Salem wrestling falls to Penns Grove, beats Schalick in first varsity action since 1995

  • 12/21 - 6:30 PM WrestlingFinal
    Salem 6
    Penns Grove 63
Complete Box Score »

CARNEYS POINT -- For the first time since the 1995 season, Salem High School fielded a varsity wrestling team.

On Monday, the Rams faced off with Penns Grove and Schalick in a Salem Country tri-match.

Although Salem wasn't able to come out on the winning side of either match, head coach Curtis Schofield is still proud of his team.

“It’s always good to see these guys go up against somebody else and test their skills and what they know,” said Schofield. “Then we can go back to the room and start going over more things now that they have mastered some things they already learned. Being a new program, most of these guys have never wrestled before. It was good for them to get out here and get some experience and see what wrestling is like.”

In the first match of the night, the Rams fell to Schalick by 72-15, but forfeited eight of the 14 matches. In the six matches Salem did wrestle, the Rams were victorious three times thanks to pins from Nick Galante (at the 285-pound weight class) and Octavian Pitts (113). The Rams also saw points at 145 from Nate Roy, who won by a 4-2 decision.

“It was great,” said Pitts. “I wasn’t expecting to win, but it happened and I am super happy. My brother was on the team when they stopped wresting. He was telling me how excited he was that I was doing it and he is going to come watch me.”

In the final match of the night, the Rams fell once again, but this time to the Red Devils.

Salem was a little closer in the match, falling 63-6. Penns Grove head coach Steve Tury was happy to see another Salem County school join the ranks.

“I am very happy to see Salem join with wrestling this season,” said Tury. “We talked about getting together and doing some stuff this summer and the coaches over there are enthusiastic. They really impressed us when we wrested (their jv team) last year that their student fan base came out and really showed support for the program too.”

The thriller match of the night belonged to the Red Devils and the Cougars, however as Penns Grove prevailed, winning, 46-36.

Penns Grove jumped out to a quick 16-0 win thanks to pins at 160 and 170 and then a major decision at 182. A forfeit at 195 allowed the Cougars to begin sneaking back some points back.

The best bout of the night came from the 145 pound match when Wayne Scott (Penns Grove) rallied all the way back from a near fall to pin Ky'reem Bartee of Schalick in 1:44.

“I told him today, ‘Coming back is tough for a senior let alone a freshman. Some college players couldn’t come back like that,’” said Tury. “I am really proud of the heart he showed. Last year, Schalick beat us 66-3, so a lot of the guys worked hard this offseason and we have a lot of new talent that came in. I have six freshman in the starting lineup.”

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