The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION See it all in color at! www.goleader.com THE WEEK IN Thursday, January 22, 2015 SPORTS Page 9 Sports Section Pages 9-14 CRs’ SCORESE, MURRAY OUTSTANDING WRESTLERS Cougars Win UCT Mat Title, Crown 4 Champs, Raiders 2 By DAVID B. CORBIN Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times Twenty nine years in the making, according to Cougar Head Coach Pat Gorman, but it happened when the Cranford High School wrestling team claimed four individual champions, swept both Outstanding Wrestler (OW) Awards and seized the Union County Tournament championship in Union on January 17. “On the banner, it says 1981, but the alumni said 1986. So 86 it is,” Coach Gorman said. “We set our minds on getting as many things as we could. Today, we got a lot of them. We got a whole closet full of second and third trophies that are in a box tucked away. It’s like, we are almost there, we are almost there. Actually it happened this year. We took a third at TCNJ and then we took a second out in Pennsylvania, so we needed to get over that hump. Hopefully, this is the first of many. We have our sights set on the section title, district title and being a top team at the regions. We just got to keep building on this.” Gorman was also named the Union County Coach of the Year and Cranford parent Kevin Murray received the Ralph “Pug” Williams CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times TAKING TOP HONORS IN THE 200-FREE...Blue Devil Aedan Collins won the 200-freestyle in 1:46.12 in the meet against Bergen Catholic at Wallace Pool on January 16. The Blue Devils won an 87-83 squeaker. E BEBEL, COLLINS, R. DANIEL, HUSCH GET 1ST IN 200-FR Blue Devil Swim Boys Edge Bergen Catholic Boys, 87-83 By ALEX LOWE Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times More photos at Ballyhoo Sports David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times WATCHING THE ACTION...Cougar Head Coach Pat Gorman watches Niko Cappello’s, left, 182-lb semifinal bout with Klaudio Bardhoko (New Providence) intently during the Union County Tournament on January 17. Cappello won, 7-1. It could not have been any closer. In the end, two top-10 swim programs would be separated only by the final result of a single event. The Westfield High School boys, ranked as high second in some polls, needed a key victory in the 200-free relay to edge past top-10 Bergen Catholic, 87-83, at Wallace Pool in Westfield on January 16. Blue Devils Eric Bebel, Aedan Collins, Ryan Daniel and Stephen Husch took first place in the 200-free relay (1:31.10). But it was the battle for second place that was every bit as important. Westfield’s foursome of Austin Kreusser, Ryan Bebel, Gavin Conlon and Griff Morgan finished in 1:32.91 squeaking by the Bergen Catholic team of Joe Om, Anthony Bradshaw, Anthony Lee and Ralph Cannarozzi by just two hundredths of a second (1:32.93). The 1-2 finish earned valuable points for Westfield that helped them hang on to the lead. “I think after the break, we were behind when we felt like we should have been in the lead, that was when we got things turned around,” said Gavin Conlon. “That was big. Griff Morgan’s touch out in the 200-free relay was huge. Steve Warren turned in a great performance in the 100 breast as well.” Westfield scored just one individual win on the day. Collins earned that by winning in the 200-free (1:46.12). Bergen Catholic’s Ryan McGeary took second (1:47.53) with CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 Seeking a marketing agent whose techniques deliver superior price results in shorter market times? The sooner you call, the more Scott can help you plan to achieve your goals. Call 908-698-2630 now! 2015 will be a great year for sellers. Home values are up about 15% since 2012! Curious about your property value? Visit: ValueMyHomeNJ.com Scott Gleason Sales Associate RE/MAX Properties Unlimited W-908-233-9292 M-908-698-2630 ValueMyHomeNJ.com HIRING THE TOP AGENT ISN’T EXPENSIVE…IT’S PRICELESS! Scan to View All Listings and Open Houses Frank D. Isoldi, Broker / Sales Associate #1 Agent Westfield Office: 2006-2013 email: [email protected] • Office: 908-233-5555 x 202 • Direct: 908-301-2038 • www.frankdisoldi.com © 2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.