Seven Shore Conference wrestlers advance to quarterfinals at the Beast of the East

Seven Shore Conference wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament Saturday at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship, third, fifth and seventh-place bouts will all take place Sunday. The quarterfinals will take place at 8:30 a.m.. The semifinals will be at 11:30 a.m. and the final and medal round bouts will be at 3:15 p.m.

Leading the Shore contingent was Brick Memorial junior and returning NJSIAA champion Anthony Santaniello, the No. 1 seed at 132 pounds who scored two pins in a combined 4:21 in his first two bouts and then a win by technical fall in the round of 16.

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Santaniello, who was last year's 120-pound state championship, will wrestle No. 56 seed Beau Lewis of Blair Academy in the quarterfinal.

Christian Brothers Academy has two quarterfinalists in freshman Alex Nini (120) and junior Julian George (138) and St. John Vianney also has two quarterfinalists in freshman Patrick O'Keefe (106) and senior Nico Diaz (132).

George, the No. 58 seed, upended No. 7 seed Bryson Vaughn of Notre Dame (Pa.) in the first round No. 39 seed Sam Kotch of Cinnaminson in the second round and No. 23 seed Richie Grungo of St. Augustine 7-5 in the round of 16. Grungo was the NJSIAA fifth-place finisher at 145 last year.

George will wrestle No. 2 seed Danny Nini of Lake Highland Prep in the quarterfinal.

Nini, the No. 5 seed and the NJSIAA eighth-place finisher at 113 last year, recorded two first period pins sandwiched around a win by technical fall.

He will wrestle No. 29 seed Adam Schweitzer of Notre Dame (Pa.) in the quarterfinal.

O'Keefe, the No. 7 seed, had a pin 38 seconds, a 4-3 win in the ultimate tiebreaker and a 5-2 win in the round of 16.

He will wrestle No. 2 seed Anthony Mutarelli of Malvern Prep in the quarterfinal.

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Diaz, a three-time state qualifier, had a technical fall, a 7-4 decision and a 6-4 win in sudden victory period No. 1 over No. 5 seed Anthony Aniciete of SLAM.

The No. 21 seed, Diaz will wrestle No. 4 seed Spencer Barnhart of Malvern Prep in the quarterfinal.

Middletown South junior Jack Zaleski and Rumson-Fair Haven sophomore Hudson Skove are the other quarterfinalists from the Shore.

Zaleski, a two-time state top five finisher, is the No. 7 seed. He had a pin in 37 seconds, a major decision and a pin in 39 seconds in the round of 16.

He will meet No. 2 seed and Blair Academy sophomore Matthew Lopes in the quarterfinal.

Skove, a returning state qualifier, had a bye, an 8-3 decision and a 5-2 win over No. 9 seed and two-time state qualifier Marcus Hebron of Lower Cape May.

The No. 8 seed, Skove will wrestle top seed Sonny Sasso of Nazareth (Pa.) in the quarterfinal.

Brick Memorial's Evan Tallmadge, last year's 113-pound champion and the No. 4 seed, was eliminated from the tournament after defeats in the second round and a medical forfeit in the consolation round.

Highly-touted St. John Vianney freshman Anthony Knox, ranked No. 1 in the country at 113 pounds, was not entered into the tournament due to a sprain ankle, Lancers' coach Chris Notte said.

ROBIN LEFF INVITATIONAL

Southern's returning state runner-up Conor Collins (120), teammate Wyatt Stout (126) and Jackson Memorial's Jason Seda (106) won championships at the tournament at Southern.

Collins, who was defeated by Tallmadge 8-7 in last season's 113-pound state final, pinned Egg Harbor Township's returning state qualifier Sean Dever in 2:51. He had a pin and a technical fall in his other two bouts in the tournament.

Stout, a freshman and the son of former Southern head coach John Stout, came from the No. 10 seed, to win his title.

In the final, Stout defeated No. 1 seed Jack Bastarrika of Mount Olive 7-3. Bastarrika was sixth in the state at 106 last season.

Stout had two technical falls and a major decision in his other three bouts.

Seda, the No. 2 seed, defeated Camden Catholic's Dom DiGiacomo 9-4 in the final and had two pins and a 6-5 win in his other three bouts.

A featured final at 175 pounds saw Delsea's two-time state medal winner defeat Rumson-Fair Haven's Shay Addison 5-1. Addison was fifth in the state at 160 in 2020 and a state qualifier last season.

JOHN AND BETTY VOGEDING TOURNAMENT

Howell had five champions in the tournament at Paulsboro in returning state champion Hunter Mays (165), returning state fifth-place finisher Sebastian Ortega (120), freshman Xavier Ortega (113), Nick Acque (157) and Ian Soutar (190).

Mays, who was a state champion at 160 last year and is a Rider University recruit, won both his bouts by technical fall and by a combined score of 41-10 in a combined time of 6:31.

Ortega, who was fifth in the state at 113 last year, pinned in his semifinal bout and then won by forfeit in the final because the other finalist was teammate Mikey Edmundson.

Xavier Ortega had two first period pins in a combined 2:24. Acque and Soutar each had two decisions in their bouts.

WENDY PANDY-LEE INVITATIONAL

Ocean Township's returning state qualifiers James Farina (126) and Jared Tracey (190) won titles in the tournament at Delaware Valley.

Farina, who was third in the Central Region at 106 last year as a freshman, defeated Westfield's Ethan Composto 5-1 in the final and had decisions in his other two bouts.

Tracey, who has qualified for the state tournament at 160 and 182 the last two seasons, defeated Delaware Valley's Matt Schneider 3-0 in the final and pinned in 25 seconds in his other bout.

THE ICEBREAKER TOURNAMENT

Matawan's returning state qualifier Richard Gomez (106) was among eight champions from the Shore Conference in the tournament at Old Bridge.

Gomez, who was fourth in the Central Region at 106 last year, pinned Marlboro's Sean Bayer in the final. He had a pin and a technical fall in his other two bouts.

Marlboro had three champions in Eric Shternfeld (126), Mike Bruno (132) and Christian Steenson (heavyweight).

Shrternfeld, the No. 3 seed, defeated the No. 2 and 1 seeds.

Bruno, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 1 seed Giovanni Maglione of JFK-Iselin.

Other champions from the Shore were Toms River East's Jaton Wellington (120), Freehold Township's Liam Flanagan (138), Manasquan's David Lisk (144) and Red Bank Catholic's Davin Brewton (215).

Toms River East was second in the team standings with 170 points, 55 points behind Old Bridge. Marlboro was third with 161.5 and Manasquan fourth with 129.

GATORS TOURNAMENT

Red Bank Regional's Phil Stolfa (132) and Kevin Ruland (106) and Pinelands' Mason Livio (126) won championships in the tournament at Gateway.

Stolfa, who was a state qualifier at 126 last season, had two first period pins in a combined 2:35.

Ruland pinned No. 1 seed Josh Kinchen of Vineland in 24 seconds and had a pin in 1:23 and an 8-1 decision in his other two bouts.

Livio, the South Region sixth-place finisher at 120 last season, had two first period pins in a combined 3:02.

MANALAPAN TOURNAMENT

Point Pleasant Boro had four champions in Joey DeAngelo (106), Frankie Burgio (113), Ryan Acquisto (144) and Jack Thompson (150) and it also won the team title in the tournament at Manalapan.

SATURDAY SCOREBOARD

NONCONFERENCE

Asbury Park 48, New Egypt 18

CENTRAL REGIONAL QUAD

Central 56, Barnegat 18

Central 40, Holmdel 35

Central 63, Neptune 14

Holmdel 49, Barnegat 30

Holmdel 58, Neptune 24.

KEANSBURG QUAD

Keansburg 42, Keyport 21

Keansburg 42, Highland Park 18

Keansburg 36, J.P. Stevens 30

Highland Park 33, Keyport 18

J.P. Stevens 47, Keyport 18

TOMS RIVER SOUTH TRI

Toms River South 58, Notre Dame 24

Toms River South 55, Monmouth 18

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Beast of the East Wrestling: 7 from Shore Conference advance to quarters