Now, it's officially on.
West Orange unbeaten senior 285-pounder Emiliano Betancor found out Monday who he would face in his first bout Friday at the NJSIAA Wrestling Tournament at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
Preliminary round bouts begin at 5 p.m. with pre-quarters to start at about 7 p.m. Quarterfinals and first round of consolation bouts start 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by a second round of consolations at noon with semifinals and consolation quarterfinals at 5 and consolation semifinals at 7.
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Consolation rounds for third, fifth and seventh places begin at 10 a.m. Sunday with the state championship round to start at about 2 p.m.
Betancor, fourth in the state last year, is coming off his second Region IV title. He wants to add a state title to go along with it.
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The 27-0 Mountaineer won't have to wrestle a preliminary round bout since he has a region title and a state tournament place on the resume. He will wrestle the winner of a preliminary round bout between Northern Burlington junior Cody Melton (31-6) and Piscataway junior Beniah Harrigan (26-6) in the pre-quarterfinal round.
Betancor won his 100th career bout in the region final, joining two-time state tournament place-winner Tommy Lorenzo and Mo Vazquez who finished their careers with 126 and 100 wins respectively.
Could Betancor become his school's first state champ?
"Everyone is under the radar as far as A.C. goes," said Betancor. "You really have to take it one at a time."
But it is fun for the observer to think about what could happen.
Betancor is one of five unbeaten 285-pounders and a bunch of other dangerous threats.
North Hunterdon senior Jack Delia, 35-0, beat Betancor 7-5 in last year's state quarterfinals. New Providence senior Zach Troutman, 35-1, who was pinned by Bentacor Feb. 5, was a sixth-place finisher last year at the state tournament. Keyport senior Greg Velasco, pinned by Betancor in last year's pre-quarterfinal is 36-0. And then there's most people's favorite — High Point senior William Smith, a third-place finisher at 215 pounds last year, who will come to Atlantic City with a 39-0 record.
Betancor lost to Smith in an ultimate tiebreaker at a tournament last summer.
"He's quick," Betancor said.
And Betancor?
"He's a stud," said North Hunterdon coach Tim Flynn of Betancor. "Like Jack, he's also a very good athlete."
