Photos
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Brian Farrell of Westfield attempts to fight out of the grip of New Providence's Dan Kourakos. Kourakos won the bout 9-4. Credits: Daniel Eckert
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Colin Barber of Westfield takes down New Providence's Jake Jankow in the first round. Barber won the bout by pinfall in the third round. Credits: Daniel Eckert
Westfield Wrestling Team Takes Down New Providence 50-15
Saturday, February 4, 2012 • 7:03am
NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – Eight Westfield Blue Devils won their bouts against Union County foes the New Providence Pioneers, three of which came by pin fall as they cruised to an easy 50-15 victory on Friday night at New Providence High School.
With the bout start at the 126 pound weight class, Westfield got off to a fast start when Nick Valez beat New Providence’s Randozzo just 23 seconds into the opening round. He used a take down and a double arm bar pin to secure the victory to put Westfield up 6-0.
“Nick Valez had a real nice effort. He went out there and did a real nice job,” Westfield Head Coach Glen Kurz said. “We’re maybe a little bit more experienced than them (New Providence), a little bit more physical."
The 132 pound bout is when New Providence was able to put some points on the board as Dan Kourakos defeated Westfield’s Brian Farrell in a 9 to 4 decision. Kourakos earned four take downs in the match.
From their Westfield won the next nine matchups, albeit two of them were forfeits at the 182 pound and 195 pound weight class.
Perhaps the most exciting matchup of night took place at the 138 pound weight class that featured an intense bout between Westfield’s Matt Barber and New Providence’s Dan Smith.
After neither scored a point in the first round, Barber earned a point in the second round when he got to a neutral position after starting down on the mat. Smith did the same thing in the third round as the score was knotted at one a piece heading into overtime.
Smith appeared to have the match won in the second overtime as he had to keep Barber on the mat for thirty seconds to secure the victory. Barber fought hard for the escape and got it with just one second left on the clock.
He would win the bout in the third overtime when Smith committed a violation when he locked his hands on Barber’s head thus awarding him a point. Smith was unable to take down Barber in the waning seconds of the third overtime as Barber earned the hard fought 3-2 victory.
“I thought New Providence wrestled hard. I liked their effort,” Kurz said.
Another solid effort from Westfield came at the 152 pound weight class when Colin Barber got the win over Jake Jankow of New Providence. Barber was able to control the match the whole way through as he earned three take downs and three near falls before pinning Jankow with just 25 seconds remaining in the final round.
Westfield had the match well in hand at 38-3 before the 220 pound bout took place between Cotter Spurlock of Westfield and Pat Morris of New Providence. It was Spurlock’s first match on the varsity team, but he looked like a season veteran as he used a side head lock to get the pin 34 seconds into the bout.
“That was his first varsity match. It was a good win. We were glad to see him get that one,” Kurz commented of his 220-pounder.
A bright spot for the New Providence team came at the 106 pound bout when Carmine Boccellari was able to outwrestle Westfield’s John Fuller.
Boccellari earned a take down in the first round and then was able to get a reversal after starting on the mat in the second round. From there, he used a guillotine to get the pin on Fuller with just one second left on the clock.
“I just went out there and wanted to get a pin because I lost my last match, so I was a little mad," Boccellari said. "I went out there, put the guillotine in and pinned him with it."
The freshman is certainly a bright spot on the New Providence team as he holds a 20-7 record thus far. He hopes to make it through the district and regional tournaments before wresting in the state tournament down in Atlantic City in a few months.
The most physical bout of the night came at the 285 pound weight class between Westfield’s Kyle Kania and New Providence’s Stephen Bremer. Kania had a wild single leg take down in the first period that brought Bremer high in the air before he came crashing down to the mat.
Bremer was able to come back in the third round when he got to a neutral position to make the score 2-3 at that point. The match also saw some hard takedowns, a few coming after the whistle when both wrestlers were out of bounds. No fouls were called in a good, hard fought bout that saw Kania come away with the 3-2 victory.
Westfield’s Nick Kalimtzis and Danny Zimmerman of New Providence was a close match as well at the 113 pound weight class. Kalimtzis seemed to have the match well in hand when he earned a take down and near fall in the first round to gain a 5-0 edge.
Zimmerman fought back in the third round when he took down Kalimtzis and attempted to use a side head lock to pin him. He tried to turn him on his back several times, but could not pin both shoulders to the mat. Kalimtzis would eventually escape from the hold and hung on for the 10 to 9 victory.
Westfield now holds a record of 15-3-1 after Friday night’s win. Several team members will participate in a quad tournament against Shore Regional, Carteret and Bridgewater-Raritan tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
New Providence is now 1-7-1 and will participate in a four team meet against Parsippany, West Orange and Vernon on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 9 a.m. at Vernon High School.
