Three Advance to Region 8 Wrestling Semifinals

The path to Atlantic City just got a lot clearer for wrestlers Tyler Kaminski, Evan Zuzulock and Rory Bonner. For Gerald Owens, the path still exists; it’s just a little murkier.

Kaminski, Zuzulock and Bonner each had convincing wins Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Region 8 Wrestling Tournament at Egg Harbor Township.

With one win today, each will have a chance to compete for a region title. With a loss, each will need to win a third-place match to reach next week’s state tournament in Atlantic City.

Kaminski’s win was a big upset—at least on paper—as he knocked off No. 3 seed Dylan LaPalomento of Washington Township. After a scoreless first, Kaminski managed a reversal in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. He was able to put the match away thanks to a four-point move in the third period and advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2 win.

Zuzulock never let any drama build in his match against Penns Grove's Darrian Brooks, as he gained a 5-0 lead in the first period and cruised from there in a 12-3 victory. Zuzulock will have his hands full in the next couple of rounds—Timber Creek’s Rickey Carter is a defending Region 8 champion, while Buena’s Billy Ward owns a 15-0 tech fall over him earlier this month.

Bonner led Woodstown's Dustin Baionno 2-0 after the first period, but poured it on in the second, building a 7-0 lead entering the third. The advantage grew to 9-0, and Bonner easily advanced with a 9-2 decision.

After a scoreless first period, Owens started the second on the bottom and managed an escape to gain a 1-0 advantage. However Pustizzi managed a reversal early in the third to grab a 2-1 lead. Owens then managed an escape with under three seconds left to tie the match and send it into overtime.

In the extra session, Owens started on the bottom and was unable to score any points. In the second overtime, Pustizzi managed his second escape of them match to grab a 4-2 lead. Three back points later and Pustizzi was walking off the mat with a 7-2 win.

Owens still has a chance to advance to states, but will need to win a series of wrestle-backs to claim third place.

The action resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. with the Friday night’s losers competing in the first set of wrestle-backs.

Region 8 Quarterfinals

106 pounds

• John Gentile (Paulsboro) p. Mike Van Horn (Washington Township), 3:37
• Joseph Rocks (Egg Harbor Township) d. Jodeci Robinson (Clayton), 9-2
• Patrick D’Arcy (Holy Spirit) d. Tom Carney (Delsea), 7-0
• John Amato (Timber Creek) p. Alex Eastlack (Gateway), 0:56

113 pounds

• Tom Gattinella (St. Augustine) d. John Gallo (Schalick), 6-0
• Zach Valcarce (Lower Cape May) d. Anthony Racobaldo (Williamstown) 9-7 (OT)
• Tyler Kaminski (West Deptford) d. Dylan LaPalomento (Washington Township) 6-2
• Sam Morina (Paulsboro) d. Ronray Harris (Middle Township, 4-3

120 pounds

• Ricky Carter (Timber Creek) p. Garrett Paolone (Holy Spirit), 2:25
• Evan Zuzulock (West Deptford) md. Darrian Brooks (Penns Grove), 12-3
• Stewart Richardson (Schalick) d. Gabe Zamot (Egg Harbor Township), 6-2
• Billy Ward (Buena) p. Brian Ceaser (Highland), 0:37

126 pounds

• John VanBrill (Clearview) d. Edward Donahue (St. Augustine), 10-4
• Juan Rivera (Paulsboro) d. John Ecret (Pennsville), 6-3
• William Elliott (Cumberland) d. Robert McNeill (Winslow Township), 11-6
• Mike Jiampetti (Absegami) md. Brandon Virgilio (Timber Creek), 13-3

132 pounds

• Brandon Keller (Timber Creek) tf. Jason Cohen (Egg Harbor Township), 19-4, 6:00
• John Willette (Absegami) d. Jonathan Rodriguez (Vineland), 3-1
• Connor Bestwick (Woodstown) d. Matt Salera (Washington Township), 5-3
• John Hennelly (Delsea) d. Cody Croce (Paulsboro), 3-1

138 pounds

• Dillan Berghof (Buena) p. Adrian Feliciano (Pennsville), 2:42
• Nick Knauer (Paulsboro) md. Mike Graham (Williamstown), 11-2
• Ed Lenkowski (Clearview) d. Shawn Bryant (Egg Harbor Township), 8-2
• Joe Esposito (St. Augustine) p. Michael Morris (Kingsway), 1:16

145 pounds

• Antonio Mancella (Oakcrest) d. James Ingersol (Egg Harbor Township), 10-8
• Patrick McCurdy (Woodstown) d. Monty Krough (Pennsville) 10-6
• Dom Ruggerio (Timber Creek) p. Dan Cornew (Clearview), 1:17
• Curt Delia (Delsea) p. Kellen Whitney (Hammonton), 3:13.

152 pounds

• Mark Patterson (St. Augustine) p. Billy Williams (Woodstown), 0:35
• Justin Pierotti (Buena) md. Colton Newsome (Pennsville), 9-1
• Nate Ross (Absegami) d. George Skibinski (Clearview), 5-4
• Bryce Shade (Timber Creek) md. Steminto Rowe-Atkins (Clayton), 15-6.

160 pounds

• Phil Bakuckas (Hammonton) tf. Zachary Rahl (Schalick), 17-0, 5:16
• Tyler Sentman (St. Augustine) d. Mike Silvestro (Paulsboro), 4-0
• Dylan Dobzanski (Delsea) d. Cesar Balmaceda (Atlantic City), 8-6
• Connor Donahue (Clearview) d. Christian LaFragola (Holy Spirit), 10-4

170 pounds

• Alex Gong (Absegami) d. Kyle McMahon (Clearview), 8-0
• Nick Elmer (Penns Grove) d, Cooper Gallagher (Ocean City), 11-7
• Billy Leone (Kingsway) d. Stephen Rodriguez (Vineland), 6-4
• Robert Shade (Timber Creek) md. James Bennett (St. Augustine), 14-1

182 pounds

• Trevant McCloud (Lindenwold) d. Chris Lail (Kingsway), 4-3
• John Benard (Oakcrest) md. James Moores (Middle Township) 12-2
• Rory Bonner (West Deptford) d. Dustin Baionno (Woodstown), 9-2
• David Williams (Hammonton) d. Michael Robinson (Clayton), 7-4.

195 pounds

• Bryan Dobzanski (Delsea) p. Michael Anderson (Mainland), 3:44
• Steve Andrescavage (Hammonton) p. Kahlil McCullough-Bey (Williamstown), 5:40
• Patrick Wexler (Kingsway) d. William Cioffi (Pitman) 4-3
• Cory Damiana (Lower Cape May) d. Tiawahn Cosby (Vineland), 4-3.

220 pounds

• Roy Lucas (St. Joseph) p. Sean Redden (Delsea), 2:12
• Nick Pustizzi (Schalick) d. Gerald Owens (West Deptford), 7-2 (OT)
• Nigel Toussaint (Egg Harbor Township), d, Brandon Belger (Middle Township), 3-2 (UTB)
• Brian Beebe (Hammonton) d. Noah Repko (Buena), 2-1.

Heavyweight

• Tom Rementer (Clayton) d. Samuel Harvey (Penns Grove), 4-0
• Mike Ottaviano (Absegami) d. Josh Johnson (Ocean City), 5-2
• Tre Porch (Delsea) d. Martel Harrisson (Highland), 3-2
• Curtis Nealer (Pitman) d. Robert Frederico (Hammonton), 5-0.