Asbury Park Press Sports Wrestling Reporter Steve Falk takes a quick look at some of the Shore's best chances to make the State Finals next week in Atlantic City. Peter Ackerman
The three wrestlers from the Greater Middlesex Conference whose seasons ended on the mat in the medal round of the 2018 NJSIAA Individual Championships concluded their tournament runs in dramatic fashion at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Sunday.
In the third-place bout at 160 pounds, Colonia’s John Poznanski caught Holy Spirit’s Tim Fitzpatrick with a head and arm for a takedown on the way to a 6-4 win in sudden victory.
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In the fifth-place bout at 160 pounds, Piscataway’s Michael Petite endured a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Hasbrouck Heights’ Matthew Dallara, who scored a takedown with nine seconds remaining.
In the seventh-place bout at 145 pounds, Middlesex-Dunellen’s Jeff Johnson yielded a five-point move just before the buzzer in a devastating 6-1 loss to Newton’s Wyatt McCarthy.
South Plainfield’s Luke Niemeyer, who was awarded a medical forfeit, only needed to step on the mat to get his hand raised to claim fifth place at 195 pounds, sparing himself from being subjected to the potential drama that impacted his conference brethren.
“It was a tough weight so I was happy I got on the podium this year,” said Niemeyer (40-5), a junior. “Anything better than eighth is just icing on the cake, really. I can’t wait to get back at it.”
East Brunswick's Mitch Polito (120) and South Plainfield's Joe Heilmann (126), who both advanced to the state final, were the only other wrestlers from the GMC to medal in Atlantic City.
Poznanski (41-4) concluded his sophomore campaign with a 40-4 record that included two losses to Kevon Freemon of Ohio, who InterMat ranks 18th in the country and a 7-5 setback to Wall’s Robert Kanniard, who is ranked 20th in the nation. His only other defeat was a 6-5 loss to Dallara in the quarterfinals.
“It’s a big accomplishment, but my goal is to get on the top of the podium,” Poznanski said. “I came up a little short this year, but (placing third) is just a great confidence builder for me.”
Colonia had coach Dan Grasso said the individual medal was Poznanski’s reward for being an outstanding teammate.
“He’s the kind of kid you want to coach,” Grasso said. “Every day of the week he’s just working to get better, and he’s such a good role model for the rest of the kids in the program. Our production as a team has gotten better because of his leadership.”
Unlike Poznanski, who has two seasons left, the careers of Johnson (40-4), the winningest wrestler in Middlesex history, and Petite (37-4), the winningest wrestler in Piscataway history, came to an end in unfitting fashion.
“I felt like going into the tournament – and even into today – I was happy where my career is,” said Petite, who dropped a 7-3 semifinal decision to Bergen Catholic’s Shane Griffith, the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds, and allowed a last-second takedown in a 4-3 loss to Poznasnki in the consolation semifinals.
“I ended today on a sour note, so this is just going to be in the back of my mind going forward,” said Petite, who will continue his career at the University of Buffalo. “I’ve got to keep working and grinding. I’ve just got to get tough and bounce back to be as good as possible. You could see all my emotion out there (on the mat). I love this sport. I recommend it to everybody.”
Just as Petite wore his heart on his sleeve, so did Johnson, whose first loss in the tournament was to eventual finalist Ricky Cabanillas of DePaul. In the closing seconds of his bout, Johnson appeared to be on the verge of a takedown, but got off balance and was reversed to his back.
“He put the kid on his back and he stepped over and unfortunately got rolled through,” Middlesex-Dunellen head coach Pat Appello said. “He was in a good position but the kid rolled through. What are you going to do? It was one of those crazy endings.”
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