Barber Advances to State Wrestling Tourney

The goal of every high school wrestler in New Jersey is to take a trip to Atlantic City, not for a vacation, but to perform in front of thousands of fans in their quest for the coveted state championship.

Westfield's Christian Barber will have that opportunity thanks to a solid performance in the third-place consolation match, where he defeated Roselle Park's Matt Krynicki 8-4 to take the bronze.

Earlier in the quarterfinal round, Barber defeated Corey Stasenko of South Plainfield 3-2.

In the semi-final wrestlebacks, Barber edged Aaron Velasquez of Morristown 3-1.

Barber, a junior, came up just short last year, losing on a takedown in the semi-finals in four overtimes. That memory has driven him the past year.

"I wanted to come back strong, take third and do some damage in A.C.," Barber said.  "My coach has definitely helped my mental toughness. Tough practices, long practices. Four matches is a lot in one day."

In the 125-pound weight class, sophomore Troy Skibitsky had a chance to advance as well, but lost in his third-place consolation match to Rich Szeliga of South Plainfield 11-3. South Plainfield went on to capture the team championship.

"I came in and won a good quarterfinal match against a kid from South Plainfield," said Skibitsky. "I got two good takedowns and rode him out the whole match. I just beat a kid 4-1, he tried to headlock me and I defended it and got a takedown, so I won that match."

"I thought Troy looked the best he's looked all year, said Westfield coach Glen Kurz. "After Troy's freshman year we were expecting good things from him. I think he won 20-plus matches as a freshman. He's done well. He's got a whole other level that we really haven't seen yet."

Lou Mascola of Seton Hall Prep pinned Skibitsky in 1:12 in the semi-final, before going on to win the region crown.

At 103, sophomore Mike Kalimitziz lost in the quarterfinals 11-8 to Gennaro Cuccolo of Hanover Park.

Despite not advancing to the states, Kalimitziz is grateful for the experience.

I feel that, even though I lost two and only won one, the first match was a really close match, it ended up 11-9," said Kalimitziz. "I stayed in the match and tried to wrestle the best that I could. My second match I went in knowing I had to win and got the job done. My last match I gave it all that I could and I don't think I could have done any more."

And while he came up short of his goal, he knows there are still two years left to get the job done.

"My goal was to make it to Atlantic City," said Kalimitziz. "Set your goals high, that's one thing I wanted to stay with and keep remembering. The fact that I didn't reach my ultimate goal will make me work harder in the off-season."

In the 145-pound quarterfinals, senior Bryan Henry lost a close one to Anthony Johnstone of Hanover Park 3-2. Although Henry's season came to an end, he is still appreciative of the career he's had at Westfield.

"Our school has the best conditioning, probably at this tournament" said Henry. "Our coach conditions us for matches like this. Last year was the first time I wrestled varsity. Coach knew I was good but he didn't put me on varsity. But he knew I had some things to work out. I wrestled with better kids and I learned from that. I learned from my mistakes, and got better."

"He battles and battles, keeps it close, pulls away in the end," said Kurz of Henry. It all comes back to his hard work. I wish we had him for one more year. Here's a kid who started wrestling as a ninth grader, and was athletic, but immature, wasn't that serious about the sport. Midway through his junior year, he starts catching on. Now he's in the top 6 in the region? That's just a credit to his hard work."

Meanwhile, Barber will continue his quest for a state title next Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City at the NJSIAA state wrestling championships.