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'Beast ON THE MAT': Former Standout Phillipsburg HS Wrestler Tylor Petchonka Dies, 23

Former standout Phillipsburg High School wrestler Tylor Petchonka died on Jan. 9. He was 23 years old.

Tylor Petchonka, 23, was a standout Phillipsburg High School wrestler remembered as a "beast on the mat."

Tylor Petchonka, 23, was a standout Phillipsburg High School wrestler remembered as a "beast on the mat."

Photo Credit: Tylor Petchonka Facebook

Petchonka, who had been living in Easton, graduated in 2014 from Phillipsburg High School, where he was a member of the 2014 State Championship Wrestling Team.

More than $5,000 had been raised on a GoFundMe for funeral expenses as of Wednesday evening.

"Tylor loved wrestling and wrestled for Phillipsburg his entire childhood and I quote, 'he was a beast on the mat,'" campaign organizers Amanda Bridge and Alesha Blanton said.

"If the wrestling family or even our community could come together once again for one of our own it would be greatly appreciated."

He was also one of the several wrestlers banned from the tournament days after a photo surfaced of some athletes allegedly simulating a lynching, NJ.com had reported.

A member of the S. Philip and James Catholic Church, Petchonka had been working as a waiter for various restaurants in the Phillipsburg area, his obituary says.

He is predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Joseph Hammerstone, and paternal grandfather, Joseph J. Petchonka.

Petchonka is survived by his father Daniel Petchonka, Sr., and his fiance Tami O'Brien; mother Toni Petchonka; daughter Tillie, son Chad, brother Daniel Petchonka, Jr., sister Alaina Petchonka; grandmothers, aunts, uncles cousins and dozens of friends.

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