“There was a lot of pressure for sure,” said senior Ethan Composto. “But despite a few things we need to fix moving on, we all wrestled really well.”
After a long, hard semifinal round during the Region 4 tournament, all three Blue Devil wrestlers placed and scored high enough to move on to the Individual State Championships.
Senior Michael Murphy, who was wrestling at 165 lbs, took the tournament by storm. He swept his bracket, pinning his opponents and winning by massive margins. Determined to have a place in Blue Devil wrestling history, Murphy took an astonishing first place. Murphy defeated Garrett Tettemer of Delaware Valley with a 5-3 decision.
Both wrestlers came out aggressively, using their skill to put on points for takedowns and escapes. However, Murphy came out on top, proving why he should be considered one of the top wrestlers in New Jersey.
“I felt very happy with my finals win,” Murphy said. “I faced a tough opponent and managed to open up the match in the third period.”
In the 138 lb class, Composto was ready to leave it all on the mat. Pacing back and forth. An evil look in his eyes. After barrelling through the bracket, one more match was needed to give the Blue Devils their second first-place finish for the day. Composto faced Angelo Pellicci of St Peter’s Prep, an elite wrestling school with one of the biggest reputations in New Jersey.
Throughout the match, both wrestlers struggled to tag on a single point until Pellicci finally snuck one on the board. This would prove to be fatal as time ran out, giving Pellicci a 1-0 victory. Although Composto took 2nd place, which is impressive against such competitive wrestlers, he is not finished.
“This is just the beginning,” said Composto. “I can only learn from this to really show out in the state tournament.”
Senior Brandon Ribeiro, who was wrestling at 126 lbs, was the third wrestler to move on to the state tournament. After moving on from the first round of regions with a forfeit, he faced Gavin Duran of Ridge. Understanding that this match was going to be difficult, Ribeiro focused in, eyeing down his opponent as the first period started.
It was an extremely close match to say the least. Both wrestlers had similar skills and were quick to recover if they made a mistake. However, as time trickled down, they needed to be more aggressive, and Duran managed to push hard enough to give himself a few extra points for the win. Ribeiro fell short, losing 6-5 and placing 4th in the tournament. Luckily, as the 126 lb weight class bracket came to a finish, he had enough points to move on to states.
“I’m happy I get to move on with my teammates and coach,” Ribeiro said. “The state tournament is big and I can’t wait to be in such an intense atmosphere. It’s going to be really special for sure.”
A handful of other Blue Devil wrestlers also participated in the regions. Seniors Sergio Cabrera and Richard DeRick put up good fights, but fell short of qualification as well as junior Max Rotter and freshman Jake Zemsky.
These three fierce Blue Devils hope to continue their push for a state title on Thursday in the state tournament, which will take place Mar. 2-4 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
“At states this week I want to walk out of the arena with no regrets,” Murphy said. “Win or lose, I want to know I left it all on the mat.”
