WEST ORANGE/SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team captured the team title at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Associations/IBEW Local 102 District 13 tournament at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The Pirates scored 244.5 points to win the district title for the third straight season. It was also their 24th district title.
SHP boasted five champions. Overall, they advanced 12 out of 14 wrestlers to the NJSIAA’s Region 4 tournament at Union High School on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1. The top-three finishers in each weight class advanced to the regions. The top-four finishers at the eight region tournaments will advance to the NJSIAA’s state individual championships in Atlantic City, Thursday to Saturday, March 6-8.
Following the district tournament, fifth-year head coach Lou Mascola commented on the team’s effort. “Our team performed well this weekend and did a lot of really good things, and we know what we need to fix for next week. I expect us to peak these next two weeks and perform the best we have all season at Union and in Atlantic City.”
The following are the SHP’s district champions:
120 pounds: senior Anthony Pellegrino, 17-4 record.
126: junior Andre Morero, 16-7.
144: freshman Michael Pocius, 15-10.
175: junior Brandon Papa, 18-11.
215: junior Rocco Salerno, 20-1.
Salerno won his third district title, Pellegrino and Morero each won their second district title; and Pocius and Papa each won their first district title.
The following are the SHP second-place finishers:
113: junior Joseph Viola, 15-7.
138: sophomore Tyler Yildiz, 17-11.
150: freshman Maksim Marrero, 9-16.
190: senior Clark Rich, 25-7.
285: junior Lorenzo Palescandolo, 9-12.
The following are the SHP third-place finishers:
132: senior Lucas Campos, 8-10.
165: freshman David Lopes, 10-9.
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