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Watchung Hills wrestling rallies past Westfield in North 2 Group V

Angel D. Ospina
@AngelDOspina
Westfield's Quinn Gimblette (bottom) wrestles Watchung Hills' Tanner Ash at 106 pounds during their North 2 Group V semifinal on Wednesday.

WARREN - Trailing 19-3 in a NJSIAA North 2 Group IV semifinals match against Westfield, the Watchung Hills High School wrestling team remained poised as it knew it had its strongest wrestlers yet to take the mat.

Senior Danny Milller (120) snatched momentum from the Blue Devils with a dominating 11-0 major decision victory and from there, second-seeded Watchung Hills was able to win the remaining eight matches to advance to the final with a 40-19 victory over No. 3 Westfield.

“We knew we had a shot at winning a lot of bouts in the middle of the lineup,” Watchung Hills coach Dan Smith said. “In order to beat these guys, we needed a consistent effort throughout the lineup and I think we got that tonight.”

While Miller’s major decision shifted momentum, it was the following match that got the home crowd on their feet.

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Watchung Hills sophomore Ed Williams (126) was trailing 2-0 against Westfield’s Zach Rabinowitz early in the first period, but the shifty sophomore was resilient on the ground throughout the entire match. In the second period, Williams was able to even the score at 2-2 with a takedown midway through the second period. With the score tied up heading into the third, both wrestlers battled tirelessly on the ground near the edge of the mat in the final period.

Midway through the third, Williams nearly had his opponent pinned but Rabinowitz was able to lift his opposite shoulder at the last second. Nonetheless, the crowd was delighted by the young sophomore’s effort and that’s when they started to chant his name. With the crowd behind him, Williams came through with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation with a reversal to earn him the 4-2 victory.

“I knew he was a tough kid so going into it I knew it would be close,” Williams said. “With all the momentum and everybody cheering for me it was pretty easy to pull out a win. It’s not really a move that I practice, I felt he was high and caught him off guard.”

The thrilling victory brought the team score to 19-10 and after a 9-3 victory by Nick Cirvalo, the Warriors came through with two huge major decision victories in a row for the team’s first lead of the night at 21-19.

With the lead, the Warriors would seal the victory with a win in their final three matches and a forfeit in the 182-pound spot.

Despite the disappointing loss for Westfield, coach Glen Kurz was proud of the way his team fought early on.

“When pulled the 195-pounder, we knew were going to have get out to a big lead,” Kurz said. “We knew 19-3 wasn’t going to be enough based off what they had at the end of the lineup. They are a better team than us, there is no shame in that. I think they are going to compete for a sectional title.”

In the sectional final, the Warriors earned an opportunity to square off against top-seeded Piscataway. Last year, Watchung Hills lost in the finals to Bridgewater-Raritan but are hoping this year’s result turns out differently.

“I think it’s going to be an uphill climb,” Smith said about the upcoming matchup against the Chiefs. “They are a really good team. They have some studs where we are good. So, it’s going to be a matter of how our guys fair against their guys."