Wrestlers Gut Out a Win

A slow start, solid surge and steadfast stand describe Ridgewood wrestling's 36-33 victory over Fair Lawn yesterday.

After getting down early, the Maroons came back and resolutely held on for the win.

"It's a huge win. I'm so proud of them, of our leaders, of our seniors," head coach Torre Watson said. The victory was his first over Fair Lawn in his four years as head coach.

Dropping three of its first four matches, Ridgewood (14-2) flirted dangerously with losing total control of the match. Heavyweight Jimmy Uzzalino opened by quickly falling behind Fair Lawn's Adam Polisi, 5-2. For the first minute, the Ridgewood senior looked uncomfortable. The deficit was wiped out, as he recovered, flipped Polisi on his back, and earned a first-round pin and 6-0 lead for Ridgewood. 

"Jimmy got down early, but I think he won because of his desire to not let someone he thought he was better than beat him," Watson said. 

But quick Fair Lawn pins on Will Montgomery and Brandon Giovanetti, who sandwiched a 112-class forfeit, left Ridgewood down 18-6.

Fighting against the Cutters momentum, Ryan Giovanetti pinned his opponent in the first round, and Justin Gramaglia scraped for a pivotal 13-7 win. 

Watson credited Justin Gramaglia's win at 130 pounds as a key and said the subsequent forfeit by Fair Lawn at 140 pounds turned the tide. 

"We started slow, but we were committed and battled it out," he said.

An Andrew Gramaglia pin and a Bobby Franklin minor points win put Ridgewood on top, 30-24 and paced the Maroons for the rest of the match.

Watson highlighted Christian Rota for overcoming a late-round mistake to capture for an overtime victory.

He also said, "Gordon [Ruffin] was huge. It was big that Yama [Ahmad] didn't get pinned, and you can't say enough about Josh Lay," the 171-class wrestler who produces tough matches despite his inexperience.

The Maroons came into the week with a four-teams-in-four-days stretch. Last night's win and Passaic Tech's withdrawal from Saturday's match because of a scheduling conflict eased Ridgewood's burden. However, the Maroons still must face Kearny (Jan. 29) and Ramapo (Jan. 30).

"We've done a good job, and we need to focus on the single task at hand," Watson said.

Results

Team points—Ridgewood 36 Fair Lawn 33

Heavyweight: Jimmy Uzzalino (R) over Adam Polisi: Pin

103: Max Gallo (FL) over Will Montgomery (R): Pin

112: Ridgewood FORFEIT

119: Sergio Gregoria (FL) over Brandon Giovanetti: Pin

125: Ryan Giovanetti (R) over Austen Fisher: Pin

130: Justin Gramaglia (R) over Isa Usalve: Minor 13-7

135: Fair Lawn FORFEIT

140: James Stewart (FL) over Jason Gibson: Pin

145: Andrew Gramaglia (R) over Gal Levy: Pin

152: Bobby Franklin (R) over Egor Buharin: Minor 5-2

160: Christian Rota (R) over Mike Szwed: Minor 5-3 (OT)

171: Ivan Mikhaylishin (FL) over Josh Lay: Pin

189: Gordon Ruffing (R) over Jesse Zito: Minor 6-2

215: Steve Sherlock (FL) over Yama Ahmad: Minor 3-1