It’s not often that the postseason fate of a team rests squarely on the shoulders of just one athlete, but that was the case on Monday night for Absegami senior 152-pounder Ryan Martin. The Braves trailed Mainland Regional 27-24 heading into the final bout of the night in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs. If Martin won, the Braves would win 28-27 based on the first tiebreaker criteria of most bouts won. If Mainland’s Nick McAllister won, the fifth-seeded Mustangs would walk away with the upset over No. 4 Absegami. No pressure. McAllister came out strong and took a 5-4 lead into the third period after a late takedown in the second period, and was leading 6-4 with less than a minute to go. But Martin responded, scoring a late takedown and getting back points to win the bout 8-6 and send Absegami into the second round against top-seeded Clearview Regional. 
Teammates and coaches mob Ryan Martin after Martin scored the decisive victory in Absegami’s 28-27 state playoff win over Mainland Regional on Monday night. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan) For his efforts, Martin is the Bunting Family Pharmacy Athlete of the Week. “I just tried to stay focused and drown everything out as much as I can during the match. I’m sure they hyped him up and told him he had to get this win. I wrestled him a week or two ago and majored him, so he definitely had that extra enthusiasm and excitement to go after it. He came at me like hell, and I definitely give him credit for that. It was a tough match,” Martin said. “The whole crowd is cheering for you, and it’s the first Absegami playoff win in a while, it’s just great to a part of that and be on the team that can accomplish that for this school. It’s great. Martin trailed throughout much of the match, but continued to come back and put pressure on McAllister. He was down 2-1 in the second period before escaping to tie the bout at 2-2, then took a 4-2 lead with a takedown. But McAllister rebounded, getting an escape and a takedown late in the second period to take a 5-4 lead. Martin cut McAllister loose with 53 seconds left, knowing he would trail 6-4 and need a takedown to tie the bout. Not only did he get the takedown, but he turned McAllister to his back to pick up the decisive back points, and rode him out for the final few seconds to seal not only the bout win, but the match win.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher
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