Phillipsburg senior Brian Meyer capped a 4-for-4 second round for the Stateliners with his come-from-behind 5-4 win at 152 pounds, while Newton junior Wyatt McCarthy reached his first Round of 8 with a four-pointer in the final seconds if his 145-pound matchup to lead the local contingent in the 85th State Wrestling Championships on Friday night at Boardwalk Hall.
In all, 18 locals moved into Saturday's quarterfinals that begin at 12:30 p.m., while 30 will compete in the first of three wrestleback rounds that get underway at 9 a.m. The semifinals and two more rounds of wrestlebacks are slated for 6 p.m.
Senior Cullen Day (113) and juniors Travis Jones (120) and Cody Harrison (138) joined Meyer in the Round of 8 for Phillipsburg, which brought six to AC. Junior Kyle Tino (132) and senior Lance Wissing (170) are still in the hunt for third place.
Day, who won a 5-0 decision in the opening round, came the closest to being left out of the party as he was awarded a stalling point with just one second left in the ultimate tiebreaker in a 3-2 win over Emerson-Park Ridge sophomore Logan Mazzeo. Joining Day, who will next face Dante Mininno of Gateway-Woodbury, in the quarters at 113 were High Point junior Brandon LaRue and Pope John sophomore Eddie Ventresca.
"We had a great round," said coach Dave Post, who was a two-time placewinner for the 'Liners, finishing fourth in 2003 and fifth in '02.
Record breaker
Meyer (37-2), a three-time region champ who finished third last year at 145, converted a takedown with under a minute to go in the third period in a tight bout against Delbarton junior Vincent Andreano, who finished third in Region 3. In the process, Meyer, who opened the tournament with a 9-2 decision over Mount Olive's Anthony Spera, became Phillipsburg's all-time wins leader at 129-34, surpassing former state bronze medalist Max Elling (128-37 from 2011-15).
"I just thought about losing last year [3-2 to Nicholas Santos of St. Peter's Prep in the quarters] and how bad that felt," said Meyer, who avenged that loss by pinning Santos in sudden-victory overtime in the third-place bout. "Losing in the pre-quarters [tonight] would have killed me. I just had to dig deep. This was probably my worst day of wrestling all year. But I lived to see another day."
Meyer, now a round away from securing a second straight medal, will next face West Morris junior Justin LeMay in the quarters in a rematch of their Region 3 semifinal -- a 3-1 win for Meyer, who was happy to put himself in the P'burg record books.
"I actually forgot [about the record], but it's really cool to be able to look up at that banner in the gym and see my name with the most wins," the Lehigh University recruit said. "It's a pretty cool feat. But in retrospect, it's one small thing. Each year, you come here to win. I need to do a better job [in the quarters]. Hopefully I'll open up more and have fun."
Brave move
McCarthy (37-2), who is bidding to become Newton's first state finalist since current assistant coach Ted Sibblies was a runner-up at 130 pounds in 1989, also made things too close for comfort as he hit a headlock for a near takedown before switching to a double and putting Bergen Catholic junior Wade Unger on his back for a 7-3 victory.
"I knew the clock was ticking down ... it was just desperation," McCarthy said of hitting a headlock he routinely practices just in case. "I thought the ref gave two [for the takedown] but just for insurance I went to the double-leg. When he tried to scramble out, I was able to get him on his back."
Newton, which qualified three wrestlers for the first time under veteran coach Eric Bollette and is looking for its 83rd state champ -- 82 is a state record -- and first since ace assistant coach Andy Iliff won back-to-back titles in 1986-87, still has two wrestlers going in the wrestlebacks in senior Jonathon Borgognoni (152) and junior Luke Fischer (220).
McCarthy admits there's a little more pressure in his second appearance in AC being the No. 2 seed. Last year, he went 2-2, and was pinned in sudden-victory overtime by DePaul's Ricky Cabanillas, a returning runner-up and the No. 1 seed at 145 this season, in the second round before being eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks.
"This must have been like the worst two-seed draw ever," McCarthy said of having to hit Unger, a Region 2 runner-up in the second round. "But you have to wrestle tough kids here to win a championship. I know there aren't many who believe I can win [the state title]. I'm just trying to make a name for myself. I know I can win and so do my coaches."
Joining McCarthy in the quarters were Hackettstown senior Alex Carida and Pope John junior Robert Garcia.
Weight a minute
Belvidere junior Quinn Melofchik is also chasing history as he took another big step toward a title with his thrilling 3-1 win over Brick Memorial freshman Vince Santaniello to move into the quarters at a talent-rich 106-pound weight class.
Melofchik (38-3), who is bidding to become the County Seaters' third state champ -- joining Dave Brandt (1973) and Matt Tresslar (1995) -- and their first finalist since the late Tyler Smith (2007), converted a double-leg takedown with just seven seconds left in the third period to beat Santaniello and set up a rematch with Delbarton freshman Nicholas Nardone (32-5) -- who dropped a 3-2 decision when they met last weekend in the Region 3 semifinals.
"I've got to get one earlier than that," said Melofchik, now 106-14 overall, of getting a takedown in a bout that saw little in the way of shots from either wrestler. "A win is a win. I'm excited for [the quarters]. I knew I was stronger and could finish if I got in. I'm not one who shoots from far range, I like to touch a guy and move him, but I wasn't able to do it [most of the bout]."
Melofchik is well aware of the program history when it comes to state titles and finals. He would love nothing more than to join a select few Seaters.
"It's pretty exciting. I think about it almost every day," Melofchik said of winning a championship. "It would be an amazing thing to have my name up there with those guys."
Back points
Boardwalk Hall has been a House of Horrors the previous three years for Pope John senior Jake Rotunda, who reached the quarters at 132 with a 9-1 major of Paulsboro senior Rick Eli. Rotunda (37-4), who has dealt with tournament-ending injuries in two of his previous appearances including last year when he defaulted in his opening bout due to separated shoulder.
"It's been in the back of my mind all year long, I just try to push it out," said Rotunda, who will face Camden Catholic junior Lucas Revano in the quarters -- the rubber match between the two this season.
Rotunda, who beat Revano, 3-1, at the Beast of the East before dropping a 6-3 decision in the second meeting on Dec. 23, knows what he has to do in the rematch.
"The first one I dominated and the second one I dominated for the first two periods, but I sat back and wrestled too defensively, and that bit me in the butt a little bit," he said. "I just need to step up my pace."
Aragona (39-1), a returning finalist and among an area-high seven qualifiers for Pope John, will take on Harrison at 138 pounds. In another all-local matchup on Friday, Voorhees junior Lewis Fernandes scored a 5-2 win over Hackettstown senior Joe Andes at 285.
The other locals in the quarters are: Hunterdon Central freshman Brett Ungar (106), North Hunterdon senior Andrew Gapas (138), Pope John senior Jake Brown (who got his 100th career win in the prelims) and Sparta senior Robert Gennat (195), along with Kittatinny junior Zach Mafaro (182).
Region 2 leads the way with 18 wrestlers in the quarterfinals, followed by Regions 1 and 3 with 16 and Regions 6 and 7 with 13 apiece. Regions 4, 5 and 8 have 12 each.
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