By Ned Harwood ’13, Staff Writer

There is no Newark Academy sporting event quite like the annual Wrestling Invitational. It’s a day full of fierce competition, fantastic food (provided by the incredibly zesty Senior Grill), and of course, school spirit. It’s an event that every N.A. community member should experience at least a couple of times in their time at NA, and this year’s exhilarating edition was no exception.

The doors opened bright and early on January 8^th, and it wasn’t long before the Simon Field House was bustling with eighteen schools’ worth of wrestlers, their families, and a myriad of volunteers and coaches.

The results lived up to the hype. On the backs of a raucous Red Army, the Minuteman Wrestling Team was alive deep into the tournament. Pat Gerish ’14 lost a close match in the 112 lb. weight class final, just after his brother Joe ’11 had put together a strong run to the semi-finals. A combination of other determined performances allowed the Minutemen to tally 22 points, putting them at a respectable 13^th place out of 18 teams.

At the end of the day, Delbarton far out-shone its competition in the gym, collecting an almost-record breaking 144 points on its way to a 62-point victory over a strong Blair Academy squad. King of Peace phenom, Senior Frank Cagnina, a 130-pound, two-time state champion, took home the tournament’s top individual prize.

Although many on Newark Academy’s young wrestling squad had higher hopes for their  showing, Michael Kaplan ’13 has no doubt the team is on an upswing. “Our underclassmen are very good now, and another year of experience can go a long way. We lost some close matches that cost us a ton of valuable points, but we had some great individual performances this year and I have no doubt we’ll have a legitimate chance at placing in the top ten in 2012.”

A lack of numbers has been the team’s Achilles heel so far this winter, as their team includes only  nine members, but strong showings at the Mustang Invitational, an event in which the Gerish brothers and Pat McMahon all brought home titles, echo Kaplan’s confidence and optimism.

N.A. Wrestling is headed in the right direction, and another well-run Invitational in 2012 should be the perfect measuring point for its success.