Wrestling: Garcia makes PJ 3-for-3 in state semis

ATLANTIC CITY -- Pope John senior Robbie Garcia has endured his share of ups-and-downs the past two seasons, but you wouldn't know it by the big smile he sported after the biggest win of his high school career.

Garcia pinned Camden Catholic junior Brandon Mooney in 1:37 at 152 pounds, as the Lions went 3-for-3 in the semifinal round of the 86th State Wrestling Championships on Friday night at Boardwalk Hall. In all, five from the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area will be going for the gold as Hunterdon Central sophomore Brett Ungar (106) and Voorhees ace Lewis Fernandes (285), the reigning heavyweight champion, won their semifinal matchups.

Robbie Garcia celebrates his win. (Anthony Spaulding/PJ)

Joining Garcia in Saturday afternoon's championship finals are junior Eddie Ventresca (120), a first-time finalist, and senior JoJo Aragona (138), a four-time placewinner and Sussex County's all-time wins leader who will make his second title match appearance after a runner-up finish in 2017 -- giving Pope John three state finalists for the first time in program history.

"I just told myself to trust the process," said Garcia, who did not place as a junior after finishing fourth here as a sophomore. "I knew somehow, someway, I'd be all right."

Garcia (22-1), a No. 4 seed, will next face Southern senior Nicholas O'Connell, (40-0), a placewinner two years ago who scored a 4-3 victory over Phillipsburg senior Cody Harrison in the other semifinal. O'Connell, a Cornell recruit and the No. 2 seed, was among the popular choices to win the 152-pound title. Newton senior Wyatt McCarthy (145) also came up short in the semifinals, dropping a 9-5 decision to DePaul senior and returning champion Ricky Cabanillas.

"I didn't pay too much attention to all the predictions and stuff," Garcia said. "I just wanted to do it for me, and make my dad proud, which I believe I did, and make myself proud."

It was a slow process back for Garcia after he sustained an early-season injury at the Beast of the East in December, but he's looked to be in top form in the postseason -- winning his third district title and a second Region 1 title last weekend. As a sophomore, he captured his first state medal and appeared to be on track for a few more, but after a loss in the quarterfinals, he came up a round short of another as a junior with a 6-1 loss to Bergen Catholic's Wade Unger in the fourth round of wrestlebacks.

"Nothing in life is guaranteed," Garcia said. "This is an awesome opportunity, and I'm having a nice little run. I'm in the moment right now. No matter what, I'm thankful for my blessings."

History in the making

Aragona (41-0), who has placed third twice along with his second-place finish two years ago, made history with a 6-1 win over Princeton senior Alec Bobchin, as Aragona improved to 157-6 overall to surpass former High Point great and three-time state champion Nick Francavilla (156-12 from 2007-11) for the county wins mark.

After a scoreless first period, Aragona grabbed a 4-0 lead with a late takedown in the second period, while icing it with another takedown late in the third. He will face Paulsboro junior Jacob Perez-Eli (41-4) for the 138-pound title.

Ventresca (39-1), who declined to comment after an 8-5 win in the semis over Bergen Catholic junior Dylan Cedeno, will try to spoil Delbarton junior Anthony Clark's bid for a third straight state title.

Consolation rounds

Sussex County led the way in the wrestlebacks on Friday with seven wrestlers earning medals, as the area will have 16 overall, including the seven semifinalists. Pope John's Shane Percelay (106) and Kaya Sement (132), along with Sparta's Spencer Stewart (120), High Point's Devin Flannery (120) and Billy Talmadge (138), Kittatinny's Zach Mafaro (182) and Newton's Luke Fischer (220) are all placewinners.

Flannery, Sement, Talmadge and Mafaro are still going for third place, while the others can only finish as high as seventh.

On the Hunterdon-Warren side, Belvidere's Quinn Melofchik (113) and North Hunterdon's Michael Wilson (160) earned medals. Melofchik, who placed seventh last year at 106, can still finish as high as third place, while Wilson will wrestle in the seventh-eighth match on Saturday.

SEMIFINALS

106: Brett Ungar (Hunterdon Central) md.  Joe Manno (St. Joe-Montvale), 10-2; Tyler Klinsky (Middletown North) p.  Jack Maida (Shore Regional), 5:31.

113: Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney) d. Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton), 7-2; Nick Babin (Emerson/Park Ridge) d. Vincent Santaniello (Brick Memorial), 3-2.

120: Anthony Clark (Delbarton) d. Justin Bierdumpfel (St. Joe-Montvale), 5-2; Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII) d. Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic), 8-5.

126: Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) d. CJ Composto (Westfield), 8-3; Sammy Alvarez (St. Joe-Montvale) d. Joey Olivieri (Hanover Park), 5-1.

132: Nicholas Raimo (Hanover Park) d. Mark Montgomery (Roselle Park), 8-6; Luke Mazzeo (Emerson/Park Ridge) d. Andrew Clark (Collingswood), 5-2.

138: Joseph Aragona (Pope John XXIII) d. Alec Bobchin (Princeton), 6-1; Jacob Perez-Eli (Paulsboro) d. Alex Strashinsky (Bergen Catholic), 5-2.

145: Ricky Cabanillas (DePaul) d. Wyatt McCarthy (Newton), 9-5; Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic) d. Wade Unger (Bergen Catholic), 6-4, sudden victory.

152: Robert Garcia (Pope John XXIII) p. Brandon Mooney (Camden Catholic), 1:38; Nicholas O`Connell (Southern Regional) d. Cody Harrison (Phillipsburg), 4-3.

160: Robert Kanniard (Wall) md. Matt Benedetti (Manalapan), 16-6; Connor O`Neil (DePaul) p. Vincent Andreano (Delbarton), 2:41.

170: Shane Reitsma (Howell) d. AJ Lonski (Delbarton), 5-2; Brandon Green (Paulsboro) md. Martin Cosgrove (Camden Catholic), 10-2.

182: Christopher Foca (Bergen Catholic) d. Santino Morina (Paulsboro), 13-6; John Poznanski (Colonia) d. Nick Addison (Rumson-Fair Haven), 5-2.

195: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic) tf. Luke Niemeyer (South Plainfield), 16-0, 2:08; Kyle Jacob (Paramus) d. Jacob Anderson (Middletown North), 3-0.

220: Zach DelVecchio (South Plainfield) d. Niccolo Colucci (St. Peter`s Prep), 3-2, ultimate tiebreaker; Michael Filieri (Garfield) d. P.J. Casale (Delbarton), 4-3.

285: Lewis Fernandes (Voorhees) p. Jayvon Davidson (Mount Olive), 2:36; Bardhyl Gashi (West Essex) d. Marcus Estevez (Franklin), 5-3.

QUARTERFINALS

106: Brett Ungar (Hunterdon Central) d. Louie Gagliardo (Toms River North), 5-1; Joe Manno (St. Joe-Montvale) p. Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco), 5:57; Jack Maida (Shore Regional) d. Shane Percelay (Pope John XXIII), 6-2; Tyler Klinsky (Middletown North) d. Joseph Cangro (Bergen Catholic), 5-3.

113: Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney) md. Brandon Spellman (Pingry), 12-1; Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton) d. Quinn Melofchik (Belvidere), 4-3; Vincent Santaniello (Brick Memorial) d. Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic), 3-2; Nick Babin (Emerson/Park Ridge) d. Alex Almeyda (Fort Lee), 3-0.

120: Anthony Clark (Delbarton) d. Vincent Scollo (Jackson Memorial), 3-0; Justin Bierdumpfel (St. Joe-Montvale) md. McKenzie Bell (Kingsway), 9-1; Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic) d. Anthony White (South Plainfield), 10-4; Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII) md. Nico Messina (Freehold Boro), 12-0.

126: Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) d. Dom DiGena (West Morris Mendham), 7-1; CJ Composto (Westfield) d. Nicky Cabanillas (DePaul), 10-6; Sammy Alvarez (St. Joe-Montvale) p.  Hunter Gandy (Woodstown), 0:48; Joey Olivieri (Hanover Park d. Gianni Manginelli (Dumont), 6-1.

132: Nicholas Raimo (Hanover Park) d. Cooper Pontelandolfo (Cherokee), 9-2; Mark Montgomery (Roselle Park) d. Travis Jones (Phillipsburg), 10-4; Luke Mazzeo (Emerson/Park Ridge) d. William Grater (Don Bosco), 3-1; Andrew Clark (Collingswood) d. Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey), 5-3.

145: Ricky Cabanillas (DePaul) md. Gabe Onorato (Paulsboro), 10-0; Wyatt McCarthy (Newton) d. Joe Sacco (South Plainfield), 3-2; Wade Unger (Bergen Catholic) d. Matt Sacco (Bridgewater/Raritan), 7-3; Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic) md. Rhise Royster (Rahway), 14-5.

152: Brandon Mooney (Camden Catholic) d. Nick Bennett (Delsea), 6-2, sudden victory; Robert Garcia (Pope John XXIII) p. George Worthy (Paulsboro), 3:59; Cody Harrison (Phillipsburg) d. Dante Stefanelli (Delbarton), 9-7, tiebreaker; Nicholas O`Connell (Southern Regional) d. Justin LeMay (West Morris Central), 9-3.

160: Robert Kanniard (Wall) d. Tony Asatrian (Paramus), 11-4; Matt Benedetti (Manalapan) d. Colin Morgan (West Orange), 8-3; Connor O`Neil (DePaul) md. Michael Wilson (North Hunterdon), 11-3; Vincent Andreano (Delbarton) d. Corey Fischer (West Deptford), 5-4.

170: Shane Reitsma (Howell) d. Anthony Giampietro (Northern Burlington), 14-9; AJ Lonski (Delbarton) d. George Burdick (Raritan), 9-4; Martin Cosgrove (Camden Catholic) d. John Stout (Southern Regional), 5-1, sudden victory; Brandon Green (Paulsboro) p. Reid Colella (Wayne Valley), 1:58.

182: Christopher Foca (Bergen Catholic) p. Mike Misita (St. Augustine Prep), 1:32; Santino Morina (Paulsboro) d. Tommy Chiellini (Pascack Valley), 5-1; Nick Addison (Rumson-Fair Haven) p. Alex Garcia (Montville), 3:43; John Poznanski (Colonia) d. Kieran Calvetti (Delbarton), 8-4.

195: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic) md. Anthony Franden (Eastern), 17-5; Luke Niemeyer (South Plainfield) d. Luke Chakonis (Delbarton), 5-3, sudden victory; Jacob Anderson (Middletown North) d. Joe Daddario (Montville), 4-3; Kyle Jacob (Paramus) d. Drew Bowker (Rancocas Valley), 6-0.

220: Zach DelVecchio (South Plainfield) d. Gage Armijo (West Morris Mendham), 5-3; Niccolo Colucci (St. Peter`s Prep) d. Luke Fischer (Newton), 3-2; Michael Filieri (Garfield) d. Steven Cmielewski (Red Bank Catholic), 6-3; P.J. Casale (Delbarton) p. Tyreke Brown (Penns Grove), 2:40.

285: Lewis Fernandes (Voorhees) p. Joseph Teresi (Ocean Twp.), 0:55; Jayvon Davidson (Mount Olive) d. Kevin Cerruti (Long Branch), 5-2; Marcus Estevez (Franklin) d. Paul Liseno (St. John Vianney), 6-4; Bardhyl Gashi (West Essex) d. Jervey Sistrunk (Bound Brook), 3-2, ultimate tiebreaker.