The Blue Devils are hungry for success and motivated to make history as they approach their upcoming 2022-2023 season.
After an impressive 15-9 record in their previous season and a tough loss to Watchung Hills in the sectional semifinals, the Blue Devils have been working hard on and off the mat, perfecting their skills to reclaim the throne.
“A big difference from last year to this year is that we’re not gonna have any forfeits in the line up this year,” said senior Ethan Composto. “Last year we were giving up 18-24 points a match from forfeits but this year we got solid wrestlers at each weight.”
Along with Composto, seniors Michael Murphy and Brandon Ribiero will be captains of this year’s team. Westfield faces one of the more difficult schedules in all of New Jersey. To start off the season, the Blue Devils are competing in a tournament in Delaware Valley this Saturday, followed by a match against Linden, and eventually rival Roselle Park, who went 12-3 last season.
The Blue Devils look very different this year after losing five crucial seniors, including University of Maryland wrestler Luke Jacobs. Head coach Glen Kurz has been preparing for this transition and has made sure his upcoming wrestlers are ready to fulfill these spots.
“One of the things we do really well is that we spend a lot of time together all summer so even though we lost a lot of valuable seniors, our freshmen are not coming in like typical freshmen,” said Kurz. “They have wrestled 30-40 matches with us so we just picked up and moved on.”
While a challenging season lies ahead, the Blue Devils have been ready to go, competing in multiple training camps to pose as even more of a threat to other teams. “I think the team has really worked hard in the off season on technique and conditioning. I expect a lot of our returning wrestlers to make a big jump this season,” Murphy said.
The extra reps have greatly pushed the Blue Devils and has made the team extremely determined to give it their all. As a result, the team has two main goals it hopes to achieve. “Winning the county tournament is always a big one for us and is definitely achievable this year as well as beating Phillipsburg in sectionals,” said Composto.
Ribiero completely agrees. “Our goal is obviously to win every dual meet that comes our way,” he said. “A Union County title and sectional title has been our goal ever since our off-season training. Our team is looking very strong and we have some tough freshmen coming in and everyone’s healthy.”
This season is special for these Blue Devils. The majority of this year’s wrestlers are seniors, showing how strong the team is going to be but also how important this year is since most may never touch the wrestling mat ever again. So far, only two wrestlers have committed to further their wrestling careers in college: Murphy to the University of Virginia and Composto to Gettysburg College.
“This season feels really special because we have a ton of seniors on the team who are all really close to each other and this is our last time getting to wrestle together,” said Composto. “So we all want to end off with a fun and successful year and at the same time leave a positive impact on the younger kids on the team the way that the seniors we looked up to when we were freshman positively impacted us.”
With all this motivation and excitement in the air for these Blue Devil wrestlers, this team could possibly be one of the best, most skilled groups Westfield has had in a long time. Under fierce leadership and amazing coaching, the Blue Devils are bringing in higher energy than ever.
“I think this team could be, if everything goes well and we focus on things we have to focus on, one of the best teams I’ve coached,” said Kurz. “I think we are capable of winning a county tournament and if everyone stays healthy, this could be a really good team.”
Westfield fans better buckle up, the boys are back in town.
