Pair of Bulldogs take on nation’s best freestylers Sophomores post winning records at national tourney

Pair of Bulldogs take on nation’s best freestylers
Sophomores post
winning records at
national tourney

Rumson-Fair Haven High School wrestlers Bryan Heller (l) and Patrick Berger recently competed in the National Freestyle Championship in Fargo, N.D. Both wrestlers left the tournament with winning records.

A pair of Rumson-Fair Haven High School sophomore wrestlers are putting themselves in position to be real forces come winter time after competing in the USA Wrestling National Freestyle Championships in Fargo, N.D.

Bulldog wrestlers Bryan Heller and Patrick Berger both made the trip to North Dakota to be part of Team USA in the annual competition in late July.

Berger, who won the New Jersey State Freestyle Cham-pionship at 103 pounds in May, made his first appearance at the national level and finished with a winning record of three wins and two defeats.

Heller, who won the 112-pound title at the New Jersey Freestyle ranking tournament at Blair Academy in June, made his second trip to the national tournament and finished with a record of four wins and two losses. Along the way, Heller defeated West Virginia’s 103-pound high school state champion Matt Easter, and Arizona’s top-ranked, 103-pound high schooler Ricardo Ramirez.

According to Heller, he entered the tournament hoping to win five matches after going 0-4 his first year.

"I knew the competition was stiff coming in, and I knew what to expect," he said. "I started out well against a kid from Colorado who wasn’t the best wrestler, but he was tough enough. I wound up beating him 12-0."

Heller added that it wasn’t until after he beat his next opponent 10-2 that he learned who he was.

"I beat the kid from West Virginia without even knowing he was the state champion," he said. "I found out later and was pretty happy that I beat him."

After winning his next two matches, Heller ran into a stronger opponent, and suffered his first loss.

"The kid from Ohio was just stronger than me," he said. "I couldn’t really do anything, because I couldn’t turn him."

Heller added that he was pleased with his overall performance, especially considering that the 112-pound class had the most wrestlers (117) entered.

"I thought I wrestled well, and definitely improved over my performance last year," he said. "Next year, if I make the team, I’ll have to step up to junior competition, which will be tougher. But I’m definitely looking forward to it."

He also said that he was pleased with the overall trip, although he hopes next year’s tournament is held somewhere other than North Dakota.

"After we were done wrestling, I couldn’t really go see anything because there’s nothing to see," he said. "My roommate and his parents went for a ride to see buffalo and wound up driving for a couple of hours."

As a freshman at RFH last year, Heller posted a varsity record of 25-3, finishing second in District 22, while Berger finished with a varsity record of 14-4.

Both wrestlers will be looking to use the national level competition as a springboard to their sophomore season.