Tigers closing in on 20 wins

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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:44AM

Injuries finally caught up to Elmwood Park’s wrestling team, and the Tigers had a little hiccup in what has otherwise been a fantastic season as they lost to Gordon Tech 42-30 on Jan. 11.

The Tigers were able to knock off Walther Lutheran that same night with a nail-biting 37-32 win before outlasting Ridgewood 54-24 and Marshall 60-18 the following day.

“Our goal is still to get 20 wins, but we’ll have to win every one of our final three duals to get there,” Elmwood Park head coach Lane Stone said. “One of the reasons we lost to Gordon was because we have three varsity starters injured. I put in JV kids, and they all lost. We can’t really do anything about the injuries, so we just have to deal with it. The three or four JV kids just didn’t have the experience and got pinned, so we’re giving up points right away.”

Despite that disappointment, the Tigers were able to squeak by Walther Lutheran thanks to a great comeback. With two bouts remaining on the docket, Elmwood Park was down by five points. Senior Leo Bernal was trailing his 220-pound match 6-3 in the third period, but tied it up thanks to a point due to his opponent’s stalling and a takedown to force overtime. In the extra session, Bernal secured the winning takedown.

Junior Jeremy Wood followed it up at the heavyweight position with the match on the line and found himself on his back quickly. He managed to break free of what was looking like a sure pin and escaped and wound up grabbing his opponent in a bear hug and took him to the mat and secured the pin and the overall victory for the Tigers in dramatic fashion. He and Bernal earned wrestler of the week honors on the team due in large part to their clutch performances.

Elmwood Park features seven wrestlers with more than 20 wins. Bernal has 23 wins on the season. Senior team captain Jim Accettura has the most wins in the program, boasting a 29-3 record at 170 pounds. Senior Mike DiFrisco posted four more wins and is still perfect through 26 bouts this season while 106-pound sophomore Ben Vazquez is 27-1. Senior Denny Ma has a 24-8 record at 138 pounds and earned a big win over one of Ridgewood’s best wrestlers last week. Accettura and Vazquez are tied for the tops on the team in pins with 15 each and are just five away from the school record.

Junior Enrique Bernal learned that his season would be finished after a cartilage tear was discovered in his rib. He felt some pain, but he wrestled last week, winning just once, but toughing out all four matches. David Starr’s hyperextended elbow and Joe Stacco’s nagging injuries still are issues in the middle of the lineup as the season nears its end.