Woodbridge wrestling uses forfeits as motivation to win

WOODBRIDGE - Each time the Woodbridge High School wrestling team has taken the mat this season, it started the match down 18-0. For most programs, forfeiting three weight classes can be an impossible task to overcome, but for the Barrons, it is motivation.

“I enjoy how much they invite the adversity,” Woodbridge coach Michael Carbone said. “They know they have to pick up the points. It shows how tight-knit they are and shows the character of the team. They all fight for each other and that’s how we have to wrestle. These guys don’t care that they are down 18-0, they just want to win.”

Despite the early deficit, the come-from-behind Barrons improved to 6-3 on the season as the team went 2-1 in a quad match involving J.P. Stevens (2-5), Governor  Livingston (4-3) and Long Branch (5-1) on Saturday.

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Woodbridge fell to Long Branch 37-27 in the first match of the day, but then defeated J.P Stevens 51-25 and closed out the meet with a 42-30 victory over Governor Livingston.

In the team’s only loss of the day, the Barrons trailed 32-0 but stormed all the way back to get within 10 points after Bryan McLaughlin (195) pinned his opponent in the second period.

McLaughlin, who is ranked No.12 in the nation according to FloWrestling.com, only wrestled once Saturday as his other two opponents forfeited. Unfortunately for the Barrons, Zechina suffered a 6-2 defeat to put the win against Long Branch out of reach.

“Long Branch is a good team, they are a very tough team,” Carbone said. “Giving up 18 to them is tough. They’re a really well coached team and really scrappy and aggressive. They kind of got the better of us.”

Despite the tough loss, the Barrons were able to close out the meet strong, earning two dominant victories without McLaughlin breaking a sweat.

McLaughlin earned his 126th career victory on Saturday and moved within three victories of tying Bobby Jordan’s 129 victories, and is just 14 wins from tying Joseph Bubenheimer’s 140 milestone mark, the most wins in Woodbridge’s illustrious wrestling history.

“There’s still a lot of matches to go in the season but that’s something I’ve been looking forward to since my freshman year,” said McLaughlin, who will be wrestling at Drexel University next year. “I have the mentality to go after that win record and every day I’ve been envisioning it to happen.”

While McLaughlin has been striving for the most wins in school history, his main priority is to place first at the NJSIAA Individual Championships.

“If I could have anything out of all these records, that’s the one thing that I’m really going after,” said McLaughlin, who finished fourth in last year’s 160-pound bracket in the state tournament. “I’m looking at it as another tournament. I’m just going to go in there and wrestle how I wrestle and expect to win.”

McLaughlin isn’t the only Barron who is hoping to qualify for states. Senior heavyweight Alexander LaGrippo has been stellar all-season long and continued his dominance as he went 3-0 on Saturday.

LaGrippo earned a 5-2 decision victory against Long Branch, pinned his next opponent in the second period and then capped off his day with a thrilling 5-4 overtime win against Governor Livingston’s Daniel Tomlinson.

The two wrestlers ended regulation tied at 1-1, but LaGrippo was able to get a two-point lead in overtime with a standing reversal to go up 3-1. Tomlinson would go on to tie in the overtime with two escapes from the bottom, but LaGrippo clinched the victory with a takedown with under five seconds left to hand Tomlinson his first loss of the season.

“The last take down was actually huge for me,” LaGrippo said. “I’ve been having a hard time finishing in my singles all season and I finally got a nice end of the mat finish.”

After his thrilling victory, his coaches and teammates swarmed him with congratulatory hugs and high fives. The excitement the Barrons show for their teammates is a testament as to just how close this Woodbridge wrestling team is.

The absence in three weight classes has cost them some close losses, but the Barrons have used it as fuel each time they get set to compete.

“It has brought us so much closer as a team and makes all of our matches so much more interesting,” LaGrippo said. “If you watch the matches, everyone on the bench is up for it and no one is not paying attention because we need all the support if we’re giving them 18 points. This is a room full of guys who are all trying to get on that next level.”