Westfield stuns Piscataway in North 2 Group V wrestling semifinal

Luke Scanlan’s dramatic overtime decision at 138 pounds in the next-to-last bout clinched Westfield’s North 2 Group V semifinal victory over defending champion Piscataway, but the performance of his teammates prior to that point is the reason the Blue Devils will be wrestling for a sectional title.

“It came down to him, but we were in a position for him to win it because of the 12 matches before,” Westfield High School head coach Glen Kurz said following his team’s 32-28 comeback win over the Chiefs, who were without incumbent state placewinner Michael Petite, the school's all-time winningest wrestler, on Thursday night.

“Luke’s got ice in his veins. He’s done it before. Every match that comes down to him, he somehow pulls it out. He’s a very gutsy kid. I’m very comfortable having it (the dual meet’s outcome) in his hands.”

Piscataway head coach Dan Smith said Petite, who finished fourth in the state at 160 pounds last season, “just wasn’t feeling well,” so the second-year mentor inserted a freshman at 152 pounds, where the dual meet began, and bumped his lineup all the way through heavyweight to try to cover the hole.

With the exception of rookie Nick Lodato, who wrestled well despite dropping an 11-3 major to decision in the opening bout, and Gabe Rodrigues, who simply got caught and was pinned in 14 seconds at 170 pounds, Piscataway did an admirable job in Petite’s absence.

The second-seeded Chiefs (14-9) won five of the first seven bouts to build a 22-10 lead, mustering seven bonus points along the way with pins from Nick Recine (182) and Andre Felton (285) and a major decision from Elijah Pitt-Goodson (195).

The ability of Isaiah Reese to limit undefeated Joseph Hatcher to a decision at 160 pounds and of Matt Dente to do the same against Paris Foster at 220 pounds were integral to the success of third-seeded Westfield (12-7).

“They’ve got some hammers in that lineup,” Kurz said, noting Piscataway was represented in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament finals in five consecutive weight classes starting with Hatcher at 152 pounds.

“The way our guys lost to Piscataway’s hammers, they kept it close. Every point mattered. When we pulled 152 (as the start of the dual) we told the kids, ‘They are going to build a nice little lead, but be patient, because we are making a run and we’ll come back.’ The big guys did their job (losing small and recording four bonus points) and then the little guys did theirs.”

Reigning Union County Tournament champions CJ Composto (106) and Luke Hoerle (113), who own a combined 37-3 record, registered consecutive pins, knotting the dual meet at 22 with five bouts remaining, three of which were tossups.

“We kind of take it for granted between Composto and Hoerle,” Kurz said. “We kind of go into matches with those guys thinking, ‘Unless your kid is ranked in the state, we are getting six on you with those two.’ They needed to go out and do their job.”

Quinn Gimblette picked up another important bonus point for Westfield, recording three near falls in the final 16 seconds of his 120-pound bout with Bryan Mora on the way to a 13-1 major decision that gave the Blue Devils a 26-22 lead they would not relinquish.

Jeremy Silber, who was deadlocked at 5-5 with 45 seconds left in the ensuing 126-pound bout, reversed Piscataway’s Erik Valentin to his back on the way to a 10-5 decision that built Westfield’s advantage to 29-22 with three bouts remaining.

Cameron Smith kept the Chiefs alive in dramatic fashion, taking Theo Dardia down to his back and tacking on three back points in the closing seconds of an 8-3 decision that trimmed Westfield’s lead to 29-25.

Scanlan clinched the dual with a takedown of Jake Sisk on the edge of the mat right in front of the Piscataway bench just 12 seconds into overtime, giving Westfield an insurmountable 32-25 lead and catapulting the Blue Devils into the sectional final against prohibitive favorite Watchung Hills.

“During the whole match I was able to get to the leg and not finish, so I knew if I kept shooting eventually I’d be able to get it up high enough to put him in a threatening position and fall on top and get the two,” said Scanlan, who improved his record to 17-7.

“I knew it was a tight match and I knew I had to win. I just knew going into overtime that it came down to me and I needed to do what was done. I put the fear aside and just went after it.”

Smith said two constants that carried Piscataway to a sectional title last season were lacking on Thursday night, contributing to the team’s demise.

“Wrestling to the end (of a bout) a lot of times has been our strength,” he said. “Just not tonight. We couldn’t come out in that third period full bore with conditioning and technique and put everything together. I think that was mostly the make or break in those tossup matches.”

The absence of Petite, who won his 134th career bout earlier this week, breaking the school record for victories, which Tevin Shaw formerly held, was also a huge factor, for with him in the lineup, the Chiefs likely would have advanced.

“You get a kid who is a state placewinner out of your lineup,” Kurz said, “that changes things considerably.”

Westfield will have its hands full in the sectional final against top-seeded Watchung Hills (21-2), a prohibitive favorite who the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association ranks 13th in its statewide Top 20 poll.

“We know they are having a great year,” Kurz said. “We are looking forward to the opportunity. It will be good for us to get some mathcups for the regions (Westfield and Watchung Hills compete in the same region) to see where we measure up. It’s a good chance for our kids to get on the mat and get a little bit better. We are still a pretty young team (Westfield graduates just four starters – Reese, Weber, Loder and Dente – all upperweights who lost on Thursday night).

“This group wants to win a sectional title at some point. They want to get that experience, so I think we are putting ourselves in a position to get there.”