Ridgewood Wrestling rolls to third straight district crown
MARCH 3, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015, 11:11 AM
BY MATTHEW BIRCHENOUGH
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
FAIR LAWN – Sporting a supportive wrap around his right shoulder and bulky brace on his left knee, Ridgewood High School senior Roger Toral departed the wrestling mat, turned to a legion of Maroons backers and raised his arms in exultation with both index fingers pointing upward, making it clear where he and his team stood at last weekend’s District 6 tournament.
Despite battling a shoulder injury since the opening week of the season – and spraining his MCL days before the tournament – the 132-pounder persevered for a 3-1 decision over Fair Lawn’s Alex Eligur to capture an individual title and help lead the Maroons to an overwhelming team victory, their third straight district triumph, last Saturday at Fair Lawn High School.
“Roger is a heart-and-soul kid, and what he did, in the midst of the adversity that he faced, that’s the story of the team,” RHS head coach Torre Watson said.
Ridgewood continually hasfound a way to exceed expectations this season, shaking off significant graduation losses to compile an 18-6 record and earn the program’s first-ever home state-tournament match earlier this month.
“We’re able to overcome anything,” Toral said. “There were problems presented to us, and we were able to work around them.”