West, East Wrestlers Fall into Wrestlebacks at Region 7

It was a tough night to be a public-school wrestler from Cherry Hill at the Region 7 tournament Friday night, as all five wrestlers from Cherry Hill East and West still in it lost in the quarterfinals, and now face the prospect of having to win three straight matches to advance to states.

But for Camden Catholic, it was much better news—the three top seeds for the Irish all moved on to the semis. Two other Catholic wrestlers are still in it, but will have to battle through wrestlebacks to make it to states.

Here’s how the action played out for the locals Friday night in Robbinsville:

• 106: Cherry Hill West’s Nick Mohrfeld lost another tight decision to Shawnee’s Edward Moody, 3-2, and was bumped into the wrestleback round. Mohrfeld will face Cinnaminson’s Jeremy Bowen in the first wrestleback round Saturday.
• 113: Top seed Tyler McBride, of Camden Catholic, scored a 17-2 technical fall over Matt Cole of Rancocas Valley to advance to the semis Saturday, where he’ll take on Kyle Davis, of Burlington City.
• 126: Mark McCormick, of Camden Catholic, scored a 7-0 decision over Audubon’s Matt Brandon to get to the semis, where he’ll face Cherokee’s DJ Mele, the top seed.
• 132: Camden Catholic’s Alex Smyth lost a major decision to Cherokee’s Joseph Lemerise, 9-1. Smyth will have to fight out of wrestlebacks, where he’ll start with Audubon’s Charles Livecchi.
• 145: In a battle of locals, Camden Catholic’s T.J. Miller proved far too much for Cherry Hill East’s Patrick Swenson, pinning Swenson in just 39 seconds. Swenson will take on Justin Miler, of Allentown, in the wrestleback round, while T.J. Miller moves on to face Alex Irwin, of Collingswood, in the semis.
• 152: Camden Catholic’s Chad Walsh pinned Collingswood’s Ayaz Ali in the first period, scoring the fall at the 1:44 mark. Walsh will face Anthony Kubish, of Steinert, in the semis.
• 160: West’s Mike Marini fell to Burlington City’s Sonnieboy Blanco, the favorite in the weight class, 12-5. Marini will battle Audubon’s Devin McMonagle in wrestlebacks Saturday.
• 170: Camden Catholic’s Frank Varallo, the No. 2 seed, took an upset loss to Cinnaminson’s Nick Dell, who scored a 5-3 decision. Varallo will face Alec Rugo, of Allentown, in wrestlebacks.
• 182: East’s Daishi Goto lost a major decision, 15-7, to Phillip Azzari, of Haddon Heights. Goto faces Cinnaminson’s Ryan Addlesberger in wrestlebacks.
• 195: East’s Jerry Peralta hung with top seed Frank Juba, but Juba came away with a 6-3 win. Peralta will face Haddon Township’s Tim Wolf in wrestlebacks.
• 285: Top seed Jeff Miller, of Camden Catholic, had no trouble moving on to the semis, pinning New Egypt’s George Wolyn in just 1:05. Miller will face Moorestown’s James Dever.