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Schools

Wrestling Suffers Home Opening Loss to State Power

Pete Machala turns in great bout for Bridgewater-Raritan against Phillipsburg.

The wrestling team lost its home opener to Phillipsburg Wednesday night. Phillipsburg, a titan of the Skyland Conference wrestling scene, dominated the match with eight pins, taking a 68-6 victory.

Senior heavyweight Pete Machala, who won Somerset County and District 18 titles last season, had Bridgewater-Raritan's solitary pin in 3:15.

"We wanted to wrestle tough and give these guys a good match," junior varsity coach David Altemose said afterwards, "but it doesn't seem like it ended that way."

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The Panthers went into the match knowing the odds were against them. The Bridgewater-Raritan team is young, and the Delaware Division is stacked with fierce, solid competition. But the team, though green, is loaded with potential, and boasts several stellar athletes. Returning to the mat is sophomore Valerio LaMorte, who finished second in the district last year and recently placed first in the 112-weight class at the . Senior Jamar Archer, a 1,000 yard rusher in football, is coming off a second place finish in the 160-pound weight class at the same tournament.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Altemose said. "We're young and inexperienced. These kids have to work year round if they want to compete with Phillipsburg year in-year out."

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Despite the loss, Bridgewater-Raritan is looking forward.

Panther Jesse Gonzalez said that he hopes, "most of [the team] will make it to the conference and the state, and hopefully [will] win more matches than last year."

The Panthers hope to fair better at a tri-match against Somerville and North Hunterdon at Somerville next Thursday. Their first match of the new year will be on the Jan. 5 at Hunterdon Central.

Weight Contestant School Result Contestant Score 103 Maciel Porrao PB MD Josh Hatoff 13-2 112 Zach Fisher PB DEC Valerio LaMorte 8-2 119 Garret Wolfinger PB DEC Steven Gorski 8-1 125 Andrew Kauizny PB FALL Bobby Meyer 2:52 130 Anthony Johnson PB FALL Dom Diaz 3:46 135 Matt Lane PB FALL Angelo Torrmeo :15 140 Tyler Rehl PB FOR ------ --- 145 Rylan Watson PB FALL KJ O'Sullivan 5:11 152 Dan Brockerhoff PB FALL Ariel Karkatsaniso :28 160 Victor Delmonico PB FALL Jamar Archer 4:52 171 Devin Grade PB FALL Mike Muttie 2:40 189 Shaun Maloy PB MD Jesse Gonzalez 10-1 215 Dereck Pierson PB FALL Jaleen Harrington 2:26 285 Pete Machala BR FALL Cody Crouse 3:15

Meet Score: Bridgewater 6/Phillipsburg 68

Match Began At: 215

Record: Bridgewater-Raritan Wins - 0/Losses - 1

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