WEST ORANGE, NJ – The fourth-seeded Seton Hall Prep wrestling team defeated fifth-seeded Don Bosco Prep, 44-19, in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association/Rothman Institute Team Wrestling Tournament on Monday, Feb. 6. SHP improved to a 25-1 overall record, including 16-1 against teams that qualified for the state tournament. This is the first State Tournament match held at SHP since Feb. 7, 2011 when they hosted and defeated St. Joseph of Montvale, 35-22, which also the last victory in the team tournament that SHP had.
The Pirates will travel to Delbarton on Wednesday night, Feb. 8, in the semifinal round in Morristown. SHP made the most of four pins by 120-pound Maguire Pecci, 126 -pound Charlie Cunningham, 138-pound Jake Smith, and 145-pound Alex Garcia, forfeit to 170-pound AJ Hinton, two major decisions by 152-pound TJ Calas and 182-pound Aidan Monteverdi; one decision by 132-pound Michael Massa and one decision by 195-pound Zach Merlino in overtime.
SHP entered the Top 20 in New Jersey after defeating Don Bosco Prep, 38-31, in a tri-meet back on Jan. 14. As head coach Jack Decker said, “The sentiment before the match was to make a statement and dominate and I think we did that by defeating Don Bosco Prep 44-19 before a passionate home crowd at Tracey Gymnasium.” Smith, a senior, added, “We are ready to do it again against Delbarton Wednesday night and give them a good match.”
Monteverdi, a senior, really appreciated the crowd. “The fans really came out tonight to cheer us on, especially our classmates in Pirate Nation. Singing the alma mater with them was very special to the team.”
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