Gardner Leads 7 Warriors to Regional Tournament

will send seven wrestlers to the Region Tournament on Tuesday, thanks to their performance in the final round of the District 12 Tournament on Saturday at South Plainfield High School.

One of those seven is a District 12 champion—Chris Gardner at 145 pounds.

“It felt good.  [Friday], I didn’t feel good; it was my first time down [at 145].  Today it felt more natural,” Gardner said.  “I was able to focus a little better, not knowing about that weight for awhile. I was able to work on my stuff better.”

South Plainfield won the overall district tournament with a total of 243.5 points. Watchung finished third with 140 points. The Region 3 tournament begins Tuesday night at Union High School at 6 p.m.

Leading the way for the Warriors will be Gardner.

“His goal is to get to Atlantic City and to try to get out of the region,” Watchung Hills coach Dan Smith said. “At 152, there’s three ranked wrestlers already in there. It's an easier way at 145.”

Gardner outworked fourth-seeded Sean Gilbert, of Middlesex, in a 7-0 decision.  Only leading 2-0 after a period, Gardner went to work in the second with an escape and a takedown to march out to a 5-0 lead heading into the final period.  Gardner would add another escape in the third to solidify his win and advance to the finals.

In the championship match, Gardner controlled second-seeded Jeff Conway, of South Plainfield, rolling to a 6-0 decision.  A takedown in the first and an escape in the second gave Gardner a 3-0 lead after two periods.  With time running down in the third, Gardner got some breathing room by scoring a full set of back points with 20 seconds to go, giving the Warriors their first and only district champion on the afternoon.

“I was mostly able to work on top and get extra bonus points. I still have to work on neutral a little bit,” the top-seeded Gardner said. “In the second period of the finals, I could have gotten another takedown.  That’s something I’ll work on this week.”

“It feels good.  I finished where I wanted.  Now we look to regions and it’s more motivation to get a good week’s work of practice in and go from there.”

In the 112 championship match, second-seeded Mike Magaldo was beaten by top-seeded Anthony Ashnault.  After a 2-0 lead after one, Ashnault went to work in the second with a takedown and set of backpoints, to extend his lead to 6-0.  In the last period, Ashnault escaped Magaldo’s hold and took him down.  After a Magaldo escape, Ashnault added another takedown en route to an 11-2 decision.  Magaldo finished second and will still wrestle in the regions.

In the semifinals, Magaldo took care of third-seeded Carlos Aleman, of North Plainfield, 12-3. 

In the 119 championship match, third-seeded Anthony DiRosa fell to top-seeded Troy Heilmann, of South Plainfield, by technical fault, 16-1.

Trailing just 4-0 after one period, Heilmann notched an escape, a takedown, a set of back points and then a full set of back points in the second quarter, taking a commanding 12-0 lead after two periods.  Despite falling, DiRosa finished second and will also compete in the regional tournament.

In the semifinals, DiRosa upset No.2-seeded Anthony DeFranco, of Governor Livingston, 9-5. 

In the 125 championship match, third-seeded Matt Coppola was narrowly beaten by top-seeded Dylan Painton, of South Plainfield, in a tight match, 3-1. After one period, Painton pulled ahead 2-0 on a takedown.  Coppola scored an escape as Painton let him right up at the start of the period.  Painton notched an escape early in the third, and Coppola could not get another point.  Despite the loss, Coppola finished in second place and will move on to the regions.

In the semis, Coppola upset third-seeded Tim Terrezza, of New Providence, with a narrow 3-2 decision.

In the 140 championship match, third-seeded Mike DiVito was beaten by top-seeded Corey Stasenko, of South Plainfield, 5-1. 

In the first period, DiVito had Stasenko in a prone position near the out-of-bounds line.  Trying to bring him back into the ring, DiVito lost his balance and Stasenko took advantage for a takedown and a 2-0 lead after one period. 

An escape and takedown with just five seconds left in the second period made it 5-0 Stasenko. DiVito got an escape early in the third, but couldn’t get on the board with an offensive move.  DiVito finishes second and will compete in the regional tournament.

In the semifinals, DiVito handled second-seeded Joseph Hoy, of Governor Livingston, 10-5. 

In the 103-pound consolation match, third-seeded Alex Pollera took care of No. 5-seeded Joel Feliciano, of Middlesex, via pinfall. Pollera dominated the whole way, earning a pinfall 1:14 into the match to place third and also advance to the regional tournament.

In the semifinal round, Pollera fell to second-seeded Raymond Jazikoff, of South Plainfield, by a 6-2 decision. 

In the 152-pound consolation match, No.2-seeded Greg Kaye beat No. 4-seeded Edward Jules, of Colonia, with an 8-1 decision.

Following a 2-0 first period, Kaye scored a reversal and a takedown in the second, to lead 6-0.  Kaye would add a takedown in the third after a Jules escape to put the match away and also advance to the regional tournament.

In the semis, Kaye fell just short against third-seeded Nigel McPleasant, of Plainfield, by a 7-4 mark. 

In the 171-pound consolation match, fourth-seeded Keith Kuzmenko couldn’t outlast second-seeded Tajir Hurdle of Plainfield.  After a scoreless first and trailing 2-1 after two periods, Hurdle took control to earn an escape, a takedown and a full set of backpoints to race to the 8-1 victory.  Kuzmenko fourth-place finish was not enough to advance to the regional tournament.

In the semifinals, Kuzmenko dropped a sizeable lead in the third period, as he was pinned with about a minute to go by top-seeded Shane Haddad, of Governor Livingston. 

In the heavyweight consolation match, third-seeded Dominick Urso was barely defeated by No. 4-seeded Anthony Manganiello, of Governor Livingston. 

After Urso held a a 1-0 lead after two periods, Manganiello dug deep in the third period to win, scoring a takedown after a failed attempt by Urso to do the same.  Down 3-1 with a minute left, Urso got an escape to close the gap but couldn’t nail a takedown he desperately needed, falling by a 3-2 count.  Urso's fourth-place finish narrowly misses his chance at the regional tournament.

In the semis, Urso was pinned by second-seeded Tiaquan Womack, of Plainfield. 

The Warriors' coach was impressed with his team's performance, which will send seven competitors to the regional tournament.

“Overall, I think we did pretty good in terms of getting guys through.  We could have had a few more,” Smith said.  “I think our guys wrestled well, especially in the semis…we knocked off a couple 2-seeds and were beating a 1-seed then got pinned at the end.  But I thought we wrestled well.

“They wrestled smart matches and they’re scrappy.  They didn’t concede stuff.  They’re always battling.  That’s all you can ask.” 

Heading into regions, Smith is encouraged by the performances he saw on Friday and Saturday, and hopes it continues.

“I liked the way our guys fought.  Technically we can fix stuff,” Smith said.  “We battled in a lot of situations.  We’re closing the gap and that’s all you can ask.”