Pettit Is the Sole Red Raider Moving on to States in Wrestling

Dan Pettit got a taste of what States is all about during his Region 8 finals match on Saturday.

However, the Ocean City High School senior will able to experience the full version after he finished second in Regions to qualify for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association State Wrestling Championships.

"I'm stoked to be going to states," Pettit said. "I never done it before. I can't wait for the experience."

The top three finishers in each weight class advance to the NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships, which begin March 4 in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.

Red Raiders' Coley O'Brien (125), Anthony DeSantis (160) and Lucas Pearson had their high school wrestling careers come to an end on Saturday. O'Brien and Pearson finished in fourth place.

Pettit, a No. 7 seed at 145 pounds, faced top seed C.J. Cobb of Williamstown, who finished third in the state in 2010.

Cobb, who registered 11 takedowns, won 25-10, in 3 minutes, 32 seconds to win the Region 8 title. Cobb  recorded 73 points in three matches at regions.

"By far the best kid I ever wrestled," Pettit said. "You can't even touch the kid, and you're down. He is just a really good wrestler. He is the top kid in the state pound-for-pound."

For Pettit, the loss wasn't disappointing.  The Red Raiders senior didn't even win a match in districts last season.

A year later he is the District 32 champion, finished second at regions, and more importantly earned a berth into the state tournament.

"I feel accomplished," said Pettit, who defeated No. 3 seed Brett Carrero of Deptford, 5-4 in the semifinals. "I'm not even upset about that loss."

"He thought about that since last year," Ocean City coach Dave Castellini said of Pettit's loss in the districts in 2010. "He wanted to improve upon that. He has had a great week, week and a half. He had a great tournament and faced a great wrestler in the finals."

O'Brien, who made it to states as a freshman, but hasn't been back since, lost 3-1 to No. 7 Dontay Scott of Paulsboro in the consolation round.

O'Brien, the No. 2 seed, lost two matches to opponents he recently defeated. In his first match of the day in the quarterfinals, O'Brien lost 3-2 in overtime to No. 3 seed Joe Esposito of St. Augustine Prep. O'Brien beat Esposito in the district final on Feb. 19.

O'Brien battled back to the consolation round by pinning No. 8 seed Eric Hanusewicz of Cedar Creek in 18 seconds.  Against Scott, whom O'Brien beat in the quarterfinals on Friday night, the Red Raiders senior was taken to the mat in the first period and never recovered. Both wrestlers each registered escapes, but Scott was able to fend off every O'Brien attack.

"It was just a really tough weight class," Castellini said about the 125-pound bracket. "I think those four top guys could have gone any way. The fourth guy could have got first, and it could have flip-flopped all around. He just had an off day today. He is a great wrestler."

Pearson, a senior, also fell one win short of reaching the state tournament. The Ocean City 215-pound wrestler, who was the No. 4 seed, fell to the wrestleback round after a 5-0 loss to top seed Kevin Stadtmueller in the semifinals.

The Ocean City senior edged No. 7 seed A.J. Lear of Timber Creek, 6-5, to keep his state  hopes alive. In the consolation round, Pearson was caught by No. 3 seed Roy Lucas of St. Joseph, who advanced with a pin in 2 minutes, 51 seconds.

DeSantis, the No. 6 seed,  bounced back from Friday's quarterfinals loss to top No. 7 seed Tommy Mitchell of Lindenwold, 6-4, in the opening round of wrestlebacks. However, the Ocean City senior was defeated by eventual third-place finisher and top seed Anthony Dawson of Paulsboro, 6-4.

"We haven't had four guys go this deep into regions in a long time," Castellini said.

"All four are special wrestlers," he added. "They all work hard in the offseason, train so hard. Fourth place is nothing to be ashamed of, and Anthony was one win away from the consolation final. It's tough getting there. It's an accomplishment. Even though their goal was to make it to States, and it didn't happen, I'm proud of them."