Phillipsburg Wrestling Gets a Win Over Bridgewater And Moves to 2-0

The Phillipsburg High School wrestling team went against Bridgewater-Raritan High school yesterday. Phillipsburg is coming off of many tournaments and a match win against Hillsborough before the new year. The important match at Mount Olive was canceled due to the weather, which would have been a really good one. Bridgewater is coming in with some tournaments and wins against Voorhees and Colonia.

It started at 106 pounds with Pburg freshman Massimo Gonzalez going against Lucas Belc. Gonzalez showed that he is a young star and can be aggressive in this match. He won by major decision 9-1 and got P’burg on the board first.

Next up was 113 pounds and Dawson McWilliams was wrestling for the Liners against Bridgewater’s Alexander Stouffer. Dawson had a dominant match against Hillsborough, and this one wasn’t any different. McWilliams won by technical fall in the third round and really showed that he is a force to be reckoned with in the 113 pound matches.

Phillipsburg freshman Gavin Geleta went up against Logan Levine at 120 pounds. Unfortunately, Gavin was off tonight. Levin pinned him in the second round. The score was currently 9-6 Phillipsburg.

Kyle Beendars was wrestling next for P’burg against Michael Marsigliano at 126 pounds. This was Beendars first match of the year after missing the first match. Marsigliano managed to get the win by decision 8-2. The match was tied up at nine.

The 132 pound match was definitely the one to watch. Gavin Hawk, who is one of the best 132 pound wrestlers in the state, went up against Bridgewater’s Daniel Smith, who is definitely a commanding wrestler. This was one of the closest rounds of the day but  Hawk managed to win by decision 5-0, which gave the Liners the motivation in this match to get the win. The score was 12-9, Phillipsburg.

Junior Luke Geleta was next for the Liners going up against Bridgewater’s Zachary Liu at the 138 pound match. Luke showed in the Hillsborough match that he is an extraordinary wrestler at his weight. Luke managed to get a commanding win by technical fall 16-1 in the third round to make the score 17-9 Pburg.

Jonathan Roth was going up against Bridgewater’s Matthew Di Eduardo at 144 pounds. At first, Eduardo was winning for the first two rounds. But early in the fourth, Roth made an amazing move and got the pin to get six points for the Liners. This got the P’burg fans hyped for the rest of the match and gave them enthusiasm throughout the rest of the match.

The 150 lb match was next and we saw P’burg’s Patrick Day go up against Dane Sorenson. Although Day was extremely close on every escape he attempted, Sorenson managed to keep him from doing it. Sorenson managed to win by decision 3-2. The match was 23-12 P’burg.

P’burg’s Benny Mendoza went up against James Kilgallon at the 157 pound match. This was Mendoza’s first varsity match for Phillipsburg, so everyone was excited to see what he could do. Mendoza did not disappoint, getting a pin in the second round to make the score 29-12.

After this exhilarating match, P’burg knew they had the upper hand on Bridgewater. The 165 pound match saw P’burg Senior Hunter Cleaver went against Raul Godha. Cleaver missed the Hillsborough match, so this was his first one of the year. He also did not disappoint, getting a pin early in the second round.

Senior Connor Hille went up against Steven Shimko at the 175 pound match. Hille controlled early in the match which got him the leading hand over Shimko. Hille ended up winning by decision 8-3 increasing the lead, 38-12 Phillipsburg.

Bridgewater forfeited the 190 pound match so P’burg’s Caleb Rivera had an easy day and didn’t have to wrestle. Moving to the 215 pound match, we saw Pburg Senior Logan Kries go against Bridgewater’s Aaron Correia. Kries impressed everyone there and pinned Correia early in the second round. The score was 50-12 Phillipsburg.

The last match of the day was the 285 pound round. Junior John Wargo wrestled Nicholas Garcia. Wargo showed why people say he is one of the best at 285 pounds and pinned Garcia in one minute and 25 seconds. Wargo will be very fun to watch the rest of the season. P’burg won 56-12.

With Phillipsburg being one of the best teams in the state, the Stateliners definitely went into this match projected to dominate Bridgewater. It definitely ended in a dominating way with Phillipsburg controlling most of the match.

The Liners have a good bunch of wrestlers both young and old. They act like family every day on and off the mat. That really does help them be an amazing team because they make each other feel confident, and confidence is key in this sport. This team will be a fun one to watch for the rest of the season.

Phillipsburg’s next match is at Cranford, which will be a good one. The match after that is against Warren Hills which will be one of the best matches of the season. The Liners only loss last year was against Warren Hills last year. P’burg fans really do not like Warren Hills, so the gym will be packed for this one. People should keep their eyes on this thrilling match.

Final Score: Phillipsburg 56-Bridgewater 12