Warren Hills, Phillipsburg High School wrestlers confident for NJSIAA Region 1 tournament

Friday, February 27, 2009

By NICK FIERRO

The Express-Times

Last week, Jarrett Hosbach had perhaps his sharpest vision of this wrestling season.

"I was talking to (junior) Anthony (Gaito) on Tuesday," the Warren Hills coach said. "And I said, 'when you win districts, you'll be (named the tournament's outstanding wrestler).' "

Underdog Gaito did his part to make that happen, beating Phillipsburg's Bob Moyer, 5-3, for the 135-pound championship. The tournament organizers then turned Hosbach's theory into reality by following through with what he predicted.

Ironically, Gaito now is back in position to do the same thing today and Saturday at the NJSIAA Region 1 Tournament at Wallkill Valley.

Despite the win, Gaito has been seeded fourth and Moyer third heading into today's quarterfinals. This was due to Moyer's overall body of work being a little better. That could turn out to be crucial because it put Moyer in the opposite half of the draw from Wallkill Valley's Kodie Silvestri, the top seed and second-ranked wrestler in the state.

Moyer and many of his Stateliner teammates found themselves in favorable spots after the tournament was re-seeded following Tuesday's first round.

Rylan Watson (seeded third at 103), John Horak (second at 125), Matt Lane (third at 130), Oliver Brukardt (sixth at 140), Nick Pare (second at 145), Mike Simon (seventh at 160), Eric Bohem (third at 171), Jared Crouse (second at 189) and Matt Santini (second at 215) also will be competing for Phillipsburg.

"Overall, as far as what's laid out for us versus the outcome, I couldn't ask for anything more," Phillipsburg coach Jason Magditch said. "It's up to them now how far they're going to go with this."

Gaito, Matt Scheubel (fourth at 125), Rick Graff (fourth at 145), Matt Artigliere (first at 160), Kyle O'Donnell (eighth at 171), Richard Maguire (eighth at 189) and Jon Slack (seventh at 285) will be representing the Blue Streaks.

Hosbach is similarly satisfied with those positions, even though most amount to unfavorable draws.

"We're in good spots, great spots, really," Hosbach said. "We've just got to go out and wrestle. Our guys are happy with the opportunity in front of them. Everybody has the same opportunity. ... But Wallkill only has two mats. It's a grind, it's a long weekend."

Among the others to make it to this point are Hackettstown's Ryan Nicotra (103), Corey Kozimor (119), Erik Mitchell (130) and Khalid Zubaydi (215), North Warren's Kevin Brown (152) and Ryder Clemmo (171) and Belvidere's Greg Ritter (285).

Pare, the District 1 champ, knows how difficult it will be to do the same in this tournament. Undefeated top seed Troy Hernandez of Kittatinny looms in the other half of the draw. He's also ranked No. 1 in the state.

"Troy Hernandez and I, we've been wrestling against each other since we were 4-foot tall," Pare said. "Well, we've known each other since then. We've only wrestled three or four times. But ... once you get into the circle, you kind of forget about (the friendship). I know it sounds a little cliche, but it happens. You can be friends, but once you get in the circle, you forget about it. And once that last whistle blows, it's all over."

Brown, who survived with a 1-0 decision over Mike Amada of Mount Olive in the district title match last Saturday, will have much more than a possible rematch on his mind this weekend.

"(Wallkill Valley's Evan) Bowlby should be tough," Brown said. "(Kevin) Murphy from Roxbury and (Keith) Lemongello from Pequannock are good. I heard (Lemongello) lost to this West Mildford kid (Taylor Pevny). So there's a lot of tough kids in my weight."

Nick Fierro can be reached by e-mail at nfierro@express-times.com