The ‘Battle of No. 1s’ delivered.
NJ.com’s No. 1 in Delbarton hosted the country’s No. 1 team in Blair on Friday and it came down to the final bout. Junior 285-pounder Carter Neves pinned Connor Martin to give the Bucs a 26-24 instant classic win in Morristown.
An epic, near-two-hour match was decided in just 31 seconds, but if you know Rokfin’s No. 2 heavyweight in Reves, you know he takes pride in being the clincher.
“I always want it to come down to me,” Neves said. “It puts all the pressure on me and I like that. That’s where I thrive. It was a great dual and I just went out there and did what I do.”
It’s another huge moment for Neves, who decisioned St. Joseph (Mont.) two-time state champion Jimmy Mullen in the Escape the Rock championship last month. Mullen at the time was the No. 1 heavyweight in the country and pound-for-pound also one of the nation’s best.
While the match was won at the end, Blair head coach Ross Gitomer felt the early bouts mattered.
At 106 and 113, Benji Koch and Ryan Meier limited Dylan Palentchar and Jayden James to major decisions. At 138, Will Dekraker held state champion Tyler Vazquez to a 6-2 decision via scoreless second and third periods. Koch was nearly pinned multiple times and in a match where every point mattered, staying off his back was huge.
“I was really happy with them and our 138-pounder on how they finished,” Gitomer said. “We didn’t give up many bonus points. The team Bryan Stoll puts together is extremely talented. I knew this was going to be a big feat because of how we match up with them. My hat is off to them.”
Had the match gone to criteria, Blair would’ve won thanks to the pin from Neves at 285. Three more points were needed from Delbarton.
Stoll still pointed the finger at himself for how some of the early bouts went. He thinks it was enough to maybe have costed the Green Wave a win.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come back to bite us,” Stoll said. “We were working for pins and we probably should’ve been working for techs and that’s on us as coaches, but at the end of the day, that’s Blair Academy. They’re a great wrestling team and it’s an honor to be able to compete against them.”
Down 20-17 heading into the 190-pound bout, Blair’s Joshua Anthony needed a win over Henry Forte, the Morris County 215-pound champ and one of the hottest pound-for-pound wrestlers in the state.
He came up clutch with a 12-6 decision, but similar to Neves, it’s nothing new for the senior to win when he’s counted on most.
“That’s how he trains and that’s how he does things,” Gitomer said. “He was working out there. He’s just an awesome kid.”
No matter who you were rooting for, Friday night was a wrestling fan’s dream.
It was the state’s two best teams, the bleachers were filled an hour in advance and the mat was surrounded by anyone who didn’t find a parking spot in time for a seat. Even the Delbarton student section, dejected from the loss, gave Neves and Martin a round of applause as they shook hands.
There’s a reason these two programs have tangled in three of the last four seasons.
“They had a huge crowd and it was loud for the whole match,” Neves said. “They’re a great team and they’re probably going to win a state title this year. My respect for them is high.
“This is a really good thing for New Jersey wrestling,” Gitomer added.
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Ryan Patti covers the Big North, NJAC and NJIC. He can be reached at rpatti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanwpatti.
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