Magaldo, Coppola Qualify For State Wrestling Tournament

will send two of its top wrestlers to Atlantic City next weekend, as both Mike Magaldo and Matt Coppola placed in the top-three of the Region 3 Tournament at Union High School on Saturday.

Leading the way for Watchung Hills was Magaldo as the 112-pound freshman took home an impressive second place finish in his first Region 3 tournament.

Magaldo, who sports a 31-5 record and won the Somerset County title in January, stopped second-seeded Max Rogers, of Delbarton, 1-0 to advance to Saturday’s final.

In the final, the Watchung freshman found himself matched up against No. 1-seeded Anthony Ashnault, of South Plainfield, and was pinned late in the first period.

Also advancing to New Jersey High School State Wrestling Tournament is Coppola, a 125-pound sophomore, who took home a third-place finish on Saturday with a win over Columbia’s Andrew Adams.

In the consolation wrestleback semifinal round, Coppola stopped Delbarton’s Matt Albano to advance to the consolation finals.

Coppola found himself relegated to the consolation wrestlebacks after losing his semifinal round match to Seton Hall’s Eamon Gaffney, a match that went into overtime.

Watchung Hills also saw a few of its wrestlers' seasons end early on Saturday as 103-pound freshman Alex Pollera, 119-pound sophomore Anthony DiRosa,  junior 140-pounder Mike DeVito and 145 pound senior Chris Gardner each fell in the first round of the consolation wrestlebacks.