HHS juniors march on to Atlantic City
By: Rudy Brandl
Hillsborough High juniors John Mangini and Frank McLaughlin won Region 5 wrestling titles Saturday afternoon at the Hunterdon Central High Fieldhouse.
Mangini (12-0), the top seed at 152 pounds, defeated Delaware Valley’s C.J. Inglin by an 11-7 decision in the finals. Mangini was superior on his feet and won his first region title with another impressive takedown display. The HHS standout rolled to easy victories in his first two bouts of the tournament.
McLaughlin (26-2), the fourth seed at 160 pounds, took a tougher and more surprising route to the title. He upset Notre Dame’s Chase Badger in the semifinals in a 7-3 decision and captured his first region crown with an 11-8 decision over JFK’s Pete Simon in the finals.
Mangini and McLaughlin will continue their quest for state titles at next weekend’s NJSIAA Championships in Atlantic City. Mangini finished third in the state at 112 pounds two years ago as a freshman. McLaughlin is making his first trip to the state finals.
While Mangini won the title as expected, McLaughlin emerged out of the No. 4 position to win. McLaughlin bolted to a 5-0 lead in the finals but Simon rallied to make it 6-6 entering the final stanza. McLaughlin dominated the third period and won his weight class.
HHS senior 125-pounder Adam Kull fell one victory short of joining his teammates in Atlantic City. Kull (30-7) finished fourth after losing to Eric Tsang in the consolation finals.
For a more detailed story on the HHS wrestling team in the Region 5 Tournament, see Thursday’s Hillsborough Beacon.