Off to a Good Start: 11 GLHS Wrestlers Advance to District Semi-Finals

The District 12 wrestling tournament started out on a promising note for the Governor Livingston Highlanders on Friday night at South Plainfield High School.

The Highlanders advanced 11 of their 14 wrestlers to the semi-final round of the district tournament, which will conclude on Saturday in South Plainfield.

It’s certainly a good start to the tournament for Governor Livingston, who looks to advance many of its wrestlers to next week’s regional meet. However, the Highlanders know that they have not finished the job just yet.

“Tomorrow will be the telling tale. Do we continue to compete and stay at the level we’re capable of? My kids have never disappointed us all year," said Highlanders’ head wrestling coach Rick Iacono. “Coaching, you think you’re gonna win them all, and you can’t win them all, but they’ve never disappointed me and they’re good kids.”

“Tomorrow’s the test; the semis are important because if you can get to the finals, you’re on your way to the region (meet)”, continued Iacono." Our job was to try to qualify as many kids as we could.”

Senior Mike Stepien, who won his quarterfinal match over North Plainfield’s Federico Perez by an 18-1 technical decision, stated that ensuring one gets into the finals could be the most stressful part of the tournament.

“It’s a relief when you get the (semi-final) match over with and you get into the finals (because) you know you’re going into regions," said Stepien. “You also want to take first (in Districts) to get that first-round bye (in the region tournament), so we’re just looking to get as many people to regions as possible.”

Many Highlanders have a good chance to advance into the region tournament’s top seed, including the 135-pound Stepien, sophomore Jon Mele (103), and seniors Anthony DeFranco (119) and Joe Hoy (140).

Also impressive for the Highlanders on Friday were seniors Brian Sobol (152) and Pat Eichner (160), who won their matches via pinfall in 54 and 45 seconds, respectively. The pair was joined by 125-pound Ryan Hoy (3:16) and 171-pound Shane Haddad (1:12), who also secured pinfall victories for the Highlanders.

Other victorious Highlanders on Friday included Ryne Morrison (112), who defeated Brett Schweyher of Middlesex by a 3-0 decision. He was joined by Zach Heissler (189), who defeated Ives Viola from Colonia 3-2, and heavyweight Tony Manganiello, who bested Colonia’s Neil Garrett by a score of 8-1.

Despite the team’s optimism toward getting several wrestlers into the regional tournament, Stepien stated that they still have team goals for the district tournament itself. Chief among them, said Stepien, would be winning the tournament. A tournament win for Governor Livingston would snap host South Plainfield’s streak of 25 consecutive District Championships.

“Hopefully we can stay close to South Plainfield, take the lead, just compete, and get as many people into the finals and score as many points as we can," said Stepien. “We’re just hoping to win it.”