Cinnaminson Heavyweight Wins Regional Wrestling Title, Remains Unbeaten

Cinnaminson High School heavyweight Keith Swartley’s hopes for an undefeated season remain a reality.

Swartley improved to 33-0 and captured the Region 7 championship at Holy Cross on Saturday, according to nj.com.

He will now pursue a state championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City next weekend.

Swartley entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, and received a pre-quarterfinal round bye.

The rest of his road wasn’t quite as easy, as he picked up three straight one-point victories en route to the title.

First up, he defeated No. 8 Lorenzo Hernandez, of Cherry Hill West, 1-0, in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, it was a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Tyler Steffa, of Lenape.

He captured the championship with a 1-0 win over No. 3 Ryan Harper, of Collingswood.

Both wrestlers, as well as Steffa, who battled back to finish third, advance to the state tournament.

The victory came a week after Swartley captured the District 26 title with a major decision victory over Delran’s Anthony Grozozki in the final.

Eight other Cinnaminson wrestlers advanced to the regional tournament.

Isaiah Elias made it all the way to the semifinals at 113 before he suffered his first loss.

After the sixth-seeded Elias defeated No. 11 Devin Lippincott, of Northern Burlington, 8-1, in the pre-quarterfinals, he upset No. 3 Logan Fox, of Robbinsville, 2-0.

He finally succumbed to No. 2 Colin Wickramaranta, of Cherokee, 9-1, in the semifinals.

He then fell to Shawnee’s Matt Higgins, 2-1, in the wrestleback semifinals. He finished the season with a record of 25-7.

After Ryan Teague, the No. 3 seed at 138, advanced to the quarterfinals by pinning No. 14 Jack Milazzo, of Robbinsville, in one minute, 42 seconds, he lost to No. 6 Vincent Hellthaler, of Northern Burlington, 3-0, in the quarterfinals. He finished the season with a record of 22-9.

Shaun Davilla entered the 170-pound tournament as the No. 5 seed after winning the District 26 title, and received a bye in the pre-quarterfinal round. He lost to No. 4 Samuel Jordan, of Seneca, 8-6, in the quarterfinals.

He was able to battle his way back to the wrestleback semifinals before ultimately succumbing to Paul VI’s Jordan Sciamana by pinfall. He finished the season with a record of 23-7.

Michael Dunleavy competed at 160, but lost to Pennsauken’s Leroy Thomas, 2-1, in the pre-quarterfinals. He was 16-15 this season.

TJ Emanuel (106, 12-8), Kevin Schoch (120, 11-8), Andrew Halecki (195, 17-14) and Joe Cody (220, 18-9) also competed at the Region 5 tournament.