Brian Meyer doesn’t see too many limits on his trip to Atlantic City this weekend.
“When you wrestle for Phillipsburg, anything can happen,” said the junior 145-pounder. “My goal is to be at the top of the podium. Hopefully, I won’t fall short of that.”
That’s a lofty goal for Meyer, who brings a 29-7 record and a No. 6 seed to the NJSIAA state tournament that opens at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Boardwalk Hall. He will face senior Vincent Delligatti (32-5) of Haddon Township, Region 7’s fourth-place finisher, in his first-round match.
Meyer has had some recent experience atop a podium as the Region 3 champion. He defeated junior Garrett Beam of Queen of Peace 3-1 in the final.
“Winning the region was a goal and I was happy to accomplish it,” Meyer said. “It gives me some momentum going into this weekend and hopefully I keep winning.”
Phillipsburg wrestlers have high standards for their performances, and even as a regional champion, Meyer said his tournament was good but not quite what he wanted.
“I was not as aggressive in the final as I would have liked to have been,” Meyer said. “My first two matches (a pin and a major decision) I was happy with how I wrestled. Overall, I had a good tournament.”
Meyer entered the state tournament as the Region 1 champion as a sophomore as well, but went 1-2 in Atlantic City. He’s ready to move on from that disappointment.
“I gave up three takedowns in my first match and got caught on the mat and turned a couple of times (by New Providence’s Tyler Gazaway),” Meyer said. “I learned that I have to better mentally prepared and wrestle to my strengths.”
One of which would be to show consistent aggression.
“I think I opened up more in the first two matches at regionals this year, and that’s my mindset, to dominate guys,” Meyer said. “I just didn’t do that in the region final but I hope to at states.”
One major change from 2016 is that regional champions no longer receive a first-round bye. That’s fine with Meyer.
“I think it’s almost a good thing, you don’t have to sit around all day, you can get the ball rolling and get a feel for the arena,” Meyer said. “You get a match under your belt early, loosen up and get the nerves out.”
Meyer brings another edge to Atlantic City he didn’t have as a sophomore.
“I think I really improved a lot over the summer, going to the big tournaments over the summer like (Cadet Nationals) in Fargo (where Meyer was an All-American) and Virginia Beach,” he said. “Having experience to all those quality guys was a big part of making me get better and prepare for states.”
Where, after all, anything can happen when you are from Phillipsburg.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
