SBHS junior suffers a pair of one-point losses Sunday in competition at 135 pounds.
By: Ken Weingartner
EAST RUTHERFORD Kyle Nasdeo rebounded from a pair of one-point losses Sunday to place fifth in the 135-pound weight class at the NJSIAA wrestling championships.
The South Brunswick High School junior won by injury default over Kevin Bryan of Seton Hall in the bout for fifth place at the Continental Airlines Arena. Nasdeo had taken down Bryan 25 seconds into the match when the injury happened. He had beaten Bryan 8-6 in the quarterfinals of the tournament Saturday.
In the semifinals Sunday morning, Nasdeo suffered a 6-5 loss to Mike Weber of Kittatinny. Weber received the winning point when Nasdeo was called for stalling with less than a minute remaining in the bout. It was Weber’s third straight one-point victory in the state tourney.
In the consolation semifinals, Nasdeo again was handed a one-point setback, this time by 11-10 to Matt Shaban of Indian Hills. Nasdeo believed he had a winning takedown at the edge of the mat with less than 10 seconds to go in the bout, but the official didn’t award the two points.
Nasdeo, who reached the state quarterfinals last year but failed to win a match, finished the season with a 34-3 record. He is 64-7 over the last two years.
"I’ll take fifth," Nasdeo said. "Next year, I’m going to work out a lot, run, and prepare. Hopefully, I’ll do better than fifth. I wish I could’ve come here and got to the finals. That was my goal. I didn’t achieve it."