DISTRICT 16 QUALIFIERS ZEMSKY, ROTTER RETURN
Mass graduations have opened the door for this year’s Westfield High School wrestling team to present many new faces on the mats. But despite the mass loss from a team that claimed three Union County Tournament (UCT) champions, a Region 4 champ, qualified three for the NJSIAA Tournament in Atlantic City (AC), including a fifth place, competed in the section finals and finished 21-5, the Blue Devils’ expectations are still the same.
“We are not having captains this year. We graduated an outstanding senior class last year, but our expectations do not change,” said Blue Devil Head Coach Glen Kurz, who clarified, “We expect our wrestlers will live their lives the right way and will outwork our competition.”
Of the graduates Mike Murphy won the UCT, District 16 and Region 3 titles, placed fifth in AC at 165-lbs and finished 42-6 to up his career won/lost record to 112-23. Ethan Composto also a UCT champ at 138lbs, placed second in the district and region then went 3-2 at AC to finish 37-11 and up his career record to 108-29. Brandon Ribiero, a two-time AC qualifier, won the UCT at 126lbs, placed fourth in the region and finished 33-13.
Another region qualifier, Rick DeRick (157-lbs), finished 33-10. Sergio Cabrera took third in the district at 215-lbs and finished 20-14. Luke Vaccaro (175-lbs) placed sec- ond in the UCT and finished 21-10. Cary Prichett (285-lbs) finished 17-8 and Aidan Harper (144-lbs) finished 22-16.
Of the returning varsity wrestlers, Jake Zemsky, a lineman on this year’s football team, came on strong last year as a freshman, placed third in the district at 190-lbs and finished 15-16. Zemsky has picked up plenty of experience and is expected to compete at 190-lbs. Max Rotter, a senior, competed at 113-lbs last year, placed second in the district and finished 19-18. He is expected to compete at 120-lbs.
Sophomore Dan Berardi, who placed fourth in the UCT and fourth in the district at 106-lbs last year, is expected to compete at 106-lbs or 113lbs this season as will freshman Jake Conti. Sophomore Luke Sluberski, who was 6-13 at 120-lbs, and junior Dylan Sontz, who was 15-7 at 126-lbs, will be at 132-lbs or 138-lbs.
Other possibilities are junior Jack McDermott at 165-lbs, sophomore Ben Diziki at 175-lbs and Robert DeRick at 150-lbs, along with seniors Noah Neimiera and Leo Saltzstein, and sophomore Pravid Bhatla, who will be vying for the 215-lb and 285lb slots. Several weight classes are still up for grabs but the Blue Devils have the potential to be able to fill them.
Coach Kurz added, “While we do have a lot of new faces, so far it seems like they have bought into what we are teaching. We had a productive off-season where our few returning varsity wrestlers made significant jumps and some of our JV wrestlers will be ready to move up and compete on the varsity level.”
The Blue Devils opened their season with a home match against the Elizabeth Minutemen on December 15 then competed in a tournament at Delaware Valley on December 16. A big home showdown against the Governor Livingston Highlanders was on December 20 then tomorrow, Friday, December 22, the Blue Devils will be at center mat with the hosting AL Johnson Crusaders at 5:30 p.m.
