His last-second win at District 1 wrestling sent him onto regionals despite a season filled with setbacks.
After all Anthony Gonzalez has been through this wrestling season, he couldn’t let it end with a one-point loss.
Weakened by a severe case of mononucleosis, fighting a torn labrum in his shoulder, and wrestling up two weights because the illness wouldn’t let him cut weight, the Hackettstown junior trailed Mendham’s Michael Servais by one point as the seconds remaining in their District 1 170-pound third-place bout hit single digits Saturday at Warren Hills.
The winner would advance to the Region 1 tournament.
The loser would see their season end.
Gonzalez didn’t want his season to end.
At the absolute very last millisecond of completion, while in a back-and-forth scramble, the Tiger came up with a takedown and a 4-3 decision to move onto the regionals that open 5 p.m. Wednesday at Wallkill Valley.
“I don’t usually cut it that close,” said Gonzalez, who is the #13 seed at Region 1 and will meet Kittatinny’s Josh Klimek, the fourth seed, in a preliminary bout Wednesday. “Once I saw we were getting into a scramble I wanted to get my hips up over him. As long as I did that I thought I would be in good shape. But then I saw the clock and I knew I had to go now. I saw the referee pull up the two points and I was pretty excited.”
In a district tournament filled with fiery competition and high-quality bouts, Gonzalez’s finish was perhaps the most thrilling of all.
It certainly thrilled Gonzalez, who entered districts as a bit of mystery even to himself.
“From the beginning of the season I’d been a 152-pounder and going to districts (at 170) I had no idea of what to expect,” he said “I just went with it and did my best.”
Just being at districts was perhaps a triumph in itself for Gonzalez.
“I was out five weeks with the mono and the doctors told me no physical activity at all,” said Gonzalez, who also plays football for the Tigers. “It was kind of tough for a while to do nothing. You just try and do your best with it and eat right to try and gain some strength.”
Gonzalez, who will enter Region 1 with a 7-5 record, said a protein shake his mother found for him proved helpful and that staying hydrated was important.
All this time, too, Gonzalez was battling a crippling shoulder injury.
“It happened towards the end of last wrestling season and I have been holding off on the surgery so I could play football,” he said. “It’s tough to wrestle with, it can wear you down. The shoulder clicks in and clicks out, and it’s especially hard for me to wrestle with because I like the throws. With the shoulder injury, I can’t overpower opponents and throw them unless I can use the other guy’s momentum and throw him in the direction he was going already.”
Gonzalez only had a few days of post-mono practice before districts and then had to wrestle bigger foes than he had all season.
There may have been other wrestlers at District 1 with better resumes and better wins, but there were none with a better accomplishment than Gonzalez – a testament to keeping going and never quitting, both on the mat and off.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.