The Bucs avenged last year's loss on Thursday in Blairstown.
Ryan Patti | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comOn Thursday in Blairstown, Blair looked like vintage Blair and created an all-time wrestling setting of its own. The Bucs made the correct lineup moves and won key tossup bouts to avenge last year’s loss to the Green Wave with a 37-22 win on the home mat in front of hundreds of students and fans.
“It was revenge,” sophomore 144-pounder Weston Borgers said. “What happened last year, I feel like it was a little bit of a fluke. I knew we would bounce back this year. I know we’re the best team in the country.” This was the first time these two haven’t wrestled to the last bout since their match on Jan. 11, 2020, which Blair won 56-6. The loss sends Delbarton to 14-1. The first of many pivotal matchups that went in Blair’s favor came at 106 pounds where Jack Anello fought off fellow freshman Finn Andersen with a 3-2 decision win. Then came a tech fall from sophomore Wyatt Stauffer at 132, where junior Princeton commit Vinny Anello normally would’ve wrestled. Delbarton was missing junior UPenn pledge PJ Terranova, so Gitomer opted to bump Anello to 138 and hunt more points, and both kids delivered. Delbarton also was without junior Michigan commit Gabe Logan at 175. Blair was missing senior standout Ryan Rios at 138. Borgers and UPenn-bound junior Joe Schinder picked up two decisive wins by decision at 144 and 157, respectively, to put Blair in a comfortable spot up 20-12 with only five bouts to go and the heart of its lineup still to come. “Wyatt Stauffer has been unbelievable,” Gitomer said. “We put him at any weight we ask him to go and he does it. At 144, Weston was big for us and so was Schinder at 157. Weston is a kid who has made me a lot better not just as a coach, but as a person. He tells me to smile when I get too serious. And Schinder is the man. I think his best days are ahead of him. He’s learning to believe in himself more.” Borgers was paired up with Delbarton two-time state finalist and Rutgers commit Ryan DeGeorge and trailed 7-6 through the first two periods with all six points coming on reversals. Two takedowns in the third gave him a 12-10 victory. “I just kept my eyes on the prize,” Borgers said. “I wrestled how I always wrestle — next takedown, next point, next reversal. I was a little sloppy early in the match, but like last year , it’s sometimes not going to go my way to start. I knew what the result was going to be." Schinder’s 4-1 decision over Trevor Jones was massive for the Bucs. The Davidson-bound senior was working for a defensive pin in the third period, but Schinder was riding just high enough to keep himself off his back. “I was in the same position in our last match against Green Farms Academy ,” Schinder said. “What people were telling me felt a lot different than what I felt in the match. I thought I was safe, but it was really close. I was just waiting for a stalemate or the end of the match and I got the stale.” Blair bumped 165-pound Princeton commit Barry Norman away from NJ.com Wrestler of the Year Jayden James, and Norman picked up a tech fall at 175. Senior Northwestern commit Ryan Meier saved bonus against another UPenn pledge in CJ Betz at 190 before the Bucs put things away at 215. Salah Tsarni, who is committed to wrestle at Air Force, won by fall before fellow junior Cael Mielnik pinned to win at heavyweight to end the match. “Meier bumped up to Betz and fought hard,” Gitomer said. “He has kind of become a senior leader for us. And then Salah and Cael. They finished the job.” Despite missing two state medalists and losing a few bouts he believed they could’ve won, Delbarton head coach Bryan Stoll was happy with how his wrestlers performed and sees this as a learning moment. “I thought coming in that we realistically had a shot at nine or 10 matches,” Stoll said. “A lot of those we were slight favorites or underdogs in. Worst case scenario, we could’ve won only two or three, but we obviously did better than that. We did a great job of saving bonus points. There are a lot of would’ve, could’ve, should’ves, but I’m proud of our guys. This is all about getting better. Opportunities like this make you better at the end of the year.” The highlight of the night for Delbarton was junior two-time state champion Cam Sontz’s 11-2 win over Maryland commit Michael Batista, who defeated him 2-1 by ultimate tiebreaker at Ironman in December. The Lehigh pledge in Sontz got a takedown and four back points in the third period before one more takedown to get the major decision. Sontz defeated Batista 5-4 in last season’s dual. Unlike last year, Sontz’s statement win wound up not mattering on the scoreboard. Delbarton will turn the page to another national power in Wyoming Seminary next Friday, but Thursday was Blair’s moment.N.J. wrestling regional notebooks for Jan. 29: What to watch for across the stateRyan Patti covers high school football, wrestling and track & field for NJ Advance Media. He previously worked for Rivals covering college football recruiting and has worked in the industry since 2018. He...
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