WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team had a successful run at the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics State Finals at Phillipsburg High School last weekend. The Pirates had four wrestlers qualify for the state finals.
In the 152-pound weight class, senior Cole Carroll ended his successful career dropping two decisions. He lost his first-round match to Matt Hoelke from Highland Regional 4-1 and his first wrestleback to Michael Murphy from Westfield 3-0. This three-time qualifier for the state finals had a final career record of 74-51 as he heads to the University of Wisconsin next fall.
In the 113-pound weight class, junior Joseph Sciarrone ended a great 10-2 season going 1-2 in the state finals. In the first round he lost 5-2 to Sebastian Ortega from Howell. In his first wrestleback round match he defeated Jason Quirk from Livingston 8-0 and in the second round he lost to Alex Nina from Christian Brothers Academy 6-2. This two-time state finals qualifier has a current career record of 54-28 as he looks forward to his senior year.
Senior Conner Decker completed an outstanding career, going 3-2 and earning a fourth-place medal in the 182-pound weight class. His final career record was 90-35 as he qualified for the state finals for the third time and completed this season with a 7-3 record. Decker defeated Nicholas Olivieri from Delbarton 3-0 in the first round and Brendan Newbury 13-3 in the quarterfinals, before being pinned by eventual state champion Brian Soldano from High Point in the semifinals in 3:37. His first wrestleback bout he won by injury default at 2:50. In the third-place bout, he was pinned by Jack Kelly from Rumson-Fair Haven in 1:56. Connor will be continuing his wrestling career at the University of Maryland in the fall.
Senior Jack Wilt also completed his outstanding Pirate career with a 97-31 record, completing the season with a 13-1 record as he also qualified for the state finals for a third time. Wilt pinned Brian LaCross from Hopewell Valley in just :57 in the first round while defeating Gavin Claro 8-3 from Manalapan in the quarterfinals, before losing to Nick Lodato from Pope John XXIII in Sparta 6-3 in the semifinals. In his wrestleback bouts he defeated Vincent Ceglia 5-3 and Alex Kostantas from Pascack Hills 7-1 to capture the third-place medal. He will continue his wrestling career at Lehigh University.
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