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HAZLET -- He stared at the number in disbelief. 152. Perfect,
just perfect, thought Raritan head coach Rob Nucci. If there was one weight class he didn't want to draw to start
the match, it was 152.
Two years ago — same gym (Raritan High School), same opponent (Long Branch) — Nucci's team spotted Long Branch
a 32-point lead in a match that decided the Shore Conference Class B North title. The Rockets lost a nail-biter
that night. Take one guess what weight class Raritan drew before that match.
Deja vu was back for a second helping Tuesday night, only Kevin Whalen, Shawn Putnam and the rest of Raritan's
seniors weren't keen on letting it trip them up again. Crawling out of a 20-point hole, Raritan won its final eight
bouts to stun the Green Wave 40-23 and advance to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final. The Rockets will wrestle
Delaware Valley on Thursday night, hoping this postseason run culminates in a sectional title.
"We knew we needed the lower weights to make up a lot of the lost steam," Whalen said.
Lost steam? What steam? After walloping Matawan 56-9 in its first match of the night, Long Branch jumped all over
the Rockets to start the sectional semifinal. Beginning with Sergio Chiapparro's pin at 152 and ending with Genero
Feliciano's technical fall victory at 189, the Green Wave bolted to a 20-0 lead. It wasn't until Rich Bryant pulled
out an emotional win over Long Branch's John Jasio at 215 that the Rockets even had points on the scoreboard.
"When Rich won," said Raritan 119-pounder Phil O'Hara, "it put the wind back in our sails."
Long Branch heavyweight Manny Navarro brought the lead back to 20 points when he beat Jeff King, 7-0. It was the
last bout Long Branch would win. Raritan turned it on, outscoring the Green Wave 37-0 over the final eight bouts
to clinch a spot in the next round.
T.J. Mitchell, wrestling for the first time since December, started the Raritan run with a dominant 18-2 technical
fall at 103 pounds. Ahead 9-2 after one period and 15-2 after two, officials finally stopped the bout 1:24 into
the third. Long Branch still led 23-8 after Mitchell's triumph, but Raritan continued to close the gap. After Bill
Voutsinas pinned at 112 it was 23-14, then 23-17 thanks to O'Hara's 6-0 victory at 119, and 23-22 when Dave Seidenberg
earned a technical fall at 125 pounds.
Trailing by just a point now, the Rockets picked up their first lead at 25-22 courtesy of 130-pounder Chris Rafalko.
Rafalko turned an escape, a takedown and two back points into a 5-0 win.
All that was left after that were the finishing touches. Who better than Whalen and Putnam to handle those?
"I always try to get as many bonus points as possible," Whalen said. "Matches like this one come
down to bonus points."
He picked up six points for the Rockets, turning his opponent to his back in the second period and holding him
there until the official slapped the mat. Putnam clinched it, up 9-2 in the second period when he scored the pin
that pushed the Rockets' lead to 37-23. Comeback complete.
"Once I get people to their back, I usually don't like to let them up," Putnam said.
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