Four of the nine wrestlers from South Plainfield High School who arrived at the 86th annual NJSIAA Individual Championships in style continued their drive for a state title in impressive fashion, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the prestigious tournament.
Anthony White (120), Joe Sacco (145), Luke Niemeyer (195) and Zach DelVecchio (220) each won their respective preliminary and pre-quarterfinal bouts on Thursday night after the quartet and five teammates were chauffeured to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall in a rented party bus limousine.
READ: Quarterfinal pairings and wrestleback pairings
“It was nice for them to come down in style and be able to relax and maybe take their minds off wrestling for that two-hour drive,” said South Plainfield head coach Steve Johnston. “We’re lucky enough to get the support to be able to do that. It’s definitely awesome for the guys. They felt kind of like rock stars.”
Adding to the team’s star power was an appearance at practice this week from Rutgers University NCAA All-American Anthony Ashnault, a 2013 South Plainfield High School graduate and four-time undefeated state champion who returned to his alma mater.
Colonia’s John Poznanski (182), the second seed in his weight class who outscored his two opponents on Friday night 31-7, will join the South Plainfield quartet to represent the Greater Middlesex Conference in the quarterfinals, which will be contested Friday at noon.
CHECK OUT: Our complete NJSIAA tournament coverage
The league had a rough start to the three-day tournament, going 8-19 in the preliminary round and 5-3 in the pre-quarterfinals with Perth Amboy’s James Rodriguez (126), South Plainfield’s Thomas Fierro (132) and Monroe’s Nick Weikel (170) all enduring losses in their second bouts.
Rodriguez, the sixth seed, opened the night with his 100th career victory, a 6-2 decision over Manalapan’s Hunter Konstantoulas, before dropping a 3-2 decision to Woodstown’s Hunter Gandy, the 11th seed.
Piscataway’s Joseph Hatcher (160), who was seeded fifth, was leading 6-1 in his preliminary round bout with Watchung Hill’s Frank Medina when the reigning Somerset County Tournament champion, who was seeded 28th, recorded a late second-period fall.
Monroe’s Ian McCabe, who entered the state tournament with an unblemished 38-0 record following a pin over Hamilton North’s Jerry Andaluz in last weekend’s Region 6 final, lost a rematch between the two on Thursday night, illustrating how difficult a wrestler’s debut can be at Boardwalk Hall.
Andaluz avenged the defeat with a 7-4 decision, putting a damper on McCabe’s first trip to Atlantic City.
“I don’t know if it was nerves, but I definitely think it was the worst match he’s wrestled all season,” Monroe head coach Joe Eurell said of McCabe. “He was very upset. But he’s in a positive mind frame right now. He’s looking forward to (Friday). I don’t necessarily think he’s looking at it as a learning experience, but sometimes when you first get down here and you are soaking it all in, it kind of takes away from your focus on what you’re supposed to be doing.”
White commenced South Plainfield’s string of four quarterfinalists with an 8-2 decision in the pre-quarterfinals over Bogota’s Andre Ruiz. He opened the tournament with a 4-0 decision over Middletown North’s Fred Luchs.
“Last year I was a round away from placing,” said White, a sophomore who improved his record to 40-1. “You always want to get on that podium. This year so far I’m having a good season. I’m a six seed, so I’m expected to get on that podium. I’m looking to do more than that. I’m wrestling with a little bit more confidence this year coming in. Hopefully, everything takes care of itself.”
Sacco may have been the most impressive of South Plainfield’s quarterfinalists. He defeated Old Bridge’s Alec Meyer for the fourth time this season, posting a 4-0 decision in the preliminary round. Sacco then scored a 4-0 decision over Hunterdon Central’s Pasquale Vizzoni in a rematch of the Region 5 final, which Sacco won. The two friendly rivals have a long history.
Of wrestling against familiar opponents, Sacco said, “In my mind, I’m going to win no matter what. I always have that mentality. Never any negative thoughts. Always positive.”
In addition to working out with Ashnault, who dispensed advice along with technical pointers, Sacco trained with longtime partner Marc Giordano, among the program’s most selfless wrestlers whose season ended during last weekend’s region tournament.
“He’s keeping me going and motivating me,” Sacco, who will attend Sacred Heart University, said of Giordano. “He came back to roll with me. He’s keeping me in shape and keeping me on my toes. I (also) had the privilege of rolling around with Anthony Ashnault.”
Sacco is making his third state tournament trip. He made a nice run to the Round of 12 as a sophomore. After winning his first bout as a junior, Sacco, who had a tough draw last year, dropped his next two matches.
Top-seeded DelVecchio, who InterMat ranks ninth in the country, advanced with a 2-1 pre-quarterfinal decision over Rahway’s Joshua Darisme, the 16th seed. Niemeyer moved on with an 8-0 major decision over Phillipsburg’s Austin Roth.
“To put four in the quarters is important, but you still haven’t won anything yet,” Johnston said. “You still have to win one more match to get to those placing rounds, and if you want to be a state champion you’ve obviously got to keep winning. They want to go out there and win, and they want to have fun doing it.”
As Johnston noted, arriving to Boardwalk Hall in style will mean nothing to his Tigers if they don’t leave the arena same way.
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