Wrestling: Esposito reverses North's fortunes vs. DV

ALEXANDRIA TWP. -- Things certainly turned in a hurry and made an unheralded sophomore the hero in one of the biggest dual meets of the season in Hunterdon County. 

North Hunterdon's Matthew Esposito was nearly in danger of being pinned when he rolled through and decked Delaware Valley junior Tye Falkenstein with just seven seconds left in the third period of their bout at 132 pounds -- sparking the Lions to a 34-33 victory in a key Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash on Wednesday night at Daniel Hutchins Memorial Gymnasium. 

Perez, Phil Hutchins, Esposito with the OW trophies

Esposito (3-3) led 7-3 in the third before he surrendered a pair of takedowns to Falkenstein (11-5) -- the second nearly resulting in a huge swing for Del Val as Esposito fought off his back for a pin that gave North a 31-25 lead with three bouts to go.

It also earned Esposito the Dan Hutchins Memorial Award, given annually to the OWs for each team in the dual. Hutchins' father, Don, and brother, Phil, presented the trophies in honor of the late Del Val star wrestler, who was killed in a 2002 auto accident.

"I was a little nervous there. It was a close match the whole time," said Esposito, who was aware he'd be inserted into the lineup prior to the dual. "I was hoping to do a little bit better, but at the end there, I just worked hard and knew that I had to get it for the team. That type of win ... it was great to see my team pumped up."

For North (4-2, 2-0 division), which improved to 32-26 all-time in a series dating to 1963, it was a winning move as coach Dave Bell and his staff opted to run sophomore Aidan Yarussi up to 138, where the state qualifier converted a third-period takedown for an 8-5 win over Del Val's Michael Hasson.  

"I have to credit [assistant coach and former East Brunswick state champ Darren Schulman] for moving Matt Esposito to 132 and the lineup up. We knew [Del Val] was strong in the middle, but we felt we could wrestle with them. You can put it on paper, you can add the score up, but in my whole [coaching] career, a match never comes out the way you think. There's always something unexpected that happens. We knew that was our best lineup."

Del Val (8-1, 1-1) won the final two bouts, but needed a major at 144, where junior Sebastian Dobak settled for a 9-7 win over Kieran Raley before Jackson Bush closed the match with a win by technical fall. The Terriers knew that a pin by Bush wouldn't be enough as the Lions had the edge in total first points scored (24-18) had it gone to criteria with a 7-7 split in bouts won and even in pins and majors.

North has won 11 of the last 14 meetings vs. DV

North was in some trouble early on after losing a tossup bout at 165 and yielding pins at 215 and 285, which put the Lions in a 19-12 hole through six bouts. But sophomore Cayden Wadle sparked a rally with his pin at 106, followed by talented freshman Owen Fol's 9-1 major at 113. Senior Joseph Celentano added a key 15-10 win at 120 -- fighting off his back in the first period against Lucas Beyers, who was inches from putting the hosts in the driver's seat. 

"They wrestled really tough," Bell said of the lower weights. "Every time Owen steps on the mat, he's wrestling with confidence. He's coming into his own. He's made huge incremental gains. I'd wrestle him against anyone."

Del Val lost the flip but still got the matchup it wanted at 126, where senior ace Jaden Perez pinned state qualifier Reid Buzby with a cradle in 1:45. In doing so, Perez became the 14th member of the program's 100-wins club and earned the OW honors for his school. A fitting accomplishment as Hutchins was the Terriers' first to hit the century mark (109-27 from 1998-2002). The gym was subsequently named after him in 2013.

But the season's first dual loss was a tough one for coach Andy Fitz and his team, which is expected to be the one to beat for a Group 1 state title next month.

"When you're wrestling these old-school, barnburner matches, you can only make so many mistakes," Fitz said. "We preach win big, lose small, and we gave up too many bonus points. We need to improve on that. We were sharp, even in losses. We just need to do a better job of staying in bouts where we're competitive and not giving up the big play. Jaden kept us in the match. I thought at that point we had regained a little momentum. It just didn't go our way.

"We wanted to win this of course, as did [North], but the goal is in another month."

NORTH HUNTERDON 34, DELAWARE VALLEY 33

157 -- Sr. Luke Sinkewicz (13-1), DV, p. So. Dylan McGuinness (5-4), 3:17.
165 -- Jr. Olivier Paul (13-2), DV, d. Sr. Joshua Joubert (7-7), 6-4.
175 -- Sr. Evan Kinney (12-1), NH, p. Sr. Jon Nalesnik (7-7), 2:57.
190 -- Jr. Owen Dandeo (7-5), NH, p. So. Matthew Sencher (5-4), 2:49.
215 -- Sr. Branden Sozanski (5-2), DV, md. So. Andrew DeSimone (3-8), 14-4.
285 -- Jr. Luken Alberdi (12-3), DV, p. Sr. James Turner (4-7), 1:44.
106 -- So. Cayden Wadle (11-1), NH, p. So. Owen Shuey (2-6), 1:59.
113 -- Fr. Owen Fol (5-7), NH, md. Jr. Tristan Fawthrop (7-6), 9-1.
120 -- Sr. Joseph Celentano (6-6), NH, d. Sr. Lucas Beyers (10-6), 15-10.
126 -- Sr. Jaden Perez (15-0), DV, p. Jr. Reid Buzby (10-4), 1:45.
132 -- So. Matthew Esposito (3-3), NH, p. Jr. Tye Falkenstein (11-5), 5:53.
138 -- So. Aidan Yarussi (12-2), NH, d. Jr. Michael Fasson (12-3), 8-5.
144 -- Jr. Sebastian Dobak (7-2), DV, d. So. Kieran Raley (7-8), 9-7.
150 -- Sr. Jackson Bush (14-1), DV, tf. Sr. Vincenzo Darrow (4-6), 18-3, 5:59.
Records -- North Hunterdon 4-2, 2-0; Delaware Valley 8-1, 1-1.
Officials -- Anthony Zullo and Dave Marotta.
Dan Hutchins Outstanding Wrestler Awards -- Matthew Esposito and Jaden Perez.