Hillsborough Middle School wrestlers Tyler Workman, Deric Winston and Nick Accetta, along with Rhiannon Accetta from the Hillsborough recreation wrestling team, all placed in the top eight in the state in the grueling 2009 USAW-NJ Wrestling Championships.
Middle School wrestler Shannon Oryniak came in second place in the NJ Girls State Championships. To qualify for the NJ State Championships, wrestlers must finish in the top three in any of the eight qualifier tournaments across the state. The NJ State Championship tournament is double elimination with up to 24 wrestlers in each age group and weight class. Wrestlers who lose their first match must win five matches in a row to wrestle back to place third in the tournament.
Tyler Workman (Intermediate, 128 pounds) wrestled great as he earned a fourth-place finish in the NJ States. Workman won his first match convincingly 10-0, but then lost a tough match to an opponent from the Seagulls wrestling club. In the wrestle-backs, Workman wrestled brilliantly to earn a 2-0 victory against a former state place winner from Ridgewood. Workman won his next match (5-3) against a wrestler from Brick to guarantee that he would place in the top eight in the state. The next match was a thrilling 4-2 overtime victory that led to an exciting re-match with the Seagulls wrestler (4-2) for 3rd-4th place.
Deric Winston (Intermediate, 85 pounds) came in fifth place in the state in a very talented weight class. Winston wrestled his way into the semifinals with victories over opponents from Montgomery (19-3), Bergenfield (9-0) and the Red Hawk wrestling club (5-2). Winston lost in the semifinals to the second-seeded wrestler from Watchung Hills. The next match was against a former state champion, which went to overtime before Winston’s opponent came away with a 5-3 victory. Winston earned his fifth-place finish with a 2-1 victory over a former state place-winner from Flemington.
Nick Accetta (Junior, 112 pounds) battled to a fifth-place finish in his first appearance at the state championships. Accetta pinned his first opponent from PAWS wrestling club in 37 seconds. Accetta then lost a close match to a wrestler from Pascack Hills, who ultimately came in second place. Accetta was flawless in the wrestle-backs, shutting out his opponents from Cranford (9-0), Flemington (1-0), Shore Thing wrestling club (3-0) and Paramus (6-0). Accetta lost a close match to a tough wrestler from the Elite wrestling club, but ended the day on a successful note with a 16-0 victory for fifth place over an opponent from Marlboro.
Rhiannon Accetta (Novice, 100 pounds) came in seventh place against some very experienced competition in her first time at the NJ States. She won her first match against an opponent from Sparta (5-0), and then had to compete in the wrestle backs after a tough loss (6-5) to a talented wrestler from Wayne. Accetta assured that she would place in the top eight in the state when she defeated a determined opponent from Mahwah (4-0). After a tough overtime loss (4-2) to former state champion, Accetta convincingly earned her seventh place finish with a victory in a rematch against the boy from Sparta (7-4).
Shannon Oryniak (Middle School, 95 pounds) earned a trip to the finals by pinning her initial opponent in the first period with a nice cradle and winning her semifinal match. The finals turned out to be an exciting 1-0 match, as Oryniak finished in second place in the NJ Girls’ State Championships.
Honorable mention goes out to Hillsborough Middle School wrestlers Adam Labracio (Intermediate, 91 pounds), Rhys Weinberger (Intermediate, 105 pounds), John Williams (Intermediate, 120 pounds) and Ankur Pranjal (Intermediate, 152 pounds). All of these athletes placed in the top three in their qualifying tournaments and competed admirably in the NJ State Wrestling Championships.
Thanks go out to John Donnadio and Joe Boylan from the Hillsborough Rec team for their coaching help throughout the tournament.
