An injury to 170-pound standout Anthony Tamayo will hinder the East Brunswick High School wrestling team’s chances of dethroning defending champion Monroe in this weekend’s District 20 Tournament.
Tamayo, who advanced to last month’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final, where he dropped a 3-2 decision to two-time league champion Brandon Farrell of J.F. Kennedy, would have been counted upon to score significant points.
East Brunswick finished third in the GMCT, 25 points behind runner-up Monroe, which competed without four starters in the conference tournament due to injuries (the Falcons will still be missing two starter’s for Saturday’s district tournament at South Brunswick High School).
Two-time GMCT finalist Doug Ryan of South River is also out with an injury at 195 pounds, where reigning league tournament champion Pat Dressel is one of four Monroe wrestlers favored to win a district title.
The Falcons crowned four individual district winners while rolling up 216.5 team points a year ago. Nicky Lombard, Sal Profaci and Chris Muce are Monroe’s defending champions.
Old Bridge, which finished second last season with 165 points, hopes to at least replicate that performance.
The Knights are favored to win at least three individual titles with Stephen Nadera (120), Xavier Jenkins (152) and Mike Gargano (182) top seeds in their respective weight classes.
The top three finishers in each weight class advances to the Region V Tournament, which will be contested next week at the Hunterdon Central Field House in Flemington.
District 20 Wrestling Tournament
When/Where: Saturday at South Brunswick High School.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals, 10 a.m.; semifinals, 1:30 p.m.; consolation finals, 2:30 p.m.; finals, 4:30 p.m.
Teams: East Brunswick, Monroe, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Sayreville, South Brunswick, South River, Spotswood, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
PREDICTED REGION QUALIFIERS
106: Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick, 23-5); Andrew Lombard (Monroe, 13-11); Mike Botte (Old Bridge, 18-11).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 106-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/1hffpdjT8v
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
113: Mark Schleifer (East Brunswick, 25-1); Nicholas Lombard (Monroe, 5-2); Francisco Roman (Sayreville, 22-8).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 113-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/NkzlAuXki8
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
120: Stephen Nadera (Old Bridge, 29-1); Shawn Gardini (Monroe, 19-12); Alec Gleason (East Brunswick, 23-4).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 120-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/g9Y5EmzHlH
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
126: Nicholas Maher (WWP-South, 29-5); Tyler Burgess (South River, 30-2); Joe Zargo (Monroe, 20-11).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 126-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/bFrwdU2QMy
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
132: Salvatore Profaci (Monroe, 31-0); Faryd (Nick) Daza (South Brunswick, 22-10); Nezzar Dimes (Old Bridge, 12-10).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 132-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/hNSz3OM1FS
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
138: Chris Muce (Monroe, 26-3); Maddux Mason (Sayreville, 22-7); Brandon Pacheco (South River, 21-7).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 138-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/ph9I03qaAd
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
145: Jared Smith (South River, 29-4); Isaac Blagogee (Sayreville, 21-10); Brian DiBartolo (South Brunswick, 10-5).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 145-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/UxhzwdcJaW
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
152: Xavier Jenkins (Old Bridge, 28-5); Kenny Abode (North Brunswick, 19-9); Quinn Ciesielski (South River, 25-8).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 152-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/0NH2H7GXRQ
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
160: Tyler Schwarz (South Brunswick, 28-5); Kevin Creech (Monroe, 18-11); Algenis Nunez (New Brunswick, 24-8).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 160-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/tZocpVaR6Y
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
170: Edwin Aguilera (New Brunswick, 25-7); Mattew Mueller (North Brunswick, 21-7); Mike Yuhas (Old Bridge, 8-6).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 170-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/3loXb5lcAj
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
182: Mike Gargano (Old Bridge, 28-1); Ejike Okafor (Spotswood, 30-2); Frankely Rosario (New Brunswick, 23-9).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 182-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/NWzikisFtw
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
195: Pat Dressel (Monroe, 18-4); Dan Makagon (Old Bridge, 21-9); Maxwell Rhoden (South Brunswick, 23-8).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 195-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/gpF9RIpyhd
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
220: Nicholas Goff (Monroe, 23-7); Vinny Porreca (WWP-North, 27-0); Michael Porcaro (Sayreville, 16-7).
NJSIAA District 20 Wrestling Tournament 220-pound bracket pic.twitter.com/Sxbs5IyOFx
— Greg Tufaro (@GregTufaro) February 19, 2015
285: Anthony Porcaro (Sayreville, 27-1); Kevin Eid (East Brunswick, 20-5); Rich LeoGrande (South River, 24-4).
