MANVILLE: Rec wrestlers split tri-meet

Basta, Kuhlman finish undefeated in regular season

   Manville Recreation hosted two wrestling matches against tough opponents last Saturday.
   The Manville wrestlers came up on the winning side of a 37-34 match against Watchung but lost to Hillsborough.
   Angelo Drake, filling in at 50 pounds, did so with a win and six Manville points to give the team a good start vs. Watchung. Gavin Kassick then followed that with a hard-fought 16-11 win which had everyone on their feet. Kassick had six takedowns during his match to build up his 13-7 lead going into the third period. There he escaped and got his sixth takedown for the 16-11 win.
   At 57 pounds, Shane Demeter made some quick work with a takedown and put his man right to his back for a pin at 26 seconds of the first. Paul Basta, wrestling at 60 pounds, got the takedown and then an escape in the second to make it 3-1 and that score held up as he rode his opponent in the third period.
   In anther exciting match, 63-pounder Conor Riggs escaped and got his own takedown for a 3-2 lead in the second. With a reversal and then an escape it was 6-4 going into the third period. With the match still in doubt, Riggs reversed his man and added two back points on his way to a 10-8 victory.
   Bob Demeter at 67 pounds dominated his opponent from the start. With a takedown and 5 back points the score going into the 2nd was 7-0. Staying that way until the third where Bob reversed his man and got some more back points to give Manville 4 team points.
   Brian Kuhlman battled for a hard-fought 2-0 victory at 70 pounds. Kuhlman got the takedown in the first period and both wrestlers rode each other out the rest of the way.
   At 73 pounds, TJ Caswell went from a single to double-leg takedown and then to a cradle to pin at 44 seconds of the first period.
   Shane Freuler (77 pounds) got a takedown and two quick back points for a 4-0 lead. With a reversal in the second period, Freuler built his lead to 6-0. He rode his man out in the third to take a 6-0 win. Although that was the last win in this match, Manville still came away with a 37-34 team victory.
   Things were a bit tougher against Hillsborough. Shane Demeter (57) went the fastest pin at 19 seconds with a double-leg takedown and then a cradle.
   Basta (60) finished his regular season on a perfect note as he got the takedown in the first period for the lead. In the second, he was able to escape and get a second takedown. In the third, Basta rode out his man for a 5-0 win and a 10-0 regular season record.
   Kuhlman was down 2-0 going into the second period when he put his man to his back for a 1:53 pin and a perfect regular season.
   Caswell (73) dominated his man from the start. With a takedown and three back points the match was 5-0 going into the second. With a reversal and two more back points going into the third it was now 9-0. Caswell finished this one out with a couple of more back points and a 13-0 major decision win.
   Freuler (77) got a takedown and a 2-0 lead. He then made that lead hold up as each wrestler rode out the next two periods so Freuler won a hard-fought battle.
   Matt Rogalski was in his own battle at 90 pounds. Rogalski went out to a 5-1 lead in the first period but was reversed and put to his back to fall behind 6-5 in the second period. Rogalski was able to get a reversal and then put his opponent to his back for the final three points in the third period for a 10-6 win.
   Troy Oset, wrestling at 105 pounds, got his takedown and a three-point near fall for a 5-2 first period lead. After a scoreless second period, Oset reversed his man and put him on his back for a pin at 2:49 of the third period.
   In some of the other matches, Scott Ulicny had two pins against his Watchung opponents. Michael Tyle had three pins on the day. Joe Lamonica captured a hard-fought 4-1 win over his opponent and RJ Thompson wrestled to a 4-4 draw.
   Manville will be in South Plainfield on Sunday, March 1 at the PAL building for the league tournament.