For the 448 wrestlers who competed inside Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall for the NJSIAA individual championship tournament, every match is a battle. Within hours of finishing exactly where he expected himself to be on March 5, Pinelands Regional senior Chris Nielsen felt like he had been part of a war.

“Mentally, I feel great,” said Nielsen, who placed eighth in the state at 182 pounds after losing a 6-4, overtime contest to Mahwah’s Dan Surich in the seventh-place bout Sunday afternoon.