By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Nico Ipeker started wrestling as a way to get himself into shape for the lacrosse season., It turns out that in addition to being a very good lacrosse player, the Montgomery High senior is pretty good on the wrestling mat as well., “In the beginning it was just to try and get in shape,” said Ipeker, whose win at 220 pounds helped the Cougars to a 50-30 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High South on Monday night. “It looked like a fun sport and I figured I would try it. Now I enjoy it and am looking to succeed in it. I am hoping to get to regions again this year and improve on my record.”, Ipeker has steadily improved as a wrestler each season and last year finished third at the District 18 championships to advance to regions. This year he is off to another good start and would like to gi as far or further than he did a year ago., “I think about how much I am going to miss him next year,” Montgomery coach Kurt Franey said. “He’s filled that slot reliably for the last four years and gotten better each year. He came in and just wanted to stay in shape for lacrosse. Lacrosse is his sport. But he has turned into quite a wrestler as well.”, Ipeker wasn’t sure what the future would hold when he first decided to come out for the wrestling team. But it turns out he’s enjoyed the experience even more than he thought he would., “I really have,” Ipeker said. “Going from being a freshman who had never wrestled, it is nice to see what it is like being a senior and help lead the team with Dylan (D’Amore) and Kyle (Marrapodi). It’s nice to be able to see where I started and see where I have come.”, This year Ipeker is one of the leaders for the Cougars. The team finished fourth at the recent Somerset County Tournament and already has nine wins this season., “Coming into the season we had a lot of young guys coming onto the team,” Ipeker said. “We have actually been doing pretty well. Our team has been stepping up and we have won some big matches. A lot of individual wrestling is going on because it is a rebuilding year. The younger kids are stepping it up and winning big matches when they need to.”, Ipeker, who plans to play lacrosse at Stevens Tech next year, has been a big part of the team’s success. He’s played a bigger role than he ever thought he would., “I really just thought I would fill the 220 spot and help the team out as much as I could,” Ipeker said. “It really helps wrestling Dylan. He’s a lot bigger than me so I get a lot of practice against his strength. He’s been working on his technique, too. So we really improve off of each other., “We’re trying to improve our seed in sectionals right now as a team and then we’ll start to focus on individual wrestling.”, Montgomery picked up a county title from from D’Amore at the SCT. Matthew Lisanti picked up a second place at the SCT, while Ipeker and Michael Small both finished third., “It has been going pretty well,” Franey said. “We’ve won nine matches now and had a couple of close losses. We lost a close match to Somerville and one to Manville. Those were tough ones. We beat Hillsborough, who is our rival, so that is always a nice win.”, WW-P South, which fell to 3-14 with a loss to Hightstown on Tuesday, is heading into the Mercer County Tournament this weekend. The Pirates have put together a nice season under first-year head coach Warren Gerstacker and hope to fare well at the MCT., “We are hoping to do well and make a good showing and I think we definitely can,” Gerstacker said. “If our heads are right and we keep working hard through the week we have a good chance to do well., “(Sean) Thompson, (Steven) O’Campo, (Joe) Salerno, (Duncan) Kruetter, (Brandon) Agran. We have some good wrestlers on this team. I am hoping to take them far. I am hoping to take them through regions and as far as they can go.”, The match against the Cougars was a good tuneup., “It was competitive,” Gerstacker said. “We are making a lot of improvements. Everybody is working really hard. I think the team is really starting to come together. Things are moving in a good direction and everyone is putting in the work., “We’re trying to get competitive matches on our schedule. We’re even looking to get competitive matches on our schedule for next year. We’re trying to get better and the best way to do that is to compete against good teams. Montgomery wrestled well today. Some of our guys wrestled well today, too.”
