Troutman and Terrezza Advance to Region 3 Wrestling Tournament

It has been awhile since New Providence wrestler Zach Troutman was on the downside of a result.

Troutman rolled to 28 straight wrestling victories before hitting a huge bump in the road on Feb. 12, suffering his by a pin to West Orange heavyweight Emiliano Betancor in a Verona Quad Tournament.

Troutman’s best remedy was getting back on the mat, capturing his second straight win with a pin of North Plainfield’s Ronald Guardado in under a minute to advance to the semifinal round of the District 12 state tournament at South Plainfield High School last Friday.

“I went out and completely underachieved,” said Troutman of his loss to Betancor, the state’s fourth-place heavyweight last season. “Losing is the worst, but I would rather have lost when I did than do it in the state tournament. I think I’m better for it now.”

Troutman wasted little time ending Guardado’s season on Friday, bringing the Canuck wrestler down and then rolling him for the pin in 57 seconds.

“Zach has really stepped up since that loss,” New Providence coach Gary Bremer said. “This is what he’s meant for. Everything he’s done this year leads up to this and now we have to go.”

Tim Terrezza (125 pounds) and Dan Smith (130) joined Troutman in the next round of the District 12 Tournament on Saturday. 

Terrezza won by decision over Ryan Hoy of Governor Livingston, 10-7, to capture third place at 125 pounds. Troutman defeated Anthony Manganiello of Governor Livingston by fall in 2:53 and then decisioned Plainfield's Tiaquan Womack 5-0 for his first district title.

Terrezza and Troutman now advance to the Region 3 tournament, which starts tonight at 6 p.m. at Union High School.

Terrezza will have to wrestle in the first round tonight, while Troutman receives a bye into Friday night's round also at Union High school.

Dan Smith, who lost in the semifinals to Middlesex's Tom Morelli at 130 pounds, failed to advance in the wrestlebacks. Smith lost a 6-1 decision to Anthony Joe of Colonia to end his season at 12-17.

Host South Plainfield, who was expected to coast to its state-record 27^th consecutive team title, won the tournament. Last season, New Providence took fourth in District 12. But with injuries and a large chunk of its 2010 contingent gone, the Pioneers took eighth out of nine teams with 51 points.

New Providence, which has been ravaged by injuries, lost seven of 10 bouts Friday night. Harry Laplanche, who injured his groin in his only match of the season in January, stepped onto the mat for the first time since suffering the ailment. He lost to Colonia’s Edward Jules in 3:49.

The Pioneers, who ended the season 5-11 in dual meets, return eight wrestlers next season who were freshman or sophomores this year.

“The kids we had were very young, but they worked hard and we’ll be better for it next year,” Bremer said.