“We want that constant pressure, we want that attack against everybody and tonight our kids went in confident, and if they wrestle with this confidence against everybody, we are going to be tough to beat,” said head coach Glen Kurz. He was clear that the Blue Devils needed to keep up their aggression after Westfield took down Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 59–12.
To start off the match, freshman Luke Sluberski was ready to go, quickly outperforming his opponent. Sluberski, who was wrestling underweight, went up 2-0 after a takedown and escaped a close pin late in the second period. However, fatigue in the third period would get the best of him as his opponent took advantage and tagged on points to take the lead. As the match came to a finish, Sluberski took a 3-2 loss which barely fazed any of the Blue Devils.
Senior co-captain Brandon Ribeiro was up next. Pacing around the mat, his opponent could only shiver at the thought of Ribeiro slamming him to the floor. This thought quickly became a reality as Ribeiro went on a spree of takedowns, letting his opponent regain his balance before bringing him to the floor once again. Completely in control, Ribeiro pushed the score to 16-6 in the third period and eventually secured a huge 23-8 victory.
Ribeiro’s fierce win set the tone for the Blue Devils, and Westfield’s aggressive constant takedowns would become a theme for the remainder of the match.
Senior co-captain Ethan Composto followed Ribeiro’s lead with two quick takedowns, his opponent struggling to escape under Composto’s tight grip. The Raider head coach seemed to give up pretty quickly, finding himself at a loss for words as Composto secured a big win, pinning his opponent.
Similarly, senior Aidan Harper took quick jabs at his opponent, sending a message that he meant business before slamming his opponent to the ground. The Raider lay sprawled out under Harper’s body. Harper finished the Raider off with a pin as senior Richard DeRick strolled up to the mat, his opponent destined to meet the same fate as his teammates.
This destiny became a reality as DeRick toyed with his opponent, even carrying his opponent in the air before slamming the Raider to the floor for 2 points. As more takedowns followed, DeRick pushed his lead past 15 points, securing a 17-2 victory.
A gust of intensity seemed to have entered the Blue Devil crowd as senior Coby Linsky took the mat. Linsky started the match with a takedown to jump out to 2 points and eventually pushed to a 4-1 lead. With Linsky in control, he kept forcing his opponent to the floor, tagging on points to extend his lead to 13-4. However, Westfield fans were hungry for a pin, shouting at Linsky to turn his opponent to his back. Unfortunately, Linsky ran out of time, ultimately securing a major 16-7 win.
“I just knew when to go,” said Linsky. “We had a lot of practice with being quick and shifting on the mat and I put it to work out here tonight.”
The Raiders had enough and their head coach even halted the match, storming across the mat to see if the Blue Devils had cheated. Kurz and the Raiders coach exchanged some harsh words as the stat keepers flipped through their notes to check if cheating had taken place. After being proved wrong, the Raiders coach walked back to his bench, awaiting more Westfield torment.
Westfield senior Tim Kobin battled hard, but fell short, losing the next match. This didn’t matter for the Blue Devils as they maintained a strong 27-6 lead.
Freshman Jake Zemsky came out fired up, a look of anger written out across his face. An immediate takedown gave Westfield 2 points, and after Zemsky worked up a 7-1 lead, he rolled his opponent, pinning him.
Just like Zemsky, senior Sergio Cabrera was determined to earn a Blue Devil victory. After having a rocky start to the season, Cabrera has been on a victorious streak, hoping to make his Raider opponent just another tally. After going up 6–0 following three takedowns, Cabrera flipped his opponent, securing the pin and receiving praise from fans.
“I knew I had to be on the offensive,” said Cabrera. “On top I knew I had to be strong to just get that pin early. We are only going up from here, no more excuses.”
Senior Cary Pritchett’s match started out close, not knowing when to make his move on his large, tank-like opponent. However, Pritchett saw his chance and shot to the Raider’s knees, taking his opponent down. His startled opponent had little time to react and was taken by surprise as Pritchett forced the Raider on his back for the pin.
“We always prepare hard and always work hard,” said Pritchett. “We never discriminate against any teams and are ready to battle to secure a big win.”
Scotch Plains-Fanwood forfeited its next two matches and pinned one other Westfield wrestler until sophomore Dylan Sontz took the mat.
Sontz jumped up and down, shaking himself around to prepare for the final match of the night. Starting out extremely physically, Sontz took the lead 5-1, keeping his opponent in front of him to maintain complete control. He quickly extended his lead to 7-3 and finished out his match in a 9-5 win.
“We don’t need to change a whole lot,” said Kurz. “Some of us need to believe in ourselves a little bit more and tactically we need to finish periods without giving up points at the end. We are definitely in pretty good shape heading into the counties, and I’m looking forward to our performance.”
The Blue Devils hope to continue their win streak in the Union County Tournament on Saturday.
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