Stiffer competition was desired and stiffer competition was what they got when the 11-6 Westfield Blue Devil wrestlers invited the 10-2 Manasquan Warriors to Westfield on January 29 in what could be considered a tossup match. The lead would change seven times but on the final one, the visiting Warriors, trailing, 33-32, pulled off a pin in the final bout to earn a 38-33 victory.
The Blue Devils had just come off a quad match, which involved the Summit Hilltoppers, Newark East Side and the AL Johnson Crusaders. The Blue Devils crushed the East Siders, 76-6, toppled the Hilltoppers, 54-29, and defeated the Crusaders, 55-17. The Warriors had just competed in the Shore Conference Tournament.
As to the adding of stiffer competition, Blue Devil Head Coach Glen Kurz said, “It’s a five-point match. That comes down to the way we live our lives off the mat. I thought we had a couple of good practices. We need to dial some stuff in the way we are living our lives outside the practice room. That one! We earned it. We deserved that one.”
The first bout of the evening pitted Blue Devil Seth Bekker against 19-3 Mike O’Connor at 157-lbs. O’Connor began with a single-leg trip takedown, added a low single takedown then picked up another three points with a tight waist tilt. O’Connor added two more takedowns and a two-point half nelson in the second period, chose neutral in the third period then ended the bout with a takedown to claim a 20-4, technical fall in 4:18. The Warriors upped their team lead to 11-0 when Connor Brewer took a 7-0 lead over Gavin Dwyer at 165-lbs with a takedown and a tight waist/arm bar nearfall in the first period then pinned him in 2:44 with the arm bar/tight waist.
Jack McDermott got the Blue Devils on the scoreboard at 175-lbs when he pinned Dan Riccione in 3:55 with a half nelson/tight waist. McDermott recorded three takedowns in the first period – the first one a nice double leg – then added a reversal and a twopoint nearfall in the second period before finalizing the bout.
Blue Devil junior Duncan Callow got an opportunity to compete at the varsity level and came through with a wild 15-11 decision over David Dawson at 190-lbs. Callow’s final moves were an escape and a stepover takedown to secure the win.
“Duncan Callow had and opportunity to get in the varsity lineup. He practices hard. He made the most of his opportunity. Good for him! We tell our JVees we expect you to practice like varsity guys. You never know
More photos at goleader.com Ballyhoo Sports when you need to go. Be ready to go! And he came through,” Coach Kurz expressed.
Blue Devil junior Jake Zemsky with a 23-2 record jumped up to 215-lbs to face senior Kai Donahue (12-3) but the Warriors had other ideas. Zemsky received a forfeit to give the Blue Devils a 15-11 team lead then Donahue jumped up to 285-lbs and pinned Lincoln Meyers with a head throw in 36 seconds.
A good match-up at 106-lbs had Blue Devil Daniel Berardi (22-4) and Shea Tracey (16-6) battling through a scoreless first period. Berardi escaped but was taken down. Berardi pulled off a standing switch reversal and converted it to a three-point nearfall. Leading 6-4 in the third period, Berardi clamped Tracey in a cradle to receive four back points and to earn a 10-4 decision. At that point, the Blue Devils regained the lead 18-17.
The lead would quickly change again, however, when Warrior Shane Kerstetter (17-6) recorded a takedown then pinned Max Berardi in 1:30 with a tight waist/half nelson at 113-lbs. Now it was Blue Devil Jake Conti’s turn when he faced off center mat with Shane DePinto at 120-lbs. Conti used a whizzer maneuver and step over takedown to smother DePinto in 1:53. The 24-23 lead was short lived, however, when Warrior Logan Milancewich cradled Matt Blessington to sleep in 46 seconds at 126-lbs.
Next came one of the key bouts of the evening between Blue Devil Dylan Sontz (18-2) and Jaden Sanders (166) at 132-lbs. Sanders was awarded a penalty point in the first period when Sontz was charged with fleeing the mat. Sontz received a penalty point early in the second period then escaped for a 2-1 lead. Sontz was on top in the third period and was working to turn Sanders with a half nelson but the ref ruled it as a dangerous move. Sanders eventually escaped to knot the score then just before the end of the period, he recorded a takedown at the edge of the mat to beat Sontz, 52. At that point, the Warriors had a 3224 lead with three bouts remaining.
At 138-lbs, after controlling his opponent for the entire second period, Blue Devil Yehia Abdulrahman (12-1) broke a scoreless tie with a standing switch to earn a 2-0 decision over Charlie Hunt (18-6). Blue Devil Luke Slubersky (20-7) tore into Chris Mendoza with a pair of takedowns in the first period at 144-lbs, escaped in the second period then added a side bulldog to half-nelson stack to pin him in 3:27, putting Westfield up, 3332, entering the final bout.
At 150-lbs, Warrior Torrin Tracey (15-9) faced Elias Wood, who recorded a pair of takedowns (2nd one a backdoor) to grab a 6-1 lead entering the second period. But Tracey escaped, followed with a double-leg lift takedown then pinned Wood with an Olympic arm bar in 3:10.
“We gave up a lot of 6’s (pins) and a five-point match. That hurts! Hopefully we are going to get better from it,” Coach Kurz concluded.
BOUT SEQUENCE: 157: — O’Connor M tf Bekker 20-4 4:18 165: — Brewer M p Dwyer 2:44 175: — McDermott W p Riccione 3:55 190: — Callow W d Dawson 15-11 215: — Zemsky W won forfeit 285: — Donahue M p Meyers :36 106: — D Berardi W d Tracey 10-4 113: — Kerstetter M p M Berardi 1:30 120: — Conti W p DePinto 1:53 126: — Milancewich M p Blessington :46 132: — Sanders M d Sontz 5-2 138: — Abdulrahman W d Hunt 2-0 144: — Slubersky W p Mendoza 3:27 150: — Tracey M p Wood 3:10
