WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team had a good week, going 3-1 to raise its dual-meet record to 5-1 on the season.
On Thursday, Dec. 27, the Pirates lost to South Plainfield, 50-9 at Frank J. Tracey Gymnasium. Junior Michael Massa won at the 170-pound bout, 12-7, and senior Niko Diakides received a forfeit victory at 285.
On Saturday, Dec. 29, they hosted a quad meet and defeated Rumson-Fair Haven, 40-25, Piscataway, 43-24, and Kittatinny, 52-16.
Following their recent trip to Delaware for the Beast of the East Wrestling Tournament, SHP head coach Jack Decker said, “It was a very well-run tournament, especially for its size. It was an extremely competitive tournament. Every match that our kids wrestled was very hard-fought. It was a very good learning experience for our team and our coaching staff. We now need to work on our flaws to make us better heading into the counties, districts, regionals, and state finals.” Diakides added, “There were a lot of tough wrestlers at the tournament. It was a very enjoyable experience and I gained a lot of knowledge. I will use the experience I gained in Delaware in matches the rest of the season.” Sophomore 126-pound Conner Decker commented, “It was a very good learning experience. The team gained a lot of knowledge from the great competition. The team has to go back to the drawing board and learn from our mistakes. We have to take future matches one match at a time as we prepare for the Sam Cali Tournament this weekend, as well as the county tournament in a couple of weeks. We are also look forward to our conference, as well as non-conference matches.”