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Wrestling: Highlights and a look ahead from Friday's Region 4 and Region 5 tournaments

andy mendlowitz, mycentraljersey.com
·4 min read

The Region 4 and Region 5 tournaments kicked off Friday night with the first round and quarterfinals. They continue Saturday with some tense semifinal and consolation matches.

The top four finishers in each of the 14 weight classes qualify for the individual state tournament March 2-4 at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

Here are some highlights from Friday night’s quarterfinals and a look ahead to the semifinals with a focus on wrestlers from Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and parts of Union counties.

Intriguing semifinal matches on tap

Region 4

106: No. 1 Logan Wadle, North Hunterdon (28-2) vs. No. 4 Anthony DiAndrea, Watchung Hills (35-1) – This is a battle of the ages as the senior star meets the freshman phenom. The senior Wadle is a two-time state placewinner (2nd and 3rd) and eyes a state title. The freshman DiAndrea has several big wins and his only loss was 7-5 to Livingston’s Aidan Carmody, who took sixth in the state.

132: No. 2 Nick Villani, Bernards (27-2) vs. No. 3 Danny Smith, Bridgewater-Raritan (32-4) – They meet again. The two Somerset County wrestlers have faced off three times this season with Villani holding a 2-1 edge. Each victory was by a point, so expect another tight tussle. Villani is coming off an 8-7 UTB win in last week’s District 15 final.

215: No. 2 Steve Coghan, St. Thomas Aquinas (30-6) vs. No. 3 Brendan Raley, North Hunterdon (30-3) – This is a rematch from opening weekend when Coghan pinned Raley in a minute. Coghan has continued his breakout season with a Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title. Raley, though, is a returning state placewinner likely eager for another chance at the junior.

Region 5

285: No. 2 Jake Tulli, St. Joseph (29-6) vs. No. 3 Christian Quandt, Hillsborough (34-3) – This has the makings of a classic heavyweight match between two of the best big guys in the area. Tulli won the GMCT championship this year and Quandt captured a Somerset County Tournament crown last season. Tulli showed his ride out skills in the GMCT final by winning in the ultimate tiebreaker on top, something to keep in mind should the match go that route.

144: No. 5 Rhett Washleski, Hunterdon Central (28-3) vs. No. 9 Macro Conroy, Red Bank Catholic (22-8) – There are several exciting freshmen in the area and Washleski has been one of the breakout stars for the Red Devils. The upset-minded Conroy looks to keep the momentum rolling after the impressive major decision over top-seeded Tyler Whitford (St. Joseph). Plus, a No. 5 vs. No. 9 is typically interesting.

Friday Quarterfinal Upsets

Region 4

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jahir Aguilar (120): Aguilar is becoming Mr. Upset Maker. The sophomore is quite familiar with double-digits next to his name in tournaments. At the GMCT, he reached the final as the No. 11 seed with wins over the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 seeds.

Friday, the 10th-seeded Aguilar pinned No. Logan Levine (Bridgewater-Raritan) in the first round in 3:56. He then got by second-seeded Joe Aldrich (Somerville) to get to the semifinals against No. 3 seed Matthew Griffin (Roselle Park).

Ridge’s Gavin Duran (126) and Christopher Oliver (215): Both underclassmen have lifted off this season and they continued their winning ascent in upsets. The seventh-seeded Duran pinned Westfield’s No. 2-seeded Brandon Ribiero in 5:03. The sophomore will face Delaware Valley’s third-seeded Matt Roche in the semifinal. Oliver was 1-3 last season. He’s now 30-7 and got perhaps his biggest win yet with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded Domenick Lettini (St. Peter’s Prep). The junior meets fourth-seeded Anderson Olcott (Delaware Valley) in the semis.

Juicy quarterfinal rematches

Region 5

126: (4) Morgan Schwarz (St. Joseph Metuchen) won 4-2 over (5) Julian Dawson (Edison) – Well, this time they had a wrestling score instead of a football one. Dawson took the first meeting 13-9 and Schwarz won 19-14 in last week’s District 19 championship bout. The freshman Schwarz prevailed in the rubber match between them and will face top-seeded Jack Zaleski of Middletown South.

150: (1) Evan Mendez (St. Joseph Metuchen) won 7-4 over (8) RJ Stradling (Middlesex/Dunellen) – Stradling closed the gap, but Mendez was able to win for the second time this season. Mendez decisioned Mendez 6-1 in the GMCT final.

165: (5) Daniel Hennessey (Old Bridge) 33-3 won 5-3 in OT over (4) Jake Zargo (St. Joseph Metuchen) – Another meeting between two GMC stars that split during the season. Hennessey won 8-3 om Jan. 18, but Zargo captured the District 19 title with an 11-5 win last week.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Wrestling: Highlights from Friday's Region 4 and Region 5