Lacey heavyweight Jake Fernandez pinned Seneca's Tim Will in 38 seconds to send the Lions into the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III team wrestling semifinals with a 38-28 victory in Lacey.
After Lex Knapp recorded a 50-second pin at 220 pounds to give the Lions a 32-28 lead, all Fernandez needed to do was avoid giving up anything more than a decision to Will in the final bout of the match for Lacey to win. Fernandez's pin put an emphatic end to the match, however, sending Lacey to a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Toms River South on Wednesday night in Toms River.
Lacey held a 20-10 lead after winning five of the first seven bouts, with Connor Garrity recording a pin early in the second period at 120 pounds. But Seneca rallied, taking the lead at 28-23 after recording back-to-back pins at 170 and 182.
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But Lacey's Pat Schinder earned a 10-3 decision over Oliver Palumbo at 195 to draw Lacey to within 28-26, setting the stage for Knapp and Fernanzez.
Bout-by-bout results
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106: James Knoeller (L) d. Devin Gilbert 7-2
113: Ben Mrozinski (L) md. Isaac Padilla 18-5
120: Connor Garrity (L) p. Kyle Umbehauer 2:20
126: Kevin Enright (L) d. Rob Bush 11-5
132: Kyle O'Neill (S) p. Andrew Garrity 1:25
138: Jordan Peoples (S) md. John Moynihan 10-0
145: Danny Moore (L) md. Brandyn Bush 11-2
152: Niles Murphy (S) p. Zach Thomas 4:42
160: Luke Fernandez (L) d. Ricky Robbins 11-5
170: Nick Moore (S) p. Trevor Finsh 2:36
182: Steven Saiia (S) p. Alex Vincenzi 5:16
195: Pat Schinder (L) d. Oliver Palumbo 10-3
220: Lex Knapp (L) p. Adam Simpkins :50
Hwt: Jake Fernandez (L) p. Tim Will :38
