By John DiSimone

So far, this season’s Wrestling team has found much success. The team, led by Dean Caravela, Matt Maddaloni and Ryan Schaffer, has an impressive record of 11 wins and only three losses. Also, the team had come out on top in the Super Essex Conference/American Division; and has been awarded conference champs with an outstanding seven wins and zero losses in the conference. Recently we have interviewed Senior Captain Ryan Schaffer to get the inside scoop on this years team. We asked him if the team has been doing anything different that contributed to their success and he said that the return of many experienced wrestlers has been a major factor in their success thus far. More specifically, Schaffer said,  “Our team hasn’t made any major changes to our mentalities or ethics we have practiced in prior years. We are working just as hard as any year, but with 13 returning starters, experience is on our side helping our success so far.” Schaffer said. When asked what the team’s overall mentality/plan is for states this year Schaffer added, “Our mentality towards states is to take it one match at a time and achieve our goal which is to win the section.”  
On January 29th, the chiefs came out on top in a nail biting match against their rivals, West Essex High School to win the SEC/American title. Each wrestler had battled hard against their opponent, leading to an intense last match to dictate the outcome of the meet. Heading into the last match, the score stood 30 Caldwell to 26 West Essex. With the crowd at the edge of their seat, sophomore John Murphy battled hard against his opponent in an exciting match lasting three rounds. Holding his ground, Murphy fought throughout the three rounds, preventing a pin or major decision and leading to a solid win for Caldwell. The final score of the match was 30 for the Chiefs and 29 for West Essex. At the end of the match, Caldwell walked away with another solid win under their belts and secured the title as the champs of their conference.

Featured image courtesy of Christine Corliss