5 wrestlers who stood out on Day 1 of the Sam Cali Invitational tournament

The opening day of the Sam Cali Invitational is in the books and 11 North Jersey wrestlers are heading on to the semifinal round Thursday morning.

Ponaganset (R.I.) has taken the lead in the team scoring with 125 points, followed by Seton Hall Prep and St. Peter's Prep with 113 apiece.

Here are five North Jersey wrestlers who stood out in the early going.

Oumar Tounkara

Teaneck junior

The 106-pounder continues to be the gift that keeps on giving after deciding to join his hometown team.

Tounkara, a transfer from St. Benedict's, showed that in the quarterfinal round with a 10-2 major decision over Cranford's Michael Daly. He scored a go-ahead takedown 20 seconds into the match and kept on pushing the pace.

"I would love to put my school on my map," Tounkara said. "It wasn't really a big adjustment since I've been in public school since middle school. I just went into private going into high school."

Tounkara, who came into the tournament as the third seed, advances to face No. 2 Brighton Karvoski out of Green Farms Academy in Connecticut.

"He's like a gift that wound up on my doorstep," Teaneck coach Jim Nonas said. "He comes in before practice and works with some of my kids who are less skilled, shows them moves before practice and during practice-time. He helps everybody so much."

Sean Walker

Lakeland senior

The 157-pounder backed up his win in last year's Passaic County final with another hard-fought victory over Clifton's Joseph Geleta, this time by a 2-1 score.

The match turned in his favor early in the third period when Geleta was called for a clasp and then allowed the go-ahead escape. The victory sets up a semifinal bout against bracket favorite Paul Ognissanti of Blair Academy.

"I lost last year in the Blood Round so it feels great to place and beat a kid like that," Walker said. "Excellent wrestler. He's so strong."

Walker is a three-sport athlete who runs the 400 meters in track and plays receiver on the football team. After reaching Boardwalk Hall last year, he focused on hitting the weights and mastering a few core moves on his feet in his limited time over the offseason.

Walker is one of two Lancers to clinch a spot in the semifinal along with top seed Jack Bergmann at 113.

"This year, I definitely have a new mentality," Walker said. "I don't want to be a one-year wonder. It's winning matches like that, winning matches I'm not necessarily supposed to win, willing matches out and beating good kids. I'm hoping to make that jump to wrestle tough in states."

Daniel Rella

Paramus Catholic senior

It was a quick day on the mat for Rella, who pinned his two opponents in under two minutes. The second one came against a familiar foe in Blair's Cael Mielnik.

The previous match between them ended abruptly when Rella split his chin open while making a throw. About five stitches were required to patch up the Wood-Ridge native and two-time state medalist.

"It was like 15 seconds into the match when we wrestled the first time," Rella said. "I was excited to wrestle him again and I know he was a stud freshman."

Rella landed the top seed this year at 190 after taking fourth at the Cali last winter.

Isaac Cazimoski

Clifton junior

One of the wildest matches of the quarterfinal round came at the tail end between two heavyweights. Cazimoski prevailed in the second tiebreaker by turning Christopher Oliver (Ridge) for some back points and a 3-1 decision. For Cazimoski, the win was one part exhausting, one part exhilarating.

"To be honest, I'm happy as hell," Cazimoski said. "It's my first year coming to the Sam Cali and I expected to get a worse seed. I got the fifth seed and I got the job done."

Next up for Cazimoski is a battle with top seed Cameron Baumann from Voorhees.

Jeremy Quezada

Dumont senior

The Huskies still have two wrestlers in the championship bracket with Joey Petriello moving on at 126 and Quezada cruising through at 150.

Quezada won two of his three matches by pin, including a second-period fall in the quarterfinal. The third-seeded Quezada will meet No. 7 Ronnie Christolin (Green Farms Academy) with a spot in the final on the line.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Sam Cali Invitational: 5 wrestlers who stood out on Day 1