Maroons Wrestlers Drop Glen Ridge/Saddle Brook Match

A raucous audience filled the Ridgewood gymnasium last night for the Maroon—Glen Ridge/Saddle Brook and wrestling match. The air was tense as the national anthem played in the dimly-lit room before the evenly-split crowd. Wrestlers on both sides unable to contain their nervous energy as they prepared for battle.

The Maroons were coming off of an epic win over Fair Lawn, the first in coach Torre Watson's tenure as coach. However, they were also reeling from a Jan. 30 loss to Ramapo High School.

The match began at 103 with Will Montgomery: He carried the positive energy to the mat, making quick work of his opponent Justin Glazer with a pin.

GRSB was not fazed as the 112 contenders took the mat. From the first second, Joe Guerriero dominated Ridgewood's Kenny Hayes. He was in control throughout the entire first period, riding Hayes—who was struggling to make enough defensive moves to stay off of his back. In the second period Guerriero finished Hayes off with the painful spladle with a mere 16 seconds off the clock.

The following bout saw more of the same from the Ridgewood side. Matt Calton could not defend against the takedowns of Tyler Champy. Calton was dropped at will, and Champy won a decision 13-3.

Justin Gramaglia inflated the sails of the Ridgewood side with a resounding defeat of Sean Pezzuti. He dominated the first round, making it look easy. Entering the second period he took it to Pezzuti with a pin.

The 130-pound match was the highlight of the evening. It was also the defining moment of the night.

Ryan Giovanetti and Eric Schlett went at it like gladiators. Both highly-trained wrestlers, it was a match where the slightest mistake would mean certain defeat. That is what it came down to with 10 seconds left in the final period.

The score was 4-4 and Ridgewood's Giovanetti was on bottom. All he needed was an escape to win. The whistle blew and he escaped, making him up one. Schlett was not to be had: He shot and took down Giovanetti near the boundary as time expired, earning two points. The final score: 6-5 GRSB.

The Maroon's Jason Gibson rode the emotional loss to his advantage, pinning the Falcon's Matt Jacobsen in 20 seconds.

The 140-pound match was another battle that ended in the final seconds. Ridgewood's Sam Pietrantuono could not defend against the unorthodox stance and takedowns of GRSB's Brendan Dolan. Throughout the bout Dolan took down Pietrantuono and let him up when he could not get a pin off of the take down. This ended up being his demise.

Though Dolan dominated the match, he allowed Pietrantuono to stay close. With 12 seconds left, Pietrantuono was up 12-11 in the neutral position. He managed to remain upright until the last second when Dolan took him down as time expired. But time favored Ridgewood's as the referee blew the whistle to end the match—Dolan did not earn the points. The final score was Pietrantuono 12, Dolan 11.

Matt Dickman did not give Ridgewood senior Andrew Gramaglia a chance as he took control from the opening whistle. He took Gramaglia, a recent tournament winner, down and earned some precious back points as Gramaglia nearly reversed him twice. The first period ended 8-0 in Dickman's favor. The upset was complete 35 seconds into the second period as Dickman defeated Gramaglia with a pin.

Bobby Franklin of Ridgewood responded with a bruising defeat of Alex Cimiluca. Franklin controlled the match for all three periods but was unable to pin, winning 13-3.

Ronny Stecher defeated Christian Rota in a battle of wills. The two were evenly matched, both parties struggling to score points. The final score was 6-4.

Josh Lay managed to escape a pin against a tough wrestler in Dylan Pellegrino. His mental toughness got him through six minutes of being dominated, to lose 9-1, saving Ridgewood valuable team points.

Jarred Schlett earned a technical fault on the Maroon's Gordon Ruffing, 18-3.

With the team score of 25-31 in GRSB's favor, the big 215's stepped on to the mat. Ridgewood needed a win here to remain in contention. A loss would make it impossible to pull out a victory. Both sides wanted a win. Each bench began chanting for their wrestler, the crowd joined in.

The small gymnasium echoed with Ridgewood's Yama Ahmad and GRSB's Dan Lewitt as the two men struggled to gain position. The first period ended 0-0. Going into the second period Lewitt gained the advantage and quickly capitalized, pinning Ahmad, ending the match, ending the night.

The match was over regardless of the heavyweight bout, GRSB forfeited with no qualms.

Both sides put their best foot forward and battled to the last man. Glen Ridge/ Saddle Brook had the stronger team that Tuesday evening. Ridgewood gets back into action tonight in Hackensack 7 p.m.

Glen Ridge/Saddle Brook over Ridgewood: 37-31

• 103: Will Montgomery (R) over Justin Glazer: Pin
• 112: Joe Guerriero over Kenny Hayes (R): Pin
• 119: Tyler Champy (R) over Matt Calton: 13-3
• 125: Justin Gramaglia (R) over Sean Pezzuti: Pin
• 130: Matt Jacobsen over Ryan Giovanetti (R): 6-5
• 135: Jason Gibson (R) over Matt Jacobsen: Pin
• 140: Sam Pietrantuono (R) over Brendan Dolan: 12-11 
• 145: Matt Dickman over Andrew Gramaglia (R): Pin
• 152: Bobby Franklin (R) over Alex Cimiluca: 13-3
• 160: Ronny Stecher over Christian Rota (R): 6-4
• 171: Dylan Pellegrino over Josh Lay (R): 9-1
• 189: Jared Schlett over Gordon Ruffing (R): 16-1
• 215: Dan Lewitt over Yama Ahmad (R): Pin
• HWT: Jimmy Uzzalino (R) wins by forfeit