Sunday, February 22, 2009
By NICK FIERRO
The Express-Times
MOUNT
OLIVE TWP. | Eric Bohem saw the opening nearly 24 hours earlier. The
Phillipsburg High School senior then prepared himself to pounce.
By the end of the NJSIAA
District 1 wrestling tournament here at Mount Olive High early Saturday
evening, Bohem had seized everything that was presented to him, departing as
one of eight Phillipsburg champions after a thrilling 7-5 decision over Kyle
O'Donnell of Warren Hills in the finals at 171 pounds.
Bohem, who broke a 5-all tie
by reversing O'Donnell with 8 seconds to go, was part of a dominant march to
the team title by the Stateliners, whose 295.5 points left them half a point
shy of the goal they set going in but still feeling pretty darned good about
themselves heading into regionals.
"We're taking 12 of 14
(to regionals)," said Jason Magditch, who before the finals was named
District 1 Coach of the Year. "So we have to be happy with that. We had a
goal for 300 points and we probably would have attained that if things would
have worked out perfectly for us.
"But you've got to be
happy with the overall showing."
Also winning district titles
for Phillipsburg were Rylan Watson (112), John Horak (125), Matt Lane (130),
Oliver Burkardt (140), Nick Pare (145), Jared Crouse (189) and Matt Santini
(215).
Anthony Gaito, one of two
champs from Warren Hills, was handed the tournament's outstanding wrestler
award after overcoming three higher-seeded opponents on his way to the title at
135.
In the finals, he took
Phillipsburg's Bob Moyer down to his back with a headlock for a five-point move
in the second period and made it stand up for a 5-3 decision over the same
opponent who beat him each of the last three times they met.
"I thought I was going
to win (in the finals), but I didn't know about OW," an elated Gaito
revealed. "I was kind of a long shot there. I guess they thought I
performed well enough to deserve it."
Also winning a title for the
Blue Streaks was Matt Artigliere (160), who outlasted Mendham's Bill
Harrington, 3-2, in the finals.
Among the other gold
medalists on Saturday night were Hackettstown's Ryan Nicotra (103) and Corey
Kozimor (119) and North Warren's Kevin Brown (152)
Bohem knew the night before
that he would have at least a decent chance of running his bracket after seeing
Hackettstown's Tyler Gudmundsson stun top seed Branden VanSeters with a
quarterfinal pin.
But he also knew going
through No. 2 seed Ryder Clemmo of North Warren in the semifinals would not be
easy. It wasn't. Clemmo, trailing 5-3, dropped Bohem with a shot in the closing
seconds. Bohem was able to get a wizzer in to hold off the takedown long enough
for the buzzer to end it.
"That was the match I
had to worry about," Bohem said. "I was fortunate enough to ... get
some back points and beat him. It's the first time I got booed, but it was a
good boo. I won the match."
The championship match
wasn't any easier, as Bohem found himself up against Warren Hills junior Kyle
O'Donnell, who also had wrestled Bohem to a two-point match when they met at
sectionals earlier this month.
This time, Bohem avoided
O'Donnell's potent cradle for a workmanlike 7-5 decision.
Juniors Kozimor and Horak
each won for the third time.
"I'm pretty psyched for
regions and states this year," Kozimor said. "I want to make some
noise down there."
Pare's 3-2 decision over top
seed Rick Graff of Warren Hills in the finals avenged a 10-8 loss earlier this
month.
Yet the Stateliners will
remember this as much for the two individuals who didn't advance -- Cliff
Tinsman at 152 and heavyweight Jim Tersigni. Tersigni, the second seed, lost in
an overtime rideout to Jon Slack of Warren Hills in the semis before falling,
7-5, to Belvidere's Greg Ritter for third place.
The wild finish to that
match featured Ritter getting a pair of takedowns in the final minute -- the
first just as he was being hit for a second stall warning that gave Tersigni a
point.
Ritter was the fourth and
final regional qualifier from Belvidere.
Nick Fierro can be reached
at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com.