Nowicki protects ranking, starts K-Kids' victory over Phillipsburg 


NORTHAMPTON -- Ryan Nowicki was made to feel right at home in his new environs from the first
day of practice with the Northampton wrestling team. 

The senior 171-pounder, who spent his formative years at Saucon Valley before transferring 
in the off-season, never had to go through a transition process. 

 
"I pretty much felt like I fit in right from the start," he said. "This is a good group of
guys." 

Nowicki made that good group even better, and never was that more evident than Wednesday 
night at the K-Dome, where he won a key bout early in a non-league clash with Phillipsburg
that helped send Northampton to a convincing 43-17 victory. 

Nowicki, ranked No. 1 by The Express-Times at 171, squared off against No. 2 Mike Fania. 
After six grueling minutes, he had two hard-earned takedowns and a 6-4 decision that cut 
Phillipsburg's early advantage to 10-9. Northampton (14-0) took the lead for good 
immediately after that, when the Stateliners (4-2) forfeited to Josh Haines at 189. 

"I just wanted to have fun out there," Nowicki said. "I wanted to capitalize on his 
mistakes. I thought about (the rankings) a little. I thought he'd be a tough kid, but 
I went out there pretty confident." 

The 6-4 final didn't tell the story, according to Phillipsburg coach Greg Troxell. 

"I thought we could get Nowicki until I saw the type of wrestler he was," Troxell said.
"He was much taller than Mike, and he tied him up and blocked all his shots. He was in
control the whole time and never in danger of losing the match." 

Until Nowicki's win, Phillipsburg had been getting the better of the Kids, even in two 
defeats. 

After P.J. Budd gave the Stateliners a brief 4-0 lead with his match-opening 13-4 major
decision over Troy Wasser at 140, Jeff Ecklof tried to erase the advantage during his 
ensuing battle with Justin Koeller in a battle of two of the region's top wrestlers at 145. 

Ecklof, ranked No. 2, appeared to be working for a major decision after cutting No. 3 
Koeller loose each time following a pair of quick takedowns in the third period for an 
8-4 lead. But Koeller wiped out any possibility of bonus points by scoring a takedown 
with 42.5 seconds to go. Ecklof could manage only an 11-6 decision. 

Phillipsburg avoided more bonus points at 152 as well with Jared Duffy using a cement 
job for a five-point move on Billy Haydt in the third period to turn what could have 
been a major decision by Haydt into only a 12-9 win. 

The Stateliners even regained the lead at 160, where No. 2 Dave Post flattened Danny 
George with 16 seconds to go, lifting them to a 10-6 advantage. 

But that was the last bout that would go their way until Robert Au reversed No. 2 
Billy Stenack in the second overtime to break a 3-3 deadlock at 112. 

Northampton had won five in a row before that, starting with Nowicki's win over Fania. 

After Stenack's loss, John Paukovits won a 5-1 decision over Brandon Stillo at 119, 
Dave Gilio won a 23-10 major decision over A.J. Varga at 125 and Joe Ecklof pinned 
John Marino with 33 seconds left at 130 to give the Kids a commanding 43-13 advantage. 

All of this worked to keep the Konkrete Kids pointed toward Liberty on Super Bowl eve
and for the regular-season battle with Lehigh Valley Conference rival Easton that 
will determine the top seed for the District 11 Duals the following weekend. 

"There's always a few things you feel you could do a little better," Northampton 
coach Terry Daubert said, "but that's why we practice. There's still some things to 
work on. There were four tossups; we won three of them, so I'm happy about that." 

NORTHAMPTON 43, PHILLIPSBURG 17 

140 -- Sr. P.J. Budd (9-3), P, md. Fr. Troy Wasser (8-10), 13-4. 

145 -- Sr. Jeff Ecklof (22-2) N, d. Sr. Justin Koeller (9-4), 11-6. 

152 -- Jr. Billy Haydt (24-3), N, d. Jr. Jared Duffy (8-5), 12-9. 

160 -- Sr. Dave Post (12-2), P, p. Jr. Danny George (2-4), 5:44. 

171 -- Sr. Ryan Nowicki (21-3), N, d. Sr. Mike Fania (13-3), 6-4. 

189 -- Jr. Josh Haines (24-1), N, forfeit. 

215 -- Jr. Matt Snyder (11-4), N, p. Jr. Mike Ader (1-4), 0:20. 

275 -- Jr. Jon Oplinger (20-1), N, p. Jr. Chris Forder (0-2), 1:32. 

103 -- Jr. Tim Dogmanits (17-9), N, d. So. John Todd (8-5), 5-2. 

112 -- Jr. Robert Au (10-4), P, d. Jr. Billy Stenack (19-6), 5-3 (OT). 

119 -- So. John Paukovits (20-4), N, d. So. Brandon Stillo (7-6), 5-1. 

125 -- So. Dave Gilio (19-4), N, md. Jr. A.J. Varga (5-7), 23-10. 

130 -- So. Joe Ecklof (23-6), N, p. Jr. John Marino (2-3), 4:27. 

135 -- Sr. Kyle McRoberts (9-4), P, md. Sr. Andy Heist (7-11), 9-1. 

Referees: Bob Colletta and Jerry Rodriguez. 

Records: Phillipsburg 4-2; Northampton 14-0.