After a six-game road trip to start the season RD Wrestling had their home opener vs Paramus. The Golden Hawks came into the match-up at 4-2 while the visiting Spartans were 1-0.
The game was well attended as it was not only the home opener, but the match up pitted two close rivals. River Dell and Paramus, the two neighboring schools, have a ton of history.
This created a raucous environment inside River Dell’s gym. The student section was filmed to capacity.
RD Wrestling got off to a fast start with a quick 30 second pin from LJ Van Dam. When asked about how it felt to record such a fast pin Van Dam added, “I feel fulfilled that all my hard work in the room has paid off”.
RJ Weiss and Nick Berberian followed quickly with wins as well.
After amounting to a large lead, the Spartans climbed back into the meet. However, in the final deciding match Yewen Zhao pinned his opponent to win the match.
The crowd roared as Yewen Zhao was mobbed by his teammates.
A great win for the Hawks as they went 3-1 from Friday to Sunday.
Coach Baranello’s team is now 7-4 after a loss Roxbury on 1/8. The team travels to Voorhees for a meet on 1/10.
