Justen Carabello, a senior, and Jayson Zinsmeister, a sophomore, were both wrestling in their first state final on Sunday night.
They might not have been there before, but they knew the precedent for Phillipsburg wrestlers in that spot. And that is, simply, to win.
The pair came through for the Stateliners on the big stage as Phillipsburg topped West Morris Mendham 35-24 in the NJSIAA Group 4 final at Toms River North’s Pine Belt Arena.
It’s Phillipsburg’s 21st state title in program history, and its fourth in a row.
“I was telling the guys when we were taking pictures out there: it never gets old,” Stateliners coach Dave Post said. “It’s a pretty cool feat for this senior class to win four and also beat Easton three out of four years. It’s really special. It’s certainly memorable and we just want to keep it rolling.”
After senior Robert Melise got Phillipsburg (16-1) on the scoreboard with an 18-second pin at 220 pounds, Carabello earned a tough 2-0 decision over Blake Barrigan at heavyweight to pull his team within 12-9 after five bouts.
The senior pushed forward throughout the match, earned a stalling point in the second period and then got out from the bottom in the third.
“It was a good decision putting me on bottom (at the beginning of the third),” said Carabello, who had a pin in Phillipsburg’s semifinal win over Kingsway. “I fought (Barrigan) off right there. I came up to my feet and I was like, ‘I’ve got this; I’m going to win; I’m going to win.’ It felt amazing to put nine points on the board for my team today.”
Zinsmeister took the mat at 145 pounds with the Stateliners up 25-18 and three bouts left. The sophomore eliminated any suspense by decking Mendham’s Connor McClellan in 1:57 to wrap up No. 21 for P’burg.
“I knew the half (nelson) was there,” he said. “It was just a matter of keeping it legal. Once I kept it legal, I was going to pin him.”
Zinsmeister said his “nerves were kind of going through the roof” when the bout started. The sound of the referee’s hand hitting the mat was priceless, though.
“I felt ecstatic,” he said. “There’s no feeling like it. You’re here with your entire team, you’ve trained all year for this and in that one moment it all comes together. It’s surreal.”
The underclassman was thrilled to contribute to the Stateliners’ streak and complete the senior class’ sweep.
“We’re all like brothers on the team,” Zinsmeister said. “So, helping them get to four straight — from their freshman to their senior year — it just feels good to be a part of something bigger than yourself.”
Carabello, who didn’t start wrestling until he was a freshman in high school, was equally elated.
“It’s just an amazing experience,” he said. “There’s not very many classes at P’burg that can say they’ve (won) four state titles (and) beat Easton three times.”
P’burg won eight of 14 bouts. Cullen Day (major decision at 106), Cody Harrison (pin at 126), Zinsmeister, Brian Meyer (major decision at 152) and Melise all earned bonus points.
Tyris Manley (120) and Kyle Tino (132) picked up decisions for the ’Liners.
Senior Drew Horun didn’t wrestle Sunday due to a banged-up knee, but that adversity didn’t slow Phillipsburg down.
“We wrestled the whole dual-meet season last year without Brandon Paetzell,” Post said. “… They just know if they go out and do their job, then we’re not going to be beaten. They have a lot of faith in us that we’re going to put them in the best spot to try to win the match.”
That self-belief is part of being a Phillipsburg wrestler, even if some people outside the program thought the team might take a step back this winter.
“A lot of people, early in the season, wrote these guys off. They thought we were going to have a down year, especially with the schedule we had,” Post said. “… Without a couple falls, we could be undefeated right now.
“That’s what sets this team apart. The expectations weren’t there for them, but they rose to it anyway because they knew what the standard was.”
And it’s the same standard if it’s your first or fourth appearance in a state final: win.
Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KyleCraigSports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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