State wrestling notebook: A look at Hunterdon and Somerset medalists

ATLANTIC CITY – Anthony Rossi sounds a bit like Yoda or a wise old coach with his nuggets of wisdom when talking about coming back after a loss.

“So, new day,” the Hunterdon Central senior said. “Refresh. Reset the mind. Wrestle your hardest that given day and have fun. Try to score points.”

That’s as great a mantra as any. However, it’s not always so easy in implementation, both mentally and physically during the long three days at the double-elimination state wrestling tournament. That’s what makes earning a medal – a top eight finish – so tough and so special.

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The MyCentralJersey area had no boys state finalists but had seven wrestlers reach the podium last week at Boardwalk Hall.

Rossi led the way with a third-place finish at 120. Hunterdon Central’s Thomas Brunetti (175) finished fourth, while Watchung Hills’ Anthony DiAndrea (113) and Delaware Valley’s Jaden Perez (126) each placed fifth.

Voorhees’ Logan Wiecoreck (157) – who had to win three-straight matches after losing in the prequarterfinal – took sixth. Eighth-place finishers included Bernards’ Nick Villani (144) and Governor Livingston’s Cristian Gioia (165).

Red Devils duo shine

They just kept winning and winning – all the way to the state semifinals. Hunterdon Central seniors Anthony Rossi and Thomas Brunetti put together magical campaigns, in which the duo reached the final four undefeated.

“We’re both supporting each other along the way and really just giving each other good feedback,” Rossi said, “and really fuel each other’s minds so we’re ready to wrestle out there.”

They could have finished anywhere from third to sixth after the semifinal loss. So many times, wrestlers mentally pack it in for Saturday’s consolation matches coming off a defeat.

Not Rossi and Brunetti.

“It took me a couple of minutes,” said Rossi of his mindset, “but right after I went back to my hotel that’s in the past, got to look forward now and be locked in on the next match.”

Rossi won the consolation semifinal, 5-2, then met the wrestler who he edged in the quarterfinals by a score of 7-6, St. Joseph Montvale’s third-seeded Mikey Bautista.

Rossi again prevailed 5-3 to capture the third-place medal.

“It was really important to me to get the next best thing and you always hear coaches say that, to end on a win especially being a senior,” said Rossi, who is headed to Virginia. “And really putting that loss in the semis behind was really important to me.”

Brunetti scored a pin in the consolation semifinal to reach the third-place match, where he lost 5-2 to Hasbrouck Heights’ Connor Scuilla. Not a bad finish, especially considering that Brunetti just missed qualifying for the state tournament as a junior.

Brunetti noted his mindset changed from last season and he’s wrestling more relaxed.

“Just go out and wrestle your best,” he said after winning the Region 4 title. “I’m a senior. I got nothing else to lose.”

Watchung Hills sophomore repeats as medalist

Two state medals in two tries – not a bad accomplishment.

Watchung Hills’ sophomore Anthony DiAndrea (113) won five times with just a pair of close losses en route to a fifth-place finish. That improved on his seventh place at 106 last year.

He had an exciting 6-5 loss in the quarterfinals to Christian Brothers Academy’s Paul Kenny, the Under 17 freestyle World Champion (48 Kg).

DiAndrea was in on a leg in the closing seconds as the crowd cheered but couldn’t get the takedown.

He rebounded to win his next two consolation matches and fell to top-seeded Nathan Braun of Bergen Catholic, 3-2 TB-1, to enter the fifth-place match.

There, he beat Middletown North’s Brady Klinsky for the second time in the tournament with a 9-0 win.

“I just took a few minutes to get my mind right,” DiAndrea said. “Just walk around a little, get some water but then after a few minutes I was like, alright, we got another match today. Just got to have a short memory. … I wanted to just finish the season on a W. Finish on a high note. I was able to do that.”

Now, DiAndrea said he’ll learn from the mistakes he made and “just keep training in the offseason and hopefully next year hope to get even higher on the podium.  Just keep working hard. Winning will take care of itself as long as you work hard and wrestle your best.”

Del Val’s Perez breaks through

Hanging back and seeing what your opponent does, well that’s not always fun.

Jaden Perez was more of a counter puncher when he started at Delaware Valley. The junior has opened up his style and his aggressive approach was on display in Atlantic City en route to reaching the semifinals and taking fifth.

Now, that’s a fun run.

“I used to be kind of a defensive wrestler,” Perez said. “Offense is just so much more fun and it’s something I knew I could get better at. So I just started playing around with kind of going right in at it during the season in duals and it just kind of been working out. So been sticking with it.”

Perez had a breakout season after not qualifying for the state tournament last year. The 126-pounder pulled out a 9-7 SV win in the quarterfinals and then lost two straight decisions, including 3-2 to top-seeded Sammy Spaulding in the consolation semifinals.

He bounced back with a 4-2 win for fifth place. He should once again be an exciting wrestler to watch next year.

“It’s high pace,” Perez said. “You’re never bored. You’re never, like sitting there with someone just waiting for the clock to run out. I’d rather just keep going just as much as I can.”

Voorhees’ Wiecoreck bounces back

It often doesn’t look good if you lose in the second round. Sure, you can still medal but it becomes a grind.

Voorhees’ Logan Wiecoreck went 1-1 on Thursday night, meaning he had to win three-straight on Friday in a span of about five hours to clinch a medal. So, he went back to the hotel that night to recalibrate.

“I had to really change up my mindset, think like I can’t let that loss get in the way of the wrestling that I still have to do the next day,” he said. “So once I got that out of my head, got my mind cleared, I was able to sleep well. I had a better mindset the next day.”

The senior won by a pin in 1:56 and 4-0 to reach the fourth consolation round, the pressurized blood round. The 12th-seeded Wiecoreck got a late reversal to pull out the 4-3 win over seventh-seeded Carl Betz (Delbarton) to clinch a medal.

Time to exhale.

“Right after it’s like a weight being lifted off your shoulders,” Wiecoreck said. “It’s like now I can just wrestle through the rest of the time, have fun with all the wrestling matches.”

Wiecoreck won his fourth-straight match Friday evening to clinch no worse than sixth place, which was where he ended up after two decision losses Saturday morning.

He doesn’t plan to wrestle in college, making his medal that more poignant.

“It does make it more meaningful because that’s what I tell myself,” Wiecoreck said. “I’m like after this I’m finished with wrestling, so I want to make sure that I work extra hard to place so I leave with something that I accomplished.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ wrestling: Hunterdon and Somerset state medalists