Irvington High’s Terrell Ashman controls an opponent during a match last season. Photo by Delmon Cannon.
IRVINGTON, NJ – Head coach Kyle Steele has reason to feel excited about his Irvington High School varsity wrestling team this season.
The Blue Knights return all but two wrestlers from last year’s team that finished with an impressive 16-10 record.
The key returnees for the Blue Knights include Tyhmir Lassiter, Clerson Xavier, Terrell Ashman and Jerwin Martilus.
Lassiter, a senior, was second in the Essex County Tournament, first at the District 10 Tournament and finished fifth/sixth at the Region 3 Tournament at the 182-pound weight class last year.
Ashman, a junior, took third at the ECT and second in the district, while Xavier, a senior, was second at the district last season.
This season, Steele is hoping to again receive the kind of quality depth that has helped the Blue Knights achieve success for the past few years.
“The last two years, I have been really fortunate as far as the guys spreading out, weight-wise, where we didn’t have a bunch of guys in the same weight class,” Steele said. “That helps out a lot, where you are able to spread out your quality guys. I am just hoping that I can get some of the same luck; get a few new guys in and hopefully guys can get out of each other’s way so that I don’t have a quality guy not being able to break through the lineup. If I can get that, I can see them doing good things.”
The Blue Knights will host their annual Christmas Tournament to start the season on Saturday, Dec. 17. The other teams in the tournament are Barringer, Belleville, Christ the King Prep, Columbia, Glen Ridge, Mountain Lakes, New Brunswick, New Providence, and Trenton Central.
The following is the rest of the IHS schedule:
Dec. 21, Columbia, 5 p.m.
Jan. 6, at St. Benedict’s Prep, 5 p.m.
Jan. 7, at Passaic, with Madison and Secaucus, 10 a.m.
Jan. 11, Livingston, 5 p.m.
Jan. 13, Millburn, 5 p.m.
Jan. 14, Bayonne, 10 a.m.
Jan. 19-20, Essex County Tournament, at Codey Arena in West Orange.
Jan. 25, at Belleville, 7 p.m.
Jan. 27, Union, 7 p.m.
Jan. 28, at Plainfield, with Barringer, Eastside, 8 a.m.
Feb. 1, at Montclair, 7 p.m.
Feb. 2, at Roselle Park, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3, at East Side, 7 p.m.
Feb. 4, at Nutley, with Lyndhurst, 8 a.m.
Feb. 8, at Mountain Lakes, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11, at Summit, with Chatham and Orange, 8 a.m.
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