WEST ORANGE, NJ – West Orange High School seniors Sebastian Rawls and Noah Tandy posted strong efforts at the NJSIAA state wrestling finals held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 2-3.
Rawls was the No. 19 seed in the 182-pound weight class. In the preliminary round on the first night, Rawls dropped a tough 2-0 decision to No. 14 seed Justin Hayward of Watchung Hills.
The next day, Rawls decisioned No. 30 seed Briheem Tyson of Pennsauken in the wrestlebacks first round by a 6-3 score. Rawls then dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision in the ultimate tiebreaker period to No. 4 seed Aaron Carter of Collingswood in the wrestlebacks second round to end his run.
Tandy, seeded 27th in the 195-pound class, dropped a tough 3-1 decision to No. 6 seed Luke Niemeyer of South Plainfield in the preliminary round on the first night. The following day, Tandy lost another tough 6-5 decision to No. 11 seed Kaylon Brady of Monroe in the wrestlebacks first round to become eliminated.
Rawls and Tandy were the lone WOHS qualifiers for the state finals, which consisted of the top four finishers in each weight class from the eight region tournaments.
The finals and medal bouts will be contested March 4.
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