Seton Hall Prep 215-pound Rocco Salerno is declared the Region 4 champion at Union High School on March 1, 2025. (Photo Courtesy of PJ Candido/Setn Hall Prep)
WEST ORANGE/ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Seton Hall Prep sent six wrestlers to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s state individual finals at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Thursday to Saturday, March 6-8.
Senior Anthony Pellegrino and junior Rocco Salerno placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in their weight classes to become the 38th and 39th wrestlers in the history of the program to place in the state finals. This is the fifth straight year that Seton Hall had wrestlers who placed in the state finals.
At the 120-pound weight class, Pellegrino pinned Nico DeRado, of St. Joseph (Metuchen), in 3 minutes, 40 seconds in the preliminary round and won by injury default over Anthony Piemonte, of Mount Olive, in 5:02 in the pre-quarterfinals. Pellegriono then lost to Joseph Rizzuto, of DePaul, by pin in 5:40 in the quarterfinals.
Pellegrino moved to the wrestleback bracket. He pinned Christian Hoopes, of Washington Township, in 5:13, before losing to Aundre Hill, of Paulsboro, by a 9-2 decision to move to the seventh/eighth-place bout, where he posted a 13-2 major decision over James McGinty.
At 215 pounds, Salerno pinned Richie Breitweiser, of Passaic Valley, in 19 seconds in the preliminary round and pinned Shaun Watkins, of Middle Township, in 3:21 in the pre-quarterfinals. Salerno then lost by a 5-4 decision to Tyler Palumbo, of Christian Brothers Academy, in the quarterfinals.
In the wrestleback bracket, Salerno decisioned Elbrus Majagah, of Delbarton, by a 4-2 decision, before losing a 13-6 decision to Salvore Marchese, of Delsea. In the seventh/eight-place bout, Salerno lost by medical forfeit to Nathan Faxon, of Governor Livingston.
Juniors Joseph Viola (113 pounds), Andre Morero (126) and Brandon Papa (175), and senior Clark Rich (190) were the other SHP wrestlers at the state finals.
Viola posted a 13-2 major decision over Shane Maghan, of Howell, in the preliminary round, but lost to Michael Daly, of Cranford, by a 7-1 decision in the pre-quarterfinals. In the wrestleback bracket, Viola won a 5-0 decision over Dylan Hetzel, of Washington Township, before losing to Augie Szamreta, of Warren Hills, by a 4-1 decision to end his run.
Morero decisioned Jayce Cappello, of Toms River East, by an 8-4 decision in the preliminary round, before losing to Nathan Braun, of Bergen Catholic, by a 10-0 major decision in the pre-quarterfinals. Morero then lost to Delvan Rotte, of DePaul Catholic (Wayne), by an 11-2 major decision in the wrestleback bracket to end his run.
Papa lost to Genti Idrizi, of Bergen Catholic, by a 14-4 major decision in the preliminary round. In the wrestleback bracket, Papa pinned Logan Garriques, of North Warren Regional, in 1:28, before dropping an 8-1 decision to Tornick Kajaia, of Long Branch, to end his run.
Rich pinned Morgan Peterson, of New Egypt, in 1:22 in the preliminary round, before losing to Jake Zemsky, of Westfield, by a 16-4 major decision in the pre-quarterfinals. In the wrestleback bracket, Rich lost to Terrence Thomas, of Toms River East, by a 22-10 major decision to end his run.
“All six of our wrestlers who competed in Atlantic City this weekend won at least one match,” said SHP head coach Lou Mascola. “We finished the weekend with two state medals that we were extremely proud of because of the adversity we needed to
overcome to earn those medals. We couldn’t be more proud of the performance and effort of the six guys who stepped on the mat in Atlantic City.”
Photo Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep
About the Author
