3/8/2010 - No 'Rocky' Ending For Orr
With a welt the size of a catcher’s mitt above his right eye and a guy named Mickey in his corner, Ethan Orr had all the looks of Rocky Balboa.
But the High Point junior’s run in Atlantic City at the state wrestling individual tournament didn’t have a “Rocky” ending. No sir.
If you remember, in the original “Rocky,” he was a big underdog and lost the big fight to Apollo Creed, but gave a valiant effort.
Despite the look, Orr was no underdog and was in complete control scoring a very defensive-minded 3-1 win over Doug Cornell of Long Branch in the 152-pound state final Sunday to secure his first-ever gold medal capping an outstanding 36-2 campaign.
And Orr never looked over to High Point’s longtime and valuable assistant Mickey Thomas and asked him to cut him, either.
But what Orr did do was join his teammate Nick Francavilla (112) and Ryan Callahan of Wallkill Valley (171) on top of the medal stand as state champions from Sussex County in a great day for Sussex County wrestling.
The trio became the first threesome since 1990 to bring home the gold to Sussex County. Twenty years ago, current High Point coach John Gardner (189), Steve Dalling of Kittatinny (140) and Brian Unkert of Pope John (145) turned the trick.
Callahan, who I hoped received a few votes for OW, was machine-like as he rolled to the crown by outscoring his opponents 44-6 including an 8-3 win over Canaan Bethea of Trenton in the final.
The Princeton-bound Callahan finished the season 41-0 and a Sussex Country-record 154-12 for his career.
Francavilla needed a last-second reversal to win his second straight crown as he nipped Kyle Casaletto of Southern 3-2 in a wild finish. He becomes High Point’s first-ever two-time state champ.
Coming into Sunday’s action, most wrestling pundits (and you know who you are!) felt that out of the three finalists from the county, Orr had the toughest task in facing a very talented Cornell.
But Orr did what he had to do as he made a first-period takedown hold until he was awarded a neutral in the third. As the match was winding down, some fans in the Boardwalk Hall started to boo and felt that Orr, who was warned earlier, was stalling.
But as John Gardner said to me after the match, “That’s why you don’t wrestle for the fans.” And he is exactly right.
Orr didn’t show a tremendous amount of emotion after the win, but you knew he was ecstatic, and rightfully so.
“I just stuck in there,” he said. “I wish I could have gotten a little more offense in there, but I’m a state champion.”
He certainly is.
This has been a great year for Orr who has kind of been overshadowed by his classmates’ success the last two years. Orr was a member of the “Fab Five” freshmen class two years ago that led High Point to its first Group 3 title and No. 1 ranking in the state.
Orr was solid his first two seasons, but he was in the same weight class as Troy Hernandez, Kittatinny’s state finalist from a year ago.
When I interviewed Orr after he won the District 3 title this year, I asked him how it felt to finally join his buddies, Francavilla, Billy Smith, Joey Gaccione and Drew Wagenhoffer as a district champ.
Orr, in his typical low-key fashion, reminded me that he had given Hernandez fits the last two years losing two close decisions and there was no shame in losing to him. He didn’t say it in a cocky or disrespectful way, just as a matter-of-fact.
He added that he wasn’t nervous because he was confident in his abilities and that he was primed to make a run into the regions and states, and boy, was he right.
At A.C., he knocked off the top seed Eric Reger of Delsea 6-0 in the semifinals to advance to the final against Cornell. And the last time Orr squared off with a Long Branch wrestler, Orr delivered the knockout blow in High Point’s classic 24-23 win over the Green Wave in January.
“Coming away with two champs, you certainly couldn’t ask for more,” said Gardner. “It is a great way to end the season.”
The Wildcats also came home with two third-place finishes from John Guzzo (160) and Billy Smith (215). Kevin Churchill of Newton capped his marvelous career with a third-place finish at 112. He ends his tenure as the Braves’ all-time winningest wrestler with a superb 151-19 mark.
Evan Bowlby (fifth at 160) and Zach DiPini (sixth at 125) of Wallkill also medaled, as did Chris Burdge of Kittatinny (sixth at 145).
Smith (40-3) showed tremendous heart to bounce back from a tough loss in the semifinals to top Darren Dungee of Morristown 5-0 for the bronze.
As for Guzzo (28-3), this was his first trip to A.C. and the heralded junior did well, losing to Preston Kieffer of Eastern 6-5 in the semis before bouncing back to beat Ottis Wright of Montclair 1-0 in the consolations.
“He is probably the strongest wrestler I’ve ever faced in New Jersey,” said an exhausted Guzzo after holding down Wright.. “I’m happy to be up there with (Nick) Visicaro or Kieffer. They’re both seniors and I’m a junior. I’m pretty happy.”
He should be. This wasn’t the breakthrough year Guzzo was hoping for, but the Blair Academy transfer showed tremendous character all season as he battled a multitude of injuries.
He will have offseason knee surgery and he will tend to his shoulder as well. He was basically wrestling on one leg all season after missing the individual state tournament last year due to his bum shoulder.
After he won the district title, Guzzo looked at me and said it was incredible that it took to his junior year to win a high school tournament. And he is right.
After transferring from Blair, he came to High Point with a tremendous amount of hype, hype that was not supplied by him. Wrestling fans are a rabid bunch and there was a lot of external pressure put on Guzzo before he even stepped on the mat for High Point last year.
In fact, his first-ever match for the Wildcats was at Rutgers when High Point fell to Long Branch on criteria. The Wildcats needed bonus points, but Andrew Balina gamely fought off Guzzo and only lost 7-1 in he final bout of the match. Guzzo’s win tied it at 27-27 allowing the Green Wave to escape on criteria.
Talk about pressure.
Guzzo is nationally known on the freestyle and Greco-Roman circuit in the offseason, but the transfer and injuries have hampered him on the high school level. He said in A.C, that he is not even close to being in the shape he needs to be because he can’t train properly because of his knee.
But despite the injuries, Guzzo topped undefeated Jerry Somma of Hunterdon Central 6-2 in the quarterfinals to avenge an injury-default loss to Somma at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex tourney.
Guzzo told Mike Weilamann of the Star-Ledger and the outstanding wrestling analyst for Mugs Media that no one has seen his best wrestling yet, and I believe him 100 percent.
Guzzo is going to be one those kids who will go on and have an outstanding collegiate career. His style is more suited to the college way and I’m sure some college will do well to offer him a full ride.
Here is hoping that Guzzo gets healthy and stays healthy. If he does, he will definitely move up a couple steps on the medal podium next year.
That's it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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