SONTZ, McDERMOTT, DIZICKI, BERARDI RECORD PINS
Jacking up the competition toward the end of the regular season would be a good learning experience for the young Westfield High School wrestling team that hosted a tough St. Thomas Aquinas squad on January 31. There were a number of close match-ups but in the end, the 12-6 Trojans emerged with a 49-24 victory.
“We knew St Thomas was going to be tough. That’s why we brought them in. Our more experienced wrestlers got a lot out of it and got a little more battle tested for the post-season,” Blue Devil Head Coach Glen Kurz explained.
The 10-8 Blue Devils won four bouts, all by pins, and it began at the very beginning of the match with Dylan Sontz stepping on the mat to face Trojan Nehemiah Pina at 138lbs. Sontz began with a single-leg trip takedown but was penalized a point for clasping hands. In the second period, Pina escaped and took a 4-2 lead with a low double-leg takedown. Sontz escaped but was tricked with a backdoor takedown. Trailing 6-3, Sontz escaped in the third period and caught Pina with a double-trouble takedown to pin him in 4:35.
Trojan Liam Zeh exercised a clinic of wrestling skills on Elias Wood at 144-lbs. He utilized a takedown to tilt nearfall. Added a grapevine/Jacobs hook nearfall and a far-arm corkscrew nearfall before pinning Wood with an arm bar stack in 3:27 to knot the team score. At 150-lbs, Trojan Phil Palmer began with a five-point Fireman’s-to-back takedown on Matt Zheng. He added another Fireman’s and a defensive spin takedown in the second period then in the third period, Palmer escaped and added another five-point takedown-to-back for a 15-3, majority decision to put the Trojans up 10-6.
Jack McDermott put the Blue Devils back on top, 12-10, when he pinned Sam Villanueva with a wrist/half nelson in 1:18 at 157-lbs. Ben Diziki jumped Westfield’s lead to 18-10 when he pinned Kyle Young with a bulldog/walkover maneuver in 5:03 at 165-lbs. Earlier in the bout, Diziki successfully countered a headlock and added two more points with a single grapevine/chin hook.At 175-lbs, Trojan Anthony Pasquale quickly rocked Nik Speronza to sleep with a cradle in 1:10.
“Dylan Sontz and Ben Diziki both faced adversity, but found a way to wrestle through it. That’s what we’re looking for in our wrestlers,” Coach Kurz expressed.
A battle of two tough opponents, Blue Devil Jake Zemsky and Nazareth Pina, came in the 190-lb class. Pina pulled off a smooth arm drag takedown then Zemsky escaped. Pina answered with a low double and Zemsky escaped again. Pina escaped in the second period, Zemsky escaped in the third to narrow the score to 5-3. When Zemsky attempted a doubleleg takedown, Pina countered with a defensive spin behind takedown. Zemsky escaped but Pina earned a 74 decision to put the Trojans in front, 19-18.
At 215-lbs, Trojan Steve Coghan used a double-leg lift takedown and a single-leg and drive takedown to grab a 4-2 lead on Noah Neimiera after two periods. Coghan added a reversal then pinned Neimiera in 5:24 with an arm bar/half nelson. Caden Sternlieb received a forfeit at 285-lbs to up the Trojans’ lead to 31-18.
Blue Devil Dan Berardi cut the Trojans’ lead to 31-24 when he took James Fogarile to the mat with a double-leg takedown then pinned him in 1:11 with a straight arm bar/wrist combination at 106-lbs. At 113-lbs, Trojan Niko Rivas racked up points on Josh Semler with a bulldog walkover takedown, far side cradle nearfall, a cross face tilt and another cross face/Turk tilt before recording a fall in 4:16 with a far side cradle.
The 120-lb bout between Blue Devil Max Rotter and Beni DiCocco was expected to be a tough one. After a bit of a scramble, DiCocco came through with a backdoor takedown then Rotter escaped. Rotter escaped in the second period to tie the score but DiCocco added a takedown. In the third period, DiCocco escaped and added a left-leg ankle takedown. Rotter escaped but DiCocco came out the backdoor for another takedown. Rotter escaped but time ran out as DiCocco won 9-4.
At 126-lbs, Trojan Vince Gioffre took Luke Sluberski to the mat with a side single-leg takedown then yielded an escape. Sluberski escaped in the second period to tie the score then took a 4-2 lead with a quick Fireman’s takedown. Gioffre answered with a five-point Peterson roll then added a snap down-to-bulldog takedown to grab a 9-4 decision.
“Max Rotter, Luke Sluberski, and Jake Zemsky all lost close matches to excellent wrestlers, but I’m confident that they each learned something that will help them down the road,” Coach Kurz commented.
The final bout of the evening had Trojan Jahir Aguilar seizing an 8-0 lead with a takedown and a pair of nearfalls on Seth Bekker at 132-lbs. Aguilar reversed Bekker in the second period and added three points with a Turk ride and Jacobs’hook. He then pinned Bekker with an arm bar/ half nelson in 3:48.
The Blue Devils received the third seed for the upcoming North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 Tournament that was to begin on February 5. The Blue Devils would face sixth-seeded Elizabeth then the winner would face the winner of second-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan and seventhseeded Newark East Side in the semis. Both matches were held at Bridgewater.
“Overall, I thought we wrestled well. This is the time of year where we have to focus on going forward every day. I think we did that. We need to continue to improve through the sectionals and individual post season,” Coach Kurz emphasized.
BOUT SEQUENCE: 138: — Sontz (W) p Pina 4:35 144: — Zeh p Wood 3:27 150: — Palmer md Zheng 15-3 157: — McDermott (W) p Villanueva 1:18 165: — Diziki (W) p Young 5:03 175: — Pasquale p Speronza 1:10 190: — Pina d Zemsky 7-4 215: — Coghan p Neimiera 5:24 285: — Sternlieb won forfeit 106: — Berardi (W) p Fogarile 1:11 113: — Rivas p Semler 4:16 120: — DiCocco d Rotter 9-4 126: — Gioffre d Sluberski 9-4 132: — Aguilar p Bekker 3:48
