Team pins down second victory
By: Rudy Brandl
The Manville High wrestling team is starting to use manpower as an advantage to win dual meets.
Even without a handful of starters, the Mustangs had more than enough bodies to roll over New Brunswick in last Saturday’s first home match of the New Year. MHS still put 13 guys on the mat and used six pins and four forfeits to pull away for a 65-12 victory.
Fifth-year head coach Brett Stibitz admitted to waking at 5:30 a.m. that morning worrying about the outcome of the match. New Brunswick had scored 33 points in a dual meet vs. Rutgers Prep, a team that finished one spot ahead of the Mustangs at the Somerset County Championships in December. Naturally, Stibitz figured the match would be a nail-biter.
New Brunswick was also missing a few starters and the Mustangs made them pay. Manville scored the first 23 points of the match, lost a bout by pin and another by forfeit and closed out the victory with 42 unanswered points. Only a forfeit at 189 pounds interrupted a streak of six consecutive falls.
"This was a huge win for us," Stibitz said afterward. "This was a complete team win. We’re getting better individually and we have more bodies to fall back on."
The Mustangs dominated the match and showed some good mat technique to secure pins. Five of the team’s six falls came in the first period, but senior 171-pounder Nate Bott probably has his opponent flat before the 2:44 mark when the official finally slapped the mat.
Bott, who took an 8-0 lead over Adonis Basquez after a takedown and two 3-point near-falls, reversed to start the second period and immediately went for the kill. He wasn’t going to settle for another set of bonus points. Bott notched his second pin of the week and gave his team a 47-12 lead.
"I knew I had him, but the ref just wasn’t giving it to me," Bott said. "I used a cross-face cradle, that’s where I get most of my guys. Then I used a wrist and a half-(Nelson) to put him away. My forearms felt like jello (from squeezing) after the match."
Bott is one of the team leaders who has seen the evolution of the team from a small group to a larger family. Having a full lineup helps individual wrestlers improve and obviously increases the team’s chances for victory
"It’s nice knowing that if I don’t go out and do well, there’s a lot more people to help me out," Bott said. "We don’t just have eight or nine guys. It’s a big family and that’s a comforting feeling."
Most of that family joined Saturday’s pin parade. The roll began at 145 pounds where junior Bobby Ortiz packed Clyde Cox in 1:30. Ortiz needed 20 seconds to convert double-leg takedown into a pinning combination. He got three bonus points at the midway mark of the period but caught Cox again with a power half.
MHS seniors Greg Fabiyan an Mike Zala continued the momentum with falls at 1:13 and 33 seconds, respectively. Fabiyan used an arm bar to deck Heraldo Deleone and Zala gained the immediate edge on a double and finished Basilio Torres with a nifty tilt move to clinch the team victory.
Bott made it four straight falls for the home team and Andrew Schaefer accepted a forfeit at 189. Armand Fodorean (215) and Mark Manderski (Hwt) tacked on two more pins to end the match. Fodorean packed Ken Flores in 44 seconds and Manderski notched his first career varsity pin over Jose Hoswaycruz at 1:52.
"I got him down, got the half and turned him over," said Manderski, who wasn’t aware that time was ticking down in the first period. "I don’t worry bout the time. I just go out and wrestle."
The Mustangs opened the match with a technical fall and three forfeits to build a 23-0 lead. Tuan Anh Lee (103), Jason Pfoutz (119) and Roland Yakobchuck (119) won by forfeit and 112-pounder J.J. Artfitch rolled to an 18-2 win over Melvin Peralta.
"We’re starting to wrestle," Stibitz said. "We’re not just going out trying to muscle people. I saw some good technique today. The intensity and team attitude are coming back. Now, we just have to get a few more wins."
Manville’s first two victories came against teams that gave away free points on forfeits, but the Mustangs also outscored Sussex Vo-Tech and New Brunswick on the mat. MHS had a big manpower edge in yesterday afternoon’s home match against prep school Wardlaw-Hartridge and figured to improve to 3-2 heading into Saturday’s showdown at Governor Livingston.
"We have to stay healthy and go after GL," Stibitz said. "That’s going to be a huge match for us."
If the Mustangs want to entertain hopes of qualifying for the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs, beating the Highlanders to move two matches over .500 would give them a little room for error. The team still has to face Union County powers Roselle Park and Rahway at the end of the month, so it would help to win as many matches as possible before that difficult stretch of competition.

