Local Wrestlers Fall Short of Medal Round Action

When it comes to the state finals in Atlantic City, wrestlers who start their Saturday mornings in the consolation round need at least two wins to get a medal at the end of the weekend.

For Shore Regional's Luke Bush, his goal of a medal came up one bout shy after winning his first match of the day. Long Branch's Luis Filipe's day was one match and done as both wrestlers saw just how competitive the state is on the mats.

For Bush, he opened his morning with a match against Daniel Pettit of Ocean City. With a 4-2 win against the Region 8 runner up, Bush then found himself squaring off against Ray Bethea, a junior from Trenton Central High School.

The name Bethea is well known in Trenton athletic circles and the wrestler proved he was following in the family footsteps with a 5-0 win. 

In his senior season Bush took third in Region 6, after winning the District 23 title in his weight class. He finishes his season with an impressive record of 42-4.

For Filipe, he ran into Garrett Scriveni of Kittatinny who entered the tournament as the Region 1 runner-up and came to Boardwalk Hall with a record of 31-2. Filipe's season came to an end when his opponent pinned him in the first period. 

Filipe won the Region 6 title at 135 and also won the District 23 Tournament but was not able to find his footing in Atlantic City. He finishes his season with an undeniably strong 35-3 record.