By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Vinny Porreca and Nick Maher have been to Atlantic City to see the Tournament of Champions.
Now the two West Windsor-Plainsboro school district wrestlers will have the chance to compete in it after each finished in the top three in their weight class at the Region 5 championships Saturday.
”It feels great,” said Porreca, a senior at WW- North. “Finally to go to Atlantic City, it’s been a dream of mine since freshman year. I knew it would be tough. I’ve been working towards it. Now that I’m there, I’m excited to go.”
Porreca finished second in the region at 220 pounds to become the first wrestler from WW-P North to reach the Tournament of Champions.
”I just wished I could have been there,” Porreca said. “Now that I’m there, it’s a perfect time for me to go out there and make a statement.”
Porreca pinned Voorhees’ Derek Howarth in the quarterfinals, then beat second-seeded Abraham Saavedra of Bound Brook in the semifinals, 3-0, to guarantee a top-three finish and trip to Atlantic City.
”When he won that semifinal match, he lifted me so high,” said Knights head coach Ed Ferraro. “He almost threw me. It meant so much to his family. They brought me into their family pretty much. Wrestling is supposed to be about that family atmosphere.
”Vinny getting there really solidified the family that the North program has been looking for. I think it’ll help us so much in the future.”
Porreca lost to Nicholas Goff of Monroe, 3-2, in the region final. Goff also beat him in the district final. They are the only blemishes on his 33-2 record.
”I’d love to get another shot at him,” Porreca said. “From the district final, that was a 1-0 match, so this time, I was going for points. The aggression I had, on top of pushing the pace helped. It was a great match. He just wrestled me great defensively. It could have gone either way.”
Maher had to win his consolation match to advance to Atlantic City. In a big pressure spot, the WW-P South junior beat Matthew Kolonia of Delaware Valley in an ultimate tiebreaker for third place at 126 and his first opportunity to compete in the TOC.
”I’m starting to realize now I’m there and I’m wrestling,” Maher said. “I need to win there. There’s not much point to getting there without trying to win.”
Maher showed his maturity in bouncing back after a semifinals loss to top-seeded Ryan Pomrinca of North Hunterdon. Maher won his wrestleback quarterfinals match, 5-3, over Tyler Burgess of South River to set up his second match of the tournament with Kolonia. Maher had opened with a 4-3 win over Kolonia in the quarterfinals.
”You can’t get too bent out of shape after a loss,” Maher said. “If you do, you’re not going to wrestle well the next match or you’ll take yourself out of the tournament. You can’t do that to yourself.
”It’s growing up,” he explained. “I’ve already lost here before. I’ve lost there four times in the past. I realized I could take it better. I’d freak out. I can get over it now in 15 minutes and get ready for the next match.”
Maher has been to Atlantic City to watch the TOC in each of the last three years. He might have been able to go last year if it weren’t for a brutal bracket. He was eliminated from regions last year with losses to the eventual state champion and fourth-place finisher. He came back this year to punch his own ticket to the TOC.
”He wrestled well,” said Pirates head coach Darren Schulman. “Region 5 is a tough region. His weight class is a tough region. We discuss that if we’re in a different region that’s easier to make it. If you get out of Region 5, you’re already battle tested. You can get out and get on that podium.”
Porreca and Maher are the lone two Packet-area wrestlers to advance to Atlantic City this year, though there were some outstanding efforts from those that did not qualify.
Montgomery High School’s Terence Rohmeyer lost a 6-1 decision at the 120-pound consolation match. Rohmeyer lost to Edison’s Robert Cleary in the semifinals, but defeated Alec Gleason of East Brunswick, 4-2, in the wrestleback semifinals. Rohmeyer had opened with a pin of Lucas Approvato of North Hunterdon in the semifinals.
MHS’ Dylan D’Amore was eliminated with an ultimate tie breaker loss to Charles Tordik of North Hunterdon in the heavyweight wrestleback quarterfinals. D’Amore lost his quarterfinal match, 3-2 to Woodbridge’s Alexander LaGrippo.
Jacob Frisch of Montgomery won his first wrestleback match at 113 pounds, 4-2, over Norberto Torres of Perth Amboy. Frisch was eliminated with a 6-3 loss to Nicholas Lombard of Monroe in the wrestleback semifinals.
Patrick Sockler of Princeton High School won his first wrestleback match at 132 pounds, 10-4, over Arcelio Aponte of Piscataway. Sockler was eliminated with a 7-4 loss to Ryan Erwin of Delaware Valley in the wrestleback semifinals. Sockler opened the tournament with a 7-1 preliminary win over Dylan Alves of Syreville, then lost 5-2 to third-seeded Kyle Adams of Bridgewater-Raritan.
Thomas Miers of Princeton won his first wrestleback match at 138, 12-4, over Brandon Pacheco of South River. Miers was eliminated with a 3-1 loss to Chris Muce of Monroe in the wrestleback semifinals.
”The past two years, my first match I got knocked out,” Porreca recalled. “That was rough. I used that as my motivation. I was determined from the beginning of the year, I was going to Atlantic City. That was my No. 1 goal.
”I was ready to go. Once I got that first win under my belt, I was going to the final.”
Porreca has enjoyed a dream senior season. He has a Mercer County Tournament gold and a trip to the TOC. He has been wrestling the best of his career, and his work paid off in the region tournament against a tough group.
”The key for me was pushing the pace,” Porreca said. “My coach worked me a lot in practice and had me in good conditioning. I knew at 220 I’d be a very agile wrestler, so pushing the pace helped me a lot.
”Last year,” he added, “I was a 182-pounder. All year this offseason, I lifted weight and did wrestling practice all year-round. I’m up to a solid 210. That helped me transitioning up. I was one of the strongest kids at 220, but I was able to move like a 170-pounder. I think the biggest change was putting on a lot of weight and wrestling all year-round.”
Porreca credits Ferraro, the first-year North coach, with helping him reach his goals this season. Ferraro has come in and driven him to be better conditioned and more confident. Porreca’s advancement to Atlantic City caps a season that saw the Knights win seven matches.
”For our program, seven wins is more than they’ve seen in the last seven seasons combined,” Ferraro said. “Vinny making it to regions and Atlantic City, it’s the icing. It’s going to set our program off for years.
”When he was done, they were thanking me, but he did all the work. I was just trying to push him harder than he’s used to. This is first time I’ve worked with him. He just puts so much time into this.”
Porreca has cemented his place in Knights history as the first to wrestle in Atlantic City. He will be the measuring stick for future WW-P North wrestlers.
”He’s a legend in the program,” Ferraro said. “It’s going to do wonders for our program. It’s going to bring people out (to watch) and get people out (to wrestle). There’s a buzz now. That’s what I wanted to happen. I didn’t think it would happen this soon.”
Maher had to work overtime to earn his first trip to Atlantic City. He and Kolonia had a tough first match, and their third-place match went to a tiebreaker before Maher got a reversal and held Kolonia down to advance.
”I was pretty excited,” Maher said. “I probably looked ridiculous celebrating, but who cares?”
Maher had reason to celebrate. He has done all that he could to reach this level. He had been a contender last year, but ran into some tough draws that kept him from advancing. He gave up cross country to train year-round and returned a more polished wrestler. Now he’s looking to top his year with a solid showing at the TOC.
”It’s paid off with all I wanted out of the season,” Maher said, “but I can’t be satisfied with this or I’ll go wrestle twice and lose twice. I’d like to at least be on the podium.”
Maher wrestled better at regions than he did at districts, and he’s looking to improve even more at the TOC.
”I still need to get my shots up on my feet,” Maher said. “I need to keep moving my feet more and get my offense going.”
Maher is more confident in his abilities after advancing out of Region 5 for the first time. The region along with a successful regular season has him primed to vie for a medal in Atlantic City.
”He’s physical,” Schulman said. “He keeps the pace fast. He’s in great condition. All that stuff helps him. That’s why he’s able to win a lot of these matches against tough competition. I think he’s set up to do well at states.”
