GMC WRESTLING: Piscataway places second with five finalists, three champs

PISCATAWAY - The quarterback was flanked by two tight ends and a fullback.

But instead of being out on the gridiron, they stood at center mat under a Saturday night spotlight. Piscataway High School had five finalists at the Greater Middlesex Conference Wrestling Tournament and placed second as a team. Four of those wrestlers are prominent football players and a fifth played as a freshman.

READ: Greg Tufaro's main GMC championship story and complete tournament results

“We’re with each other almost all year round, just trying to make each other better,” junior Joe Hatcher said.

Piscataway long has had football success with sectional titles and future NFL players like Malcolm Jenkins, who is playing for the Philadelphia Eagles in the upcoming Super Bowl. The mat success begs the question, is Piscataway a football or a wrestling town?

The answer could be both.

Last season, the Chiefs won its first-ever sectional title (North 2 Group V) and took second in the GMCT for the first time since 1998. Now, the five finalists are the most in recent memory, as head coach Dan Smith had to go check the school’s record books to see if it was a program record.

Saturday, Piscataway’s Hatcher (152), Nick Recine (170) and Elijah Pitt-Goodson (182) captured titles, while Michael Petite (160) and Paris Foster (195) finished second. That was almost enough for a seven on seven team.

“Both sports are very similar as far as athletic ability,” Smith said. “Mindset. Just how tough each sport is. The grueling practices. So the crossover is very similar. I think that’s why the athletes are excelling in both sports. Here at the school, both sports are trying to work together to have guys play on both sides.”

Recine noted that tackling someone is similar to getting a takedown. Plus, most started as kids and progressed through the ranks.

“These are my brothers,” Recine said.  “We grew up wrestling each other. So, it’s kind of like something we have to do ever since we were little.”

Hatcher said they hold everyone to a certain level in the practice room.

“We have high expectations for ourselves and we know what we can do and what we want to do,” Hatcher said. “So it’s like we’re always pushing each other to meet those expectations. … We’re a really strong family and we care about each other a lot.”

At 170, the last match of the tournament determined by a random draw, Recine's 7-1 win over Carteret’s Demetrius Ruiz clinched second place for the Chiefs by one point over Monroe. Recine, a tight end and linebacker, placed second in last year's conference tournament and said that defeat “motivated me. I knew I had to get this title one way or another.” 

At 152, Hatcher captured his second straight GMCT title with an 11-5 win over Monroe’s Nicholas Weikel. He led from the beginning and earned the methodical victory. In the fall, Hatcher threw for 908 yards and 14 touchdowns as Piscataway's quarterback.

At 182, Pitt-Goodson was also looking for redemption after getting injured in last season's tournament. Saturday, he led off the finals with a 5-4 win over South River’s Kyle Baszak.

In 2017, Pitt-Goodson suffered a concussion during his 9-8 victory in the GMCT first round. He had to default the rest of his matches and it lingered for the remaining of the season. He also sustained injuries during his freshman and sophomore campaigns.

This season, it was so far, so good – until Pitt-Goodson battled an asthma attack a few weeks ago. The after-effects bothered him for a couple matches and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to compete in the GMCT.

Fortunately, he was able to wrestle and the third-seeded Pitt-Goodson pinned North Brunswick’s second-seeded Kenny Abode in the semifinals in 3:29. In a spirited final against Baszak -- himself a football star for the Rams -- the Piscataway wrestler escaped with about 1:10 remaining on the edge of the mat for a 5-4 lead. The crowd started chanting “Elijah” as Pitt-Goodson fended off Baszak’s upper body takedown attempts for the victory.

“I knew I always could do it, so just being able to do it just means a lot to me,” said Pitt-Goodson, who played football as a freshman. “Like reaching all my potential is just something I really wanted to do. Just knowing that I made my mom proud, my teammates, my coaches, this means so much to me. Even my grandma was here, so it made it even more special.”

At 160, Petite wrestled Colonia sophomore John Poznanski in the tournament’s marquee match. Last season, Petite finished fourth in the state and won the GMC title, while the Colonia wrestler reached the state tournament as a freshman.

The match turned in the second period when Poznanski escaped in the first 20 seconds to take a 4-3 lead. Petite went for a single, but Poznanki turned into him for the takedown with about 30 seconds remaining in the period to take a 6-3 lead. Petite escaped in the third period, but couldn’t get a takedown.  

A gracious Petite hugged Poznanski during the award presentation. Petite, who doubles as a fullback/linebacker, has committed to wrestle at the University of Buffalo and is one of the team's leaders.

“I always grew up wrestling with Mike and Joe and they kind of pushed me to be the best that I can be,” Recine said. “And Mike’s always driving me because I look up to Mike. He’s a good role model. He’s a good leader. He’s a good captain. Everything that you could say is just good about him. He’s the kind of guy that always has your back.”

At 195, Foster improved on his sixth-place finish from last season. In the semifinals, the third-seeded senior pinned second-seeded Kaylon Bradley of Monroe in 2:41. Foster, who plays tight end/defensive end, wore a mask because he took a shot to the eye socket earlier in the tournament.

In the final, he fell 6-0 to top-seeded Luke Niemeyer of South Plainfield, who is ranked in the state.

But all in all, it was a great showing for the home team.

“It was a goal this weekend to get five of us in the finals,” Hatcher said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get everybody a title, but I’m still proud of everybody. I love them to death. And I’m just happy that we all got there.”