WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team had 11 wrestlers compete at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Region 6 tournament at Jackson Liberty High School in Jackson Township, March 6-7.
The Pirates had a very productive tournament, finishing in second place with 158 ½ points. Seven SHP wrestlers finished in the top three of their weight classes to qualify for the NJSIAA state finals at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 12-14.
The following are the SHP results at the region tournament:
- 120 pounds: freshman Noah Hernandez (27-10 record) finished in second place when he lost to Ethan Michaels (Colts Neck) 13-1.
- 126: senior Joseph Viola (23-11) took third place when he pinned Jason Marasco (Northern Burlington) in :23.
- 132: senior Andre Morero (31-8) captured first place when he defeated Steven Ham (Lawrence) 13-3. Ham was undefeated (43-1) going into the final.
- 144: junior Tyler Yildiz (29-9) took third place when he pinned Justin Marcello (Northern Burlington) in 1:27.
- 157: senior August Katz (22-5) captured first place when he pinned James Jakub (Christian Brothers Academy) in 1:49. Katz lost twice to Jakub at the Catholic Duals and in the state team tournament.
- 165: senior Brandon Papa (28-11) finished in third place when he decisioned Dean Natale (Colts Neck) 15-2.
- 215: senior Rocco Salerno (33-5) captured third place when he pinned Ivan Yultukhovskyi (Notre Dame) :48.
The NJSIAA finals consists of the top four finishers in each weight class from the eight region tournaments.
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