

"We let a couple matches slip away tonight," Fitz said. "I don't know if it was nerves or what. We're looking forward to the dual meet [during the high school season at P'burg on Feb. 6, 2020]. We're competitive with them again."

PHILLIPSBURG 36, FRENCHTOWN 16

108 -- Sr. Derek Schepens, F, d. So. Sean Stasiulaitis, 10-4.
115 -- So. James Day, P, tf. So. Robert Groogan, 16-0, 3:00.
122 -- Jr. Cooper Gill, F, d. So. Hakeem Ransdell, 4-3 OT (rideout).
128 -- So. Joey Innamorato, P, p. So. Noah Sheeley, 2:23.
133 -- Jr. Jason Tino, P, p. Jr. Ben Brown, 1:13.
138 -- Sr. Gage Crater, F, d. So. James Palitto, 10-4.
143 -- Sr. Jared Kukor, P, d. Sr. Chase Christie, 7-3.
150 -- Jr. Corey Crater, F, d. Fr. Hunter Cleaver, 1-0.
158 -- So. Nate Zastowny, P, md. Sr. Andrew Larsen, 12-2.
170 -- Jr. Anthony DeRosa, F, md. So. Matt D'Onofrio, 11-1.
180 -- So. David Pierson, P, d. Sr. Matt Zdepski, 2-0.
193 -- Sr. Jacob Wicks, P, d. Sr. Zach Zuchowski, 7-1.
218 -- Jr. Gage Horvath, P, d. Sr. Nick Moose, 5-3 SV.
288 -- Sr. Cody Cruts, P, d. Sr. Ryan Sutter, 5-3.
Officials -- Chip Castner, Frank Leitner and Jack Meyer.