Wrestling Update

Wrestling Update

Anthony Sarigusa, Staff Writer

The Delbarton wrestling team started its season participating in the “Beast of the East”, one of the top three tournaments in terms of difficulty at the high school level. After an impressive 11th place finish of 113 teams, the Delbarton wrestling squad headed to the “South Jersey Duals” tournament, which included four top ten teams in New Jersey. The Green Wave finished first, beating Don Bosco, who was previously ranked number two in the state.

On January 14th, Clovis’ wrestling team flew to New Jersey from the West Coast to face off against the best competition New Jersey has to offer. Currently ranked 6th in the country, Clovis is a west coast powerhouse from California, and is one of Delbarton’s most talented opponents this wrestling season. Among the members of the Clovis wrestling team, there are three nationally ranked wrestlers:  Justin Meija (ranked 3rd at 126), Tyler Collier (ranked 14th at 220), and Seth Nevill, (ranked 2nd at 285). Clovis defeated the the Green Wave wrestling team 40-15. Of all 14 bouts, only four Delbarton wrestlers won their matches. Yet, there were five matches decided by two or fewer points. The battle against Clovis was a great growing experience for the young Green Wave squad, and they will use this defeat as motivation for the long season ahead.

This year poses a substantial challenge for the Delbarton wrestling program: Six starting seniors from last year’s team graduated in 2016, leaving many varsity vacancies to be filled. Four Delbarton freshman are starting on the team this year and have played a major role in the team’s success. Already, this year’s team has won the Morris County title for the 9th year in a row.

Stay tuned for an upcoming end of season wrestling recap.