Jesse Gibbs smiles as he wears his 'pin necklace' during a home match this season. (Photo Courtesy of Glen Ridge Wrestling)
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Jesse Gibbs, a senior, won the third-place medal in the 215-pound weight class to lead the Glen Ridge High School boys wrestling team at the Essex County Tournament, Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 24-25, at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange.
Gibbs pinned David Cheng of Millburn in 1 minute and 27 seconds and pinned Ben Doumba of East Side in 4:20 to reach the semifinals, where he dropped a 7-0 decision to Michael Mignone of Caldwell. In the third-place consolation, Gibbs won by a 5-3 decision over Jake Saraiva of Cedar Grove.
The Ridgers had other good showings.
Sebastian Kristal, a senior committed to wrestle at Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn., took fifth place in the 120-pound weight class. He pinned Joshua Cabrera of Irvington in 1:15 to reach the quarterfinals, but dropped a tough 6-5 decision to William Ligotti of Seton Hall Prep.
After posting a 16-0 technical fall over Denis Roca of Orange in a consolation round, Kristal then won by a 14-8 decision over Jacob Harlow of Nutley in the fifth-place consolation.
Aaron Amici, a junior, took seventh place at 138, while sophomore Nico Frazier (132) and junior Saayan Kalra (165) each took eighth place for the Ridgers, who were 13th in the team standings.
GRHS head coach Kendall Southerland was proud of his team’s effort.
“Now we are looking to tune up for districts, Senior Day and a few matches left in the season,” Southerland said.
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