FLANDERS — The Chatham Cougars sent only seven wrestlers into the Morris County Tournament this weekend because of injuries and a skin disorder that plagued the team. So of course, success was going to be limited, but two Chatham wrestlers did manage to place at the tournament at Mount Olive High School.
After yesterday's round ended, Chatham Head Coach Mike Carbone admitted, "Our 160-pounder and our 215-pounder need to get to the semis. I think their toughest matches will be in the semis."
That was the absolute truth because both seniors fell in their semifinal matchups as Jeff Fricke and Jeff Furbish both left with third place medals.
Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At 160-pounds, Fricke looked strong early as he recorded a first period pin over his first opponent, Kurt Ferdenzi of Delbarton.
In the quarterfinal round, Fricke battled Gary Faulkman of Whippany Park. Fricke wrestled well, dominating most of the match and walked away with the 11-7 victory.
Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
After falling to Matt Brady of Pequannock in the semifinal round, Fricke wrestled number one seed, Esteban Vasquez in the consolation round. Again, Fricke looked very strong, stopping his opponent 6-2 and taking third in the tournament.
At 215-pounds, Furbish started the tournament seeded third. After pinning his way to the semi-final round, Furbish hit a rough spot as he fell to number two seeded Derrick Filtcroft in a very close match.
"I should have won that match," Furbish said.
Furbish then stepped up again in the consolation round as he faced Kinnelon's Chris Petrino. Petrino was no match for the Cougar, though, as Furbish recorded a pin in just 28 seconds. He also took home third place.
