Saturday, March 05, 2005
BY GERRY DAVIDOVE
For the Star-Ledger
Bryan Kopesky of Phillipsburg, the fifth seed, avenged his one-point loss in the District 1 final to previously unbeaten Mike Frey of Warren Hills with a 3-2 victory at 189 to highlight the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Region 1 tournament last night before 1,500 at Wallkill Valley in Hamburg.
Kopesky scored the winning points on a takedown with 1:00 left in the third period to take a 3-1 lead. Frey (28-1), the fourth seed, pulled to within a point with a late escape.
"I've been looking forward to wrestling him again," said Kopesky, who improved to 28-5. "I think I could have beaten him in the district final, but he took me down three times. But this was a different match. This time, I wrestled my match. I worked harder and I wrestled smarter."
In addition to Kopesky, Phillipsburg advanced returning region champion Brandon Stillo (130), Jon Gregory (103), John Todd (119) and Chris Norrell (145) into today's semifinal round, which begins at 9 a.m. The consolations are slated to begin a 5 p.m. with the finals commencing at 6 p.m.
All eight regions will conclude today, with the top three finishers advancing to the state tournament that will start Friday and run until that Sunday, March 13 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Phillipsburg's Gregory,
the top seed, advanced with a 9-2 decision over eighth-seeded Gabe Ramos of Hopatcong.
Gregory, a junior, led, 4-2, entering the third period and took command of the match when he controlled Ramos in an arm bar.
"Last year, I was the eighth seed and I beat the No. 2 seed," said Gregory. "Then I lost in the semifinals. So, this year, I've been on a mission. My sights are set on placing and making it to the Boardwalk."
The cautious Gregory said: "As an eighth seed last year, I was very comfortable. Being number one has more pressure and I know that I can't let up."
Norrell,
the second seed, entered the final period behind, 6-4, and used a takedown with 1:10 remaining to rally past seventh-seeded Mike Farina of Morris Knolls, 7-6.
"I was kind of sloppy on my feet," Norrell said. "I got behind, but it was my will to win that kept me going. If I get down by a couple of points, I'm usually able to turn it around. I was a little nervous, but now I know that I have to focus. Every match from now on will be hard. There are no more fish to wrestle."
In addition to Stillo,
defending Region 1 champions Alex Conover (140) of Mendham, John Paxos (112) of Roxbury, Will Livingston (125) of Kittatinny, Dave Richmond (160) of Warren Hills, heavyweight Rob Ragona of West Milford and state champion Dan Vallimont (140) of Jefferson all advanced.
After finishing third
last year at 160, senior Robbie Jordan of Vernon, is looking to reach the final.
Seeded second at 160 this week, Jordan may be on his way after he scored a 14-5 decision over Mike Dunn of Pequannock.
"This year, I want to see what it's like to get to a final," Jordan, now 25-0, said. "The experience that I got here last year really helped. I can block out the press and the fans and just concentrate on wrestling."
Josh Knerr,
a sophomore from Belvidere, missed most of last season with a dislocated shoulder. But he looked strong last night when he advanced with a 12-2 decision over Jeremy Adickes of West Morris at 135.
"I was able to come back at the end of last year, but I didn't wrestle well," Knerr said. "This year, I want to just wrestle as hard as I can."
Phil Takacs-Senske of Sparta,
a sophomore who is the fourth seed at 152, came away with a 5-2 decision over Frank Irwin of Hackettstown.
"This is my first time at the region and it feels great to be here with the other good wrestlers," Takacs-Sebske said. "My goal is to win as many matches as I can and to get out to the states."
Takacs-Senske will face top-seeded Tommy Spellman of Kittatinny, who advanced with a 1:19 pin of Lenape Valley's Kyle Wrobleski.
"I've lost to Spellman twice this year, but I'm going to try and do the best that I can," Takacs-Senske said. "I've got to go out with a clear head and give it my all."