The sophomore 126-pound wrestler needed a last-second rally to win his preliminary bout at Wednesday's Region 1 tournament.
Desperate times call for desperate solutions.
As the clock relentlessly ticked down in Wednesday night’s 126-pound preliminary bout at the Region 1 tournament at Wallkill Valley High School, Belvidere sophomore Nick Cassidy needed a solution – any kind of solution.
The County Seater, the #11 seed, trailed sixth-seeded Sparta senior Grant Gerndt by a point as the clock dwindled down near single digits – and when the time ran out, so would Cassidy’s season, unless something changed.
So Cassidy changed something, all right.
He countered a Gerndt single with a lateral drop, freed up his leg to get the takedown and tacked on two back points at the buzzer for a thriller of a come-from-behind 6-3 win.
“It was a desperation move,” Cassidy said. “It’s always in the back of my pocket. But it comes out fairly often. When the referee called him for stalling, he had to start to wrestle and he came in on a low single and I was able to counter him.”
Cassidy’s rally made it a perfect evening for Belvidere, which saw both of its wrestlers advance to Friday’s quarterfinals (4 p.m.). At 106 pounds, #4 seed freshman Quinn Melofchik pinned Lenape Valley’s James Haws in 3:24.
Cassidy faces a tough challenge Friday when he takes on District 1 champion and Outstanding Wrestler Joe Renne of Hackettstown. Cassidy dropped a 3-2 decision to the Tiger senior in a dula meet Dec. 23, but that was a long time ago and both wrestlers seem very much improved since; as evidence remember that Gerndt beat Cassidy 5-2 in December at the Hopatcong Tournament.
“I can’t give up cheap points to Renne like I did tonight, those two backs in the second period were not the best points to give up,” Cassidy said. “And I need to keep my offense going and never let it stop. When I start scoring I usually keep scoring in a run and that’s what I have to do.”
And he’s got a tough partner to work out with too.
“Quinn and I have gotten to be pretty good friends,” Cassidy said. “We go live a lot. and he puts up a heck of a fight.”
Just like Nick Cassidy did to keep his season alive Wednesday night.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.