Nick Patterson had one thought going into the third period of his 170-pound wrestling match with Highland’s Adian Maduro.

He didn’t cut weight to make a 170-pound bout to lose.

Maduro chose the neutral position in the third period and Patterson scored a two-point takedown for a 4-2 victory, his second over last year’s Section 9 Division 2 finalist in five days.

“It takes a toll, but it’s all mental,” Patterson said. “Thinking just because I’m doing this doesn’t mean I can’t win, still.”

The story was much the same across the board as the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks scored a 63-10 non-league victory over the Huskies in their home debut on Wednesday night.

“We wanted to make sure we got the good matchups of the good guys to each other and it looks like we did,” Newburgh coach Chris Leggett said.

Patterson had beaten Maduro, 6-4, on Saturday at the New Paltz Duals, which the Goldbacks won, running a 5-0 record on Saturday, Dec. 14.

“Tonight, it wasn’t a tournament, so it wasn’t one single match,” Patterson said. “So tonight, I wasn’t really thinking of I have to be ready for the match after this. After this match tonight I can rest.”

Patterson went over his weight and would have needed to bump up to 182 points, but he came in light enough to certify for 170 before the dual meet.

“He didn’t have an opportunity to get anything in his system and to wrestle a guy that he had a close match with the other day and come out on top was pretty impressive,” Leggett said.

Four days after beaten Highland’s Peter Bender, 5-0, at the New Paltz duals, Jaden Hansen came back and beat Bender, 4-2, again in a closer match.

Hansen took a 2-0 lead on a takedown in the first period and then scored on an escape in the second. He gave up a takedown to Bender, a Section 9 Division 2 champion last year before making another escape.

Hansen was the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the New Paltz Duals.

“It’s hard, especially in those close matches,” Leggett said. “One day it goes your way and another day it goes the other.”

Winning the dual meet tournament at New Paltz helped alleviate some of the sting from the Goldbacks only loss of the year, so far, a dual meet against Monroe-Woodbury.

“Last year, it was the first time we beat them in a long time,” Patterson said. “It’s definitely in the back of our heads and definitely what’s motivating us.”

In a match that didn’t’ count against the dual meet, Newburgh’s Luke Fischer defeated Marlboro’s John Antonelli, 4-2. Antonelli was a Section 9 Division 2 finalist last year and is ranked third in the section at 132 pounds.

“That was a good match,” Leggett said. “It was a good early-season tough match. Even though Luke sustained a little bit of an injury, nothing that’s going to hold him out, he battled through it and came out with a win. That impressed me.”

The Goldbacks got pinfall victories from Kevin Segali (106), Tyler Busby (120) and Steven Armendariz (126). Alex Nguyen outlasted Highland’s Shamar Gittens, 3-1 at 285 pounds.
The Goldbacks (10-2) also collected seven forfeits.

We’re starting the season right where we want to be,” Leggett said. We have a lot of guys that are down to their postseason weights already, which could be good and bad. But where they are makes our lineup that much better.”