Region Champion D'Anton Heading to States

For most of the regional championship bout, Monsignor Donovan's Anthony D’Anton remained in control against the Jaguars’ No. 6 seeded sophomore, but Jackson Memorial's Alec Huxford scored a takedown to even the score at 6 before D’Anton escaped for the go-ahead point and executed a takedown of his own to seal the first championship at Monsignor Donovan in 26 years.

“At the beginning of the match, warming up, that’s when the nerves hit me the most,” D’Anton said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before, especially having one mat and everyone watching you. In the beginning of the match, once you make contact, like any wrestler, once you make contact with that other kid, it’s on.”

In order to secure a place in the final, D’Anton had to get past top-seeded Christian Brothers Academy freshman Eric Beshada. The Griffins’ senior leader did so in impressive fashion, defeating Beshada 8-2 to advance to the final.

Huxford, meanwhile, upset second-seeded Joe Ghione of Brick Memorial in close, draining 2-1 decision.

“He’s a tall kid, a great wrestler,” D’Anton said of Huxford. “I knew I had to come at him and I knew my ‘A’ game had to be there. And if it wasn’t, God knows what would have happened. I knew I had to come to wrestle and I came to wrestle.”

Had he gone to Toms River East instead of Monsignor Donovan, D’Anton would have been another in a substantial list of lower-weight wrestlers in Raiders history. By attending Monsignor Donovan, D’Anton has forged a legacy completely unique to him.

“We just got our new wrestling room and hopefully my picture’s going up there now,” D’Anton said. “It’s great. We’re still trying to build a program here. Last year we had Tim Nichols and he wrestled a great regional tournament. He couldn’t make it as far as I could, but still, a great wrestler. Now we’re starting to get more kids through regionals and hopefully we can start getting more through to states and get the program running.

“I feel it in school, the vibe with teachers wishing me luck,” D’Anton said. “The vibe in school is great and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else in school. I love the community, I love how everybody’s close and I love the school.”

Since deciding to give up his basketball career in favor of wrestling, D’Anton has immersed himself in the sport, which has included annual trips to Atlantic City to watch the state championships.

D’Anton acknowledges that reaching Atlantic City was his dream at the beginning of the season, but with that dream becoming a reality, it is time for the Griffins senior to think big.

“I’ve been going down there for the last four years of my life watching,” D’Anton said. “I went home after the semifinals and I was sitting there thinking ‘I’m going to Atlantic City.’ And just the fact that I’m going to be able to go down there to wrestle is a dream come true. Hopefully we take the way I wrestled here and bring it down there. We’re not done yet.”