Heading into the team state tournament, the message of the week inside the Hasbrouck Heights wrestling room was to be like a goldfish. That is, to have a short term memory.
That came in handy for the Aviators in the quarter and semifinals of the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 team wrestling tournament.
The second-seeded Aviators made easy work of Lenape Valley in the quarterfinals with a 49-24 win.
But it was in the second match, the semifinals against Glen Ridge, where Aviator coach Kurt Freund’s message got taken to heart, especially by 190-pounder Max Castro who lost 2-1 to Eric Perez of Lenape Valley before avenging that loss with a win at 215 against Glen Ridge’s Jesse Gibbs.
“I think the first match it was the environment and I was really nervous to wrestle. My coach came up to me and he said you just have to go out there and have fun,” Castro said. “I was overthinking things but now you’ve just got to feel it out. If you’re not having a good time out there, there’s no point in you doing it.”
The Aviators won 39-34 on the last bout thanks to a 6-0 decision by 120-pounder Kyle Von Seidelmann to close things out and set up a rematch with Hanover Park in the section finals.
There was also a newness to all of it for Von Seidelmann given his usual spot in the lineup.
But still, whether he’s getting things started or closing them out, there’s no doubt about how Freund feels about the sophomore.
“I had it as a very close match. We lost a couple in the middle that I thought could’ve gone either way,” Freund said. “Through the scores at the end, we knew it was going to come down to Kyle and we have full confidence in him and who he is and how hard he works. He showed extreme maturity for a sophomore. He works very had to have that confidence and that maturity and I told him before the match that he’s been our guy all year and we believe in him.”
Glen Ridge worked hard to get to this point, too — for over a decade in fact.
The Ridgers, under the guidance of longtime head coach Kendall Southerland hadn’t made the state team tournament since at least 2004 under the previous regime by Southerland’s estimation, so it was certainly his team’s first time there with him at the helm.
And given how close this first trip was, Southerland has confidence that there will be return trips and they’ll be just as competitive.
“It’s important for my young guys to see this,” he said. “Overall as a team, we’re still young, we’re still hungry and we’re going to keep pushing. It was a good experience for these guys just to be here to see this atmosphere and be that close.”
We were one or two bouts away from winning this match and going forward. We’re still young and looking forward to the guys coming back and getting back in the same spot next year. And next time, we’re going to end up on the winning side.”
One of the key toss-up bouts in both duals was at 150, where Daniel Amendola, who entered Monday night with a season record of 7-18 picked up two huge wins that sent the Hasbrouck Heights gym into a frenzy.
While not necessarily a star on the level of some of his other teammates, if there was any doubt about the respect and admiration for Amendola, one just needed to look over to the Aviators’ sideline.
“It’s amazing. He’s such a hard working kid and he has some really tough matches. He’s been losing a couple of matches but he’s the most improved wrestler on this team,” Castro said. “He really goes out there and wrestles with his heart all the time.”
On Monday, it was Amendola who came up clutch and provided an unexpected jolt to the Aviators. On Wednesday, it could well be him again. Or someone else, or multiple people.
But Freund knows Hanover Park well and that the Hornets aren’t to be taken lightly and knows that his team will need an upset or two to get the job done.
And if Monday’s results were any indication of what’s possible, then maybe it’s not too far-fetched a hope for te Aviators.
“They’re a very well coached and very talented team,” Freund said. “But you always need that big monster beater — someone who’s going to come in and do something you don’t expect to set these guys off and have them feed off each other. We know they’re going to be well coached, but we don’t want to change who we are.”
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Jake Aferiat covers the SEC, Skyland and UCC. He can be reached at jaferiat@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Aferiat.
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