Sports
Stadtmueller to Wrestle for Fifth-Place in the State
Absegami senior's overtime loss costs him a shot at state title.
Kevin Stadtmueller can’t seem to avoid overtime, but this time it cost him.
The Absegami High School senior, who won pre-quarterfinals and quarterfinals rounds in extra time, was one takedown away from wrestling for a state championship in the semifinals, but finally came out on the losing end of an overtime match.
The Braves’ 215-pounder has to be satisfied with reaching the fifth-place consolation match on Sunday at the Wresting State Championships in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
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Stadtmueller will take on Clearview’s Dan Garwood in the fifth-place match. The action on Sunday begins at 10 a.m. with the finals at 2 p.m.
Despite the loss, Stadtmueller is pleased with his performance.
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“I feel like I stepped up to a whole new level,” Stadtmueller said. “I think this competition makes me better.”
Stadtmueller, who defeated Morristown’s Darren Dungee, 8-6, in the quarterfinals, had his chances against Zeulli, who beat the Braves wrestler, 10-3, in the team playoffs last month.
With the score tied 1-1 after two periods, Stadtmueller almost registered a takedown twice, including once at the end of the mat as time expired in the third period.
Neither wrestler scored points in the first overtime, nor was Stadtmueller able to escape in the second overtime. Zeulli escaped to start the final overtime for a 2-1 lead, and fended off every Stadtmueller attack to clinch the win.
“It was a great match. I was proud of that one. It came down to I didn’t have enough time, and he got an escape. It was so close. It was back and forth either way.”
“Kevin is good at a few things and he stuck to it,” Absegami coach Shawn Scannell said. “He didn’t wrestle Zuelli’s style like he did last time. He wrestled his way. I was proud of his performance. Unfortunately, he fell short.”
In the wrestleback fourth round, Stadtmueller lost to Montville’s Taylor Bernstein, 8-4.
Absegami senior Steve Schwartz was eliminated from the tournament one round away from finishing in the top eight.
The Braves heavyweight, who finishes the season with a 34-8 record, was pinned by High Point's William Smith in 52 seconds in the quarterfinals.
Schwartz still had a chance to place in states, and finish as high as third, but lost in the second round of wrestlebacks, 10-7, to Newton's Evan Chrustic.
The Newton heavyweight led by as many as six points early in the third period, but Schwartz recovered from a near fall to register a reversal. The Braves 265-pounder mounted a comeback, but ran out of time.
"I had something going late at the end of the third, but it was just too late to come back from," Schwartz explained. "It was a time thing. I just threw some things at him, it started to work, but it was too late."
He didn’t wrestle as hard as he needed to and he gave up too many points," Scannell said. "He left everything out there and wrestled his butt off. I’m proud of him."
Schwartz, who didn't make it out of districts as a junior, was a runner-up at District 32 this year and took third at Region 8 to earn a spot in Atlantic City.
"I'm happy about it. I'm happy about everything," said Schwartz, who will be playing football at Wagner University (NY) after he graduates.
"Steve had a great year," Scannell said. "He started his career a little slow and matured a 1,000-percent in this last year. He is a great person, great kid and he has a bright future."
