BOOM! The floor shook as Blue Devil Michael Murphy slammed St Peter’s Prep’s Max Nevlin into the mat. The crowd roared as time ticked down. Match over. The horn sounded as Murphy got back to his feet, his hand raised high above his head by the referee. Victory. Murphy secured first place in the NJSIAA District 16 tournament on Saturday with a 3-2 win.
“It felt good to win districts in my last match at home,” Murphy said. “It’s been a long journey, and I’m glad I capped it off on top. However, there’s still a lot of work left to be done this season.”
Hosted by Westfield, the district tournament is one of the most important events in a wrestler’s season as he has both a chance to win for his team and a chance as an individual competitor.
The Blue Devils had been preparing all season for this tournament and were ready to showcase how head coach Glen Kurz had mentored them. With the help of former Blue Devil and University of North Carolina star wrestler Christian Barber, Westfield’s coaching was unmatched.
“We practiced really hard, then we started to taper so our physical performance could be at its peak,” said Murphy.
This coaching allowed the Blue Devils to succeed throughout the tournament as Westfield made a dent in the competition. Of the 14 Blue Devils that wrestled in districts, seven moved on, placing high amongst their competition.
To start, University of Virginia commit Murphy took first place in his weight class, only a week after reaching 100 wins in his high school wrestling career.
Not too far behind came Brandon Ribeiro, Max Rotter, and Gettysburg College commit Ethan Composto in second place.
Rotter, who received a bye in the first round, breezed through the quarterfinal round and semifinal final with an impressive pin in each round. His dominant performance allowed him to reach the finals, and, despite taking a loss, he qualified for the NJSIAA Regions tournament.
Ribeiro also found success on the mat with a pin in the quarterfinals. Ribeiro fell short in the semifinals, but still achieved second place and will move on. Ribeiro demonstrated supreme agility and quickness through his takedowns and escapes. This quickly paid off as he hoped to continue his successful run in the regions.
“I’m really looking forward to regions,” Ribeiro said. “It’s a perfect time to show what Westfield wrestling is really all about.”
Composto, also a member of the 100-win club, displayed his grit as he swiftly won his quarterfinal match and was able to pin his opponent in the final seconds of his semifinal match. Composto took a 3-0 loss in the final but still advanced to the next round.
The Blue Devils continued to display their dominance as they covered all three places in the tournament. Jake Zemsky, Sergio Cabrera and Richard DeRick were all defeated in the semifinals but still secured third place. This granted them entrance into regions.
“There’s still some stuff we need to work on such as our aggressiveness,” Composto said. “If we all continue to work hard, Westfield will dominate in regions.”
With the Blue Devils’ hopes high, the NJSIAA Regions tournament will take place on Friday, Feb. 24.
