Ocean City Wrestlers Pull Off Upsets at Region 8 Tournament

Two Ocean City High School wrestlers pulled off upsets during the opening night of the Region 8 tournament at Egg Harbor Township on Wednesday, according to nj.com.

Jeremiah Johnson entered the 152-pound tournament as a No. 12 seed in the 12-wrestler field, and came away with a victory. He defeated No. 5 seed Blaine Shade, of Timber Creek, 4-3, on an ultimate tiebreaker.

Johnson will face No. 4 Kenshawn Branham, of Winslow, in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Johnson was the runner-up in the District 32 tournament, falling to St. Augustine’s Colin Donahue, 4-2, in the final. Donahue is the sixth seed.

To view the full bracket at this weight class, visit nj.com.

At 126, ninth-seeded David Levin upset No. 8 Tim Sparks, of Gateway, 3-2. He will now face No. 1 Quinn Kinner, of Kingsway, in the quarterfinals on Friday. Kinner is the top seed with just one loss this season.

Levin advanced to the regional tournament by finishing second in the District 32 tournament. He made it to the final before being pinned by St. Augustine’s Steven Schwab in two minutes, 39 seconds. Schwab is the No. 4 seed, and Levin’s potential semifinal opponent.

To view the full bracket at this weight class, visit nj.com.

Will Nickerson was seeded 10th 160. He fell to No. 7 Daniel Figueroa, of Hammonton, 4-0, in the pre-quarterfinals.

Nickerson finished second in the District 32 tournament, falling by major decision by St. Augustine’s Nick Clark in the final.

To view the full bracket at this weight class, visit nj.com.

The upset victories give the Red Raiders a higher probability of advancing wrestlers to next weekend’s state championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 4-6.

Wrestlers who lose in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds drop into a bracket to compete for third place. The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament.

The quarterfinals are on Friday, with the semifinals, final and wrestleback rounds set for Saturday.