ROBBINSVILLE — Anthony Inverso made everybody in red and black who was packed inside the auxiliary gymnasium at Robbinsville High a little bit nervous.
The senior 215-pounder needed to avoid getting pinned to send Robbinsville to the Central Group III sectional final.
But there he was on his back near the end of the second period fighting with every bit of energy he had to get out of trouble. Not only did he avoid a devastating loss, he rallied from a 7-1 deficit to win an 11-8 decision on a late takedown and secure second-seeded Robbinsville what ended up a 37-28 victory over third-seeded Matawan on Monday night.
“I do that sometimes,” Inverso chuckled when it was pointed out he made coach Dan Hughes go pale and spin out of his seat when he went to his back.
“It’s honestly just looking at the opponent and seeing that he’s not going to hang with me for more rounds,” Inverso continued. “I can give up one takedown, and that can’t happen again. If I don’t make the same mistake and I know what’s coming now and that’s what he’s going to go to, I can easily counteract that and work what I got.”
Tyler Shane delivered a fall in 1:15 at 190 pounds to give the Ravens a 34-22 and put the spotlight on Inverso’s bout against Ajibola Oshin.
Even though Robbinsville led by 12 with two bouts to go, heavyweight was going to be a squash with Matawan’s 32-1 Mohammad Targali waiting in the wings. If Inverso had gotten decked by Oshin at 215 then the match would have finished 34-all with the visitors from the Shore Conference going through on Criteria B (it would have been 8 wins to 6).
Inverso rendered all that moot with a stirring comeback as he overpowered the tiring and banged-up Oshin in the third stanza.
“He was absolutely gassed and he can’t roll with me,” Inverso said. “If I keep pushing the pace and keeping it on his head and all that, I feel like I could get the win there.”
Inverso said he was well aware of what was at stake, and Hughes was glad he was the guy on the mat in that situation.
“He is our leader,” Hughes said. “He does everything the right way. I can’t say enough good things about him. When he is out there at the end of duel we feel great.”
Also coming up with huge bonus points for Robbinsville (19-9) was 150-pounder Luca Cannuli. The sophomore overturned a 6-4 loss against Conor Apel from earlier in the season with a first-period pin in 1:23.
That was a nine-point swing from that regular-season meeting that the Ravens won by a minuscule two points.
“I wrestled harder,” Cannuli said, pointing out the first meeting was during a long day at a quad-meet. “It was electric. It was a good moment. There weren’t as many falls (in the match). The bonus points are big.”
Robbinsville also got pins from Alex Viscido at 106, Michael Panzer at 138 and Taylor Adams at 165. Colin Yuncza also did a job at 144 to limit the damage to an 8-5 decision against Dante Marsh, who had pinned him in their first meeting. Yuncza was also unlucky not to score a fall himself after he hooked in a cradle from the top position in the second period that resulted in four back points.
Lucas Messinger picked up a 17-6 major at 120 to round out the scoring for the CVC team, which faces top-seeded Brick Memorial in Wednesday’s final.
Targali pinned at heavyweight for the Huskies (15-11), but that was their lone six pointer. Dean Cuiffo and Alexander Lis managed bonus points with techs at 126 and 157, respectively.
Earlier in the afternoon, Robbinsville cruised in its semifinal, 56-19, over Burlington Twp. (21-12) thanks to pins from eight different wrestlers, including a run of six in a row after the Falcons grabbed a decision in the opening 285-pound bout.
Matawan took out Lawrence, 44-27, although the CVC team had opportunities to make it interesting but lost close decisions at 120 and 165. Cards star Steven Ham kept his undefeated record intact when he only needed one period to post a 20-5 tech fall at 132 pounds.
Luke McFarland (major at 138), Justin Ciemis (fall at 144), Elliot Weeks (fall at 157) and James Lyons (fall at 190) also posted wins for Lawrence (16-12).
Semifinal
Robbinsville 37, Matawan 28
106: Alexander Viscido (ROBB) over Tyler Toth (MARE) (Fall 1:49)113: Dylan Sierra (MARE) over Vincent Grippa (ROBB) (Dec 4-3)120: Lucas Messinger (ROBB) over Michael Kelly (MARE) (MD 17-6)126: Dean Cuiffo (MARE) over Joseph Ciccia (ROBB) (TF 20-5 5:33)132: Graysen Monchik (MARE) over Lucien Amato (ROBB) (Dec 14-8)138: Michael Panzer (ROBB) over Devin Martin (MARE) (Fall 1:00)144: Dante Marsh (MARE) over Colin Yuncza (ROBB) (Dec 8-5)150: Luca Cannuli (ROBB) over Connor Apel (MARE) (Fall 1:23)157: Alexander Liss (MARE) over Jude Cohen (ROBB) (TF 16-0 4:17)165: Taylor Adams (ROBB) over Tyheed Richardson (MARE) (Fall 2:21)175: Pedro Serrano (MARE) over Tony Migliaccio (ROBB) (Dec 8-5)190: Tyler Shane (ROBB) over Joseph Martucci (MARE) (Fall 1:15)215: Anthony Inverso (ROBB) over Ajibola Oshin (MARE) (Dec 11-8)285: Mohammad Targali (MARE) over Nicco Cuevas-Gould (ROBB) (Fall 0:33)
Quarterfinals
Robbinsville 56, Burlington Twp. 19
285: Kyheem Freeman (BUTO) over Nicco Cuevas-Gould (ROBB) (Dec 5-2)106: Alexander Viscido (ROBB) over Leo Poblete (BUTO) (Fall 2:45)113: Cameron Szakacs (ROBB) over Raymond Rogers Jr. (BUTO) (Fall 4:54)120: Vincent Grippa (ROBB) over Xavier Thomas (BUTO) (Fall 0:44)126: Lucas Messinger (ROBB) over Enzo Caldara (BUTO) (Fall 1:07)132: Lucien Amato (ROBB) over David Mazariegos (BUTO) (Fall 4:36)138: Michael Panzer (ROBB) over Brayden Casella (BUTO) (Fall 1:29)144: Xavier Moy (BUTO) over Colin Yuncza (ROBB) (Fall 0:50)150: Noah Palentchar (BUTO) over Luca Cannuli (ROBB) (Fall 0:56)157: Jude Cohen (ROBB) over Brody Tellefsen (BUTO) (Fall 3:32)165: Nicholas Davis (BUTO) over Taylor Adams (ROBB) (MD 13-4)175: Tyler Shane (ROBB) over Andrew Schantzer (BUTO) (Fall 1:26)190: Tony Migliaccio (ROBB) over Gavin Bolt (BUTO) (MD 19-11)215: Anthony Inverso (ROBB) over Kaleb Fisher (BUTO) (MD 14-2)
Matawan 44, Lawrence 27
285: Mohammad Targali (MARE) over Zane Spencer (LASE) (MD 13-3)106: Tyler Toth (MARE) over Alex Sudol (LASE) (Fall 1:18)113: Dylan Sierra (MARE) over Saran Siva (LASE) (Fall 0:48)120: Michael Kelly (MARE) over Mazin Shuja (LASE) (Dec 7-5)126: Dean Cuiffo (MARE) over Edwin Urias (LASE) (Fall 2:57)132: Steven Ham (LASE) over Andrew Martin (MARE) (TF 20-3 2:00)138: Luke McFarland (LASE) over Graysen Monchik (MARE) (MD 12-1)144: Justin Ciemis (LASE) over Dante Marsh (MARE) (Fall 3:07)150: Alexander Liss (MARE) over Josh Jordan (LASE) (Fall 2:21)157: Elliot Weeks (LASE) over Antonio Bruno (MARE) (Fall 2:30)165: Tyheed Richardson (MARE) over Jediah Caesar (LASE) (Dec 4-0)175: Pedro Serrano (MARE) over Vinny Zimmaro (LASE) (MD 11-1)190: James Lyons (LASE) over Joseph Martucci (MARE) (Fall 2:27)215: Ajibola Oshin (MARE) over (LASE) (For.)
