By Jimmy Allinder
With the conclusion of last weekend’s NJSIAA district wrestling tournaments that featured team and individual results, the scene shifts to individual region matches.
Monroe Township High School finished runner-up to Raritan High School in District 20 and sent nine wrestlers to Region 5 at Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
East Brunswick High School placed fourth in District 18 with six competitors advancing, while in District 17, South River High School and Spotswood High School each sent two.
The tournament began Feb. 22 with matches pairing wrestlers who finished third in the districts and concludes with winners facing first- and second-place medalists in elimination bouts Feb. 24 and 25. Wrestlers who place first through fourth move on to the state championships March 3-5 in Atlantic City.
Monroe finished with an 18-2 overall team record, including 6-1 in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division. The Falcons’ only division loss was to Group III champion South Plainfield High School during the regular season and the other was to Hunterdon Central in the Central Jersey, Group IV championship match.
Among the nine Monroe wrestlers who advanced to the regions were unbeaten 145-pounder Nick Lombard (30-0) and heavyweight Lou Ceras (29-2), who finished first.
The other Falcons who earned spots in the regions are 106-pounder Joe Fiordaliso (20-11), third; 113-pounder Nick DePalma (25-5), runner-up; 126-pounder Andrew Lombard (23-7), third; 138-pounder Donald Albach (27-5), third; and 152-pounder Kyle Comerford (9-8), third.
There’s also 160-pounder Nick Weikel (19-13), runner-up, and 195-pounder Kaylon Bradley (26-3), runner-up.
Among the East Brunswick wrestlers who advanced to the regions, three won district titles. They are 113-pounder Mitch Polito (30-0), 120-pounder Mark Schleifer (34-2) and 126-pounder Alec Gleason (33-3).
Jason Minikel (27-3) was runner-up at 170, Matt Wendell (19-14) was runner-up at 106 and Damian Ruiz (8-5) finished third at 195.
South River’s Kyle Baszak (27-4) finished first at 195, and Joey Zarga (13-4) was runner-up at 132, while Spotswood’s Shea Obado (21-2) was runner-up at 152, and Connor Platt (14-11) finished third at 120.