NJSIAA Team Wrestling Championships – Hometown View

There is nothing pretty about wrestling. I was thinking that yesterday as I spent nearly 11 hours inside the Pine Belt Arena during the NJSIAA Team Championships, an annual event that brings together the top teams from throughout the state.

Actually you could make a case that wrestling is both an ugly and barbaric sport as you watch boys who weigh from 103 to 285 pounds engage one another in the ultimate test of individual strength and stamina. They spit, snort, sweat and bleed….rarely smile and rarely except defeat gracefully.

They are a breed unlike any other and to outsiders the wrestling community can appear almost cult-like. I have said it before that many wrestling fans are fans only of their sport and have little interest in others. It’s a sport that for the most part operates on an “all in” mentality and it’s why some schools are good year in and year out and others are simply awful.

BRICK FALLS TO PHILLIPSBURG

Sunday’s event produced six overall state champions and while the shore area is among the hot spots…if not THE hot spot for wrestling in New Jersey it was not as good a day as many would have hoped. Brick Memorial came up just short in collecting its eighth overall state group title as the Mustangs, after beating rival Southern in the semifinals fell to Phillipsburg 29-27 in a scintillating Group 4 championship match. The group title was the 17th for the Stateliners and it was not easy. It actually looked by P-Burg had blown it when their heavyweight was disqualified for slamming but a pin and decision in the final two bouts sent their fans into a state of frenzy…actually it was even more than that but listen…they are wrestling fans.

Raritan gave the shore it’s only championship of the day as the Rockets topped Delsea to win the Group 2 title…the first state wrestling crown in school history.

Ocean fell to South Plainfield in the Group 3 Final but there was no shame in that as the Spartans beat Paramus in the semifinals and wrestled pretty well against a South Plainfield team that is likely to finish #1 in the final state rankings. CBA also made it to a final but was no match for Bergen Catholic in Non-Public A and saw their title hopes come up short.

All in all some 5,000 paying fans came to Toms River Sunday and in true wrestling fashion some left happy, some satisfied, some disappointed, some ticked off and others just disgusted. They rooted, cheered, screamed, booed, second-guessed and did not leave any doubt they love their sport and if you don’t….tough.