Phillipsburg 30 - Easton 21 Saturday January 24, 2009 7:30pm at Phillipsburg High School's "The Pit" Brad Weaver Memorial Outstanding Wrestler Award goes to Jim Tersigni of Phillipsburg Easton Lions Most aggressive Wrestler Award goes to Chris Wilson of Easton Express-Times pre-match article Express-Times post-match article Phillipsburg Wrestling Website Start time: 7:45pm End time: ??pm Referees: Chip Castner Pburg has evens bouts, Easton has odd bouts. 145 - Jr. Oliver Brukardt (P 18-6) DEC 7-2 So. Anthony Minotti (E 11-11) (1st- P 2-0; 2nd- P 7-2; 3rd- 7-2 ) 152 - Sr. Nick Pare (P 17-7) MD 11-3 So. Alex Merida (E 4-11) (1st- E 2-1; 2nd- P 7-2; 3rd- P 11-3) 160 - Sr. Mike Simon (P 15-7) WBF 3:35 So. Zack Bambary (E 4-14) (1st- E 2-0 ; 2nd- P 5-2 at time of fall) 171 - Sr. Eric Bohem (P 14-10) DEC 9-3 Sr. Jeff Griffith (E 12-12) (1st- P P 8-1; 2nd- P 9-1; 3rd- P 9-3 ) 189 - Sr. Jared Crouse (P 18-5) WBTF 15-0 5:21 Sr. Storm Kruczek (E 7-15) (1st- P 5-0; 2nd- P 10-2; 3rd- 15-0) 215 - Sr. Chris Wilson (E 20-6) DEC 10-6 Sr. Matt Santini (P 19-5) (1st- E 2-0; 2nd- E 4-2; 3rd- E 10-6) 285 - Sr. Jim Tersigni (P 14-10) DEC 6-2 Sr. Justin Grant (E 20-5) (1st- 0-0; 2nd- E 1-0; 3rd- 4-4; OT- P 6-2) 103 -Fr. Peter Stanley (E 11-10) DEC 5-0 Fr. Matt Silva (P 6-12) (1st- 0-0; 2nd- 0-0; 3rd- E 5-0) 112 - So. Mike Fleck (E 17-6) DEC 6-2 So. Rylan Watson (P 13-7) (1st- E 4-1; 2nd- E 6-2; 3rd- E 6-2) 119 - Fr. Mitch Minotti (E 24-5) DEC 6-2 So. Dan Brockerhoff (P 4-12) (1st- E 2-0; 2nd- E 6-2; 3rd- E 6-2) 125 - So. Joey Rizzolino (E 18-8) DEC 4-1 Jr. John Horak (P 20-5) (1st- E 4-0; 2nd- E 4-1; 3rd- E 4-1) 130 -So. Matt Lane (P 22-3) DEC 1-0 Sr. Richie Drey (E 14-12) (1st- 0-0; 2nd- P 1-0; 3rd- P 1-0) 135 -Sr. Pat Corpora (E 13-11) DEC 5-2 Sr. Bobby Moyer (P 15-7) (1st- 0-0; 2nd- P 3-1; 3rd- P 5-2) 140 - Jr. Mark Hartenstine (E 26-1) WBF 3:19 Sr. Adam Simon (P 10-0) (1st- E 4-0; 2nd- E 9-0 at time of the fall)

Phillipsburg High School wrestling team favored to beat Easton for first time this decade Saturday, January 24, 2009 By MICHAEL BLOUSE The Express-Times Most of the 1,300 wrestling fans that are expected to pack "The Pit" at Phillipsburg High School tonight will be wearing Garnet and Grey in support of their Stateliners. They will also expect to see something they have not witnessed this century: a satisfying victory over the rival Easton Red Rovers. Easton Area High School has won 10 straight matches against Phillipsburg and owns a 58-13 advantage overall in the series that started in 1947. The Red Rovers defeated the Stateliners 32-24 last year at Easton Middle School. "The Easton match is always one of our top priorities and never more so than this year," Phillipsburg senior Nick Pare said. "Yes, we talk about the streak all the time but not just this year. We've talked about it the entire time I've been wrestling in high school. We think if we win (tonight), it'll be worth the wait." Coach Jason Magditch's Phillipsburg team is 13-0 this season and ranked No. 2 in The Express-Times region. Easton, coached by Steve Powell, is 10-4 and ranked No. 3. The only common opponent for Easton and Phillipsburg is Long Branch (N.J.). The Rovers lost to Long Branch 35-24 last Saturday while the 'Liners defeated the Green Wave 28-21 a week ago. Another comparison could be made based on the results at last month's Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions. Phillipsburg won the 81-team tourney while Easton placed eighth. The Stateliners prevailed in the three head-to-head bouts against the Red Rovers in Reno. Oliver Brukardt beat Mark Hartenstine 2-1 at 140 pounds; Nick Pare prevailed 11-5 over Anthony Minotti at 145; and Eric Bohem decisioned Jeff Griffith 3-1 at 171. "I think we've got to feel like the underdog," said Powell, whose counterpart at Phillipsburg is a former Red Rover assistant coach. "It's in The Pit, it'll be a Jersey ref and we'll have 200 fans to their 1,000-and-some. But our kids still need to believe in themselves. We'll wait and see how we make out." There will be a number of interesting matchups tonight, but barring a possible Brukardt-Hartenstine rematch, the 215-pound battle between seniors Matt Santini of P'burg and Chris Wilson of Easton could be the evening's featured bout. "Some really, really outstanding and close matchups," Powell said. "From 103 to 112, right on through. Certainly they'll be favored in some bouts and we'll be in a couple, but there are a lot of toss-ups. There could be a great Hartenstine-Brukardt rematch, but I doubt Jason will gamble with that one." Tonight's match will include many accomplished wrestlers. None has enjoyed more success in this series than P'burg's Pare. Pare won a 3-0 decision his freshman year, then scored a 12-3 major decision over Eric Burgey as a sophomore and pinned Burgey in 1:37 last year. "It's always good to beat a guy from Easton," Pare said, "but it'd mean even more to me if we can beat them as a team." Yet another subplot is the matchup of teacher vs. pupil. Powell stopped short of saying he pulls for his protégé Magditch and the Stateliners, but he did praise his former assistant's work at Phillipsburg. "I could get into trouble for saying what I really think because it's unnatural to root for Phillipsburg at anything but (our coaching staff) gets along well with Jason," said Powell, in his 25th season as Easton's head coach. "He's done a really great job. He wrestled for (former Nazareth coach Ray) Nunamaker, and I'm sure he learned a lot there. He coached at Easton and I'm sure he picked up a few things here, too. I'm not surprised he's done as well as he has." With Phillipsburg rolling toward a possible New Jersey state title and with its rival in town, expect a chaotic scene at "The Pit." "We expect it will be loud, real intense and high energy," Pare said. "We seem to perform better the more (people) watching and the higher the stakes. It should be fun." Michael Blouse can be reached at 800-360-3601 or by e-mail at mblouse@express-times.com.

Phillipsburg wrestler Jim Tersigni earns Weaver Award by beating Easton's Justin Grant Sunday, January 25, 2009 By BRIAN FORTNER The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | The Phillipsburg Stateliners entered Saturday's dual meet as the rare favorite in their annual border war against arch-rival Easton. All P'burg had to do was avoid the dreaded upsets that the visiting Red Rovers have become known for when the two teams meet. Easton has dominated the series, winning 10 straight before this year -- the last nine meetings being decided by a 32-point margin of victory. In each of those wins, it seemed the Red Rovers won a tossup or two and someone in the lineup pulled off a shocker. P'burg 285-pounder Jim Tersigni turned the tables. The Stateliners senior heavyweight shocked the packed house at The Pit with a 6-4 overtime victory over Easton's Justin Grant. Grant entered the match as the top-ranked 285-pounder in The Express-Times regions. "It was the atmosphere," Tersigni said. "You're in the Pit, with 1,000 people screaming. It was great to come up with the win." Tersigni's performance earned him the Brad Weaver Memorial Award given to the match's outstanding wrestler. More importantly, Tersigni's victory gave the 'Liners a 24-3 lead with seven bouts left and helped P'burg end the decade-long drought to the Red Rovers, 30-21. Jimmy wrestled a great tactical match," P'burg coach Jason Magditch said. "Jimmy's up and down and when he wrestles a smart tactical match he's much better off. When he tries to get crazy is when he gets himself in trouble." "I know Grant is a real good wrestler," Tersigni said. "He's pretty aggressive and I just knew I had to be ready for anything." Grant led 1-0 after two periods, but Tersigni tied the bout with an escape in the first 20 seconds of the third. The Red Rover senior went ahead with a takedown on the edge of the mat with 1:01 left in the bout, but made what turned into a tactical mistake, cutting Tersigni loose on the restart to make it a 3-2 match. Tersigni made him pay, turning a Grant headlock attempt into a takedown of his own and a 4-3 lead with 47 seconds left. Grant escaped to tie the match and send it into overtime only to give up the winning takedown 24 seconds into the extra period. "Coach Mags and coach (Scott) Silvas were yelling to watch the headlock," Tersigni said. "I knew he was coming with it and I just slipped it and the crowd went nuts." The Stateliner fans could smell victory for the first time in over a decade as the two heavyweights embraced in the center of the mat. "Grant is real good for a second-year wrestler," Magditch said. "He's very active for a big guy and he likes to throw the headlock and take you to your back. Jimmy was staying up high at first and we were telling him to watch the throw and slip the headlock if he throws it. Grant is tough, but Jimmy has a lot of experience on his side. He really came through." There were other Stateliner heroes at The Pit on Saturday, but none were as big as Jimmy-T. Brian Fortner can be reached by e-mail at sports@express-times.com.