Both Woodstown wrestlers at State Championships go 1-1 on the first day
By Riverview Sports News
ATLANTIC CITY – Both of Woodstown’s qualifiers to the State Wrestling Championships went 1-1 on the first day of the competition at Boardwalk Hall.
Greyson Hyland (175) lost to 8-seed Temuulen Mendbileg of St. Benedict’s 25-11 in the first round and then pinned Brayden Wright of Absegami in 1:26 in his first consolation match.
Region 8 champion Mateo Vinciguerra (215) was pinned by 7-seed Collin French of Southern Regional in 3:12 in his first round match and then took a 7-0 decision from Rocco Salerno of Seton Hall Prep in his first consolation match.
Here is this week’s sports schedules for teams in Salem County for the week of Feb. 25-March 2
Sunday
WRESTLING NJSIAA Girls Regionals, Pennsauken
Tuesday
BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Girls No. 8 Pennsville at No. 1 Woodbury, 4:30 p.m. No. 12 Penns Grove at No. 4 Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. No. 6 Audubon at No. 3 Maple Shade, 5:30 p.m. No. 7 Glassboro at No. 2 Wildwood, 4 p.m. Boys No. 9 Penns Grove at No. 1 KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, 5:15 p.m. No. 5 Audubon at No. 4 Wildwood, 6 p.m. No. 6 Glassboro at No. 3 Salem, 5 p.m. No. 10 Paulsboro at No. 2 Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL South Jersey Group I Tournament Girls Pennsville-Woodbury vs. Penns Grove-Woodstown Audubon-Maple Shade vs. Glassboro-Wildwood Boys Penns Grove-KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy vs. Audubon-Wildwood Glassboro-Salem vs. Paulsboro-Pitman WRESTLING NJSIAA State Championship, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City
Friday
COLLEGE BASEBALL Ocean CC at Salem CC (Carneys Point Rec), 3 p.m. WRESTLING NJSIAA State Championship, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls South Jersey Group I championship Boys South Jersey Group I championship WRESTLING NJSIAA State Championship, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Ocean CC (2), noon
Woodstown’s Vinciguerra wins Region 8 title at 215, Hyland also advances to state wrestling championship at 175
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
EGG HARBOR TWP. – His name literally means “win the war,’ and that’s exactly what Mateo Vinciguerra did Saturday in his most dominating tournament to date. There was nothing lost in translation.
The Woodstown sophomore pinned top-seeded Delsea junior Alex Grippo in 1:52 to win the 215-pound title in the NJSIAA Region 8 wrestling championships and punch his ticket to the state meet next week at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
It avenged a close loss to Grippo in last week’s District 31 finals and allowed him to follow in older brother John’s footsteps as last year’s 215 region champion.
“It means a lot,” Vinciguerra said. “I put a lot of work and effort into this. Getting the rematch I always wanted, it was great, because I really thought I could win.
“I was ready. I was coming for him. He’s a great wrestler, but my preparation, I knew I was ready for this. I had the same mindset I always do. Wrestle who’s in front of me, it doesn’t matter who it is.”
Vinciguerra, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, actually punched his ticket to state with a 10-0 major decision over Ed Vincent of St. Augustine in the semifinals. He also scored a pair of pins in his first two matches. He now has 22 pins this season.
“Mateo’s always been a good wrestler,” Wolverines coach Adam Hyland said. “He’s a lifer in wrestling, he loves it, he does it all the time. It’s his main and only sport, so he puts a ton of time into it, goes to all the big tournaments. He’s always been talented and always been a winner at wrestling.”
Both finalists went into their match off major decisions. Vinciguerra took Grippo down with a single leg to get the lead. He got hit with a stall point on top but didn’t let it bother him and went in for the pin.
Sophomore teammate Greyson Hyland, the coach’s son, also advanced to states as the fourth qualifier in 175 as an 8 seed. He secured his spot with an overtime decision in the wrestle-backs after losing a 3-2 decision in the semifinals, then lost to Ocean City senior Nick Layton 8-7 in the third-place match.
He is the lowest seeded 175 wrestler from all eight regions to advance to Atlantic City.
It really was a good weekend for him. He handed Layton his first loss of the season in the second round. He got up on the top seed early in the bout and literally held on to an ankle with all his might through the final seconds after Layton made his final move. In the rematch he fell behind 5-0 and fought back to make it close.
”I’ve been working hard in the season, grinding, we had a real tough practice this week, so pushing through that and seeing the results pay off was really exciting, a lot of fun,” Hyland said. “Today was a lot of fun. The semifinal match was tough, but I just stayed focused. I thought even though I lost that I could still make it to states, so I had a good mindset going into the consolation semis.
“The expectation from everyone else was this dude (him) is probably going to go 0-2, maybe 1-2, just get killed by the 1 seed, but my expectations were really high. I trained hard every day in the practice room, so to get an opportunity like that we don’t waste them.”
Now that they’re in the states, Vinciguerra has his eye on a spot on the podium. For Hyland, “we’re just going to let it fly in Atlantic City and have some fun.”
Speaking of fun, Vinciguerra’s birthday is Championship Saturday.
NJSIAA REGION 8 WRESTLING TEAM SCORES: Delsea 193.5, Camden Catholic 184.5, Washington Twp. 116, Kingsway 112, St. Augustine 100, Lower Cape May 78, Ocean City 74, Highland/Triton 60.5, Williamstown 52, Woodstown 49, Absegami 48, Timber Creek 45, Hammonton 44, Gateway/Woodbury 42, Middle Twp. 24, Clayton/Glassboro 23, Eastern 22, Egg Harbor 16, Vineland 15, Buena 10, Clearview 10, Pennsville 7, Holy Spirit 6, Pennsauken 6, Pitman 6, Deptford 4, Cedar Creek 3, Schalick/Cumberland 2, Winslow 2.
THE ROAD TO STATE (2) MATEO VINCIGUERRA, 215, Woodstown R1: Pinned (15) Ryland Angel (Kingsway), 2:36 QF: Pinned (7) Xavier Velez (Highland), 1:08 SF: Major dec. over (3) Ed Vincent (St. Augustine), 10-0 Finals: Pinned (1) Alex Grippi (Delsea), 1:52
(8) GREYSON HYLAND, 175, Woodstown R1: Bye QF: Dec. (1) Nick Layton (Ocean City), 7-5 SF: Lost to (5) Brayden Wright (Absegami), 3-2 Consy SF: Dec. (11) Joseph Leone (Kingsway), SV 3-1 3P: Lost to (1) Nick Layton (Ocean City), 8-7 Brian Tortella contributed to this report. His reports on South Jersey sports can be found on X at @tortreports
Here is the sports schedule for teams in Salem County for the week of Feb. 19-24
Monday
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Men Camden County College at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Boys Wildwood at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Girls LEAP Academy at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
BOWLING SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT Boys Quarterfinals Maple Shade at Gloucester, 3:45 p.m. Salem at Camden Catholic, Westbrook Lanes4 p.m. Doane Academy at Clayton, 4 p.m.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II TOURNAMENT Boys Quarterfinals Cinnaminson at Manchester Twp., 3 p.m. Pennsauken Tech at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Medford Tech at Overbrook, 4 p.m. Girls Quarterfinals Salem Tech at Manchester Tech, 3 p.m. Pemberton at Barnegat, 3 p.m.
Wednesday
BOWLING SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT Boys semifinals Maple Shade-Gloucester winner at Donovan Catholic, 3 p.m. Girls semifinals Salem at New Egypt, Thunderbowl Lanes, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT No. 16 Salem at No. 1 Woodbury, 5:30 p.m. No. 9 Gateway at No. 8 Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. No. 12 Penns Grove at No. 5 Palmyra, 4 p.m. No. 13 Cape May Tech at No. 4 Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. No. 14 Pitman at No. 3 Maple Shade, 5:30 p.m. No. 11 Clayton at No. 6 Audubon, 4 p.m. No. 10 Burlington City at No. 7 Glassboro, 3:30 p.m. No. 15 Paulsboro at No. 2 Wildwood, 4 p.m. Boys SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT No. 16 Burlington City at No. 1 KIPP Cooper Academy, 6 p.m. No. 9 Penns Grove at No. 8 Woodbury, 4 p.m. No. 12 LEAP Academy at No. 5 Audubon, 5:30 p.m. No. 13 Woodstown at No. 4 Wildwood, 6 p.m. No. 14 New Egypt at No. 3 Salem, 5 p.m. No. 11 Riverside at No. 6 Glassboro, 5:15 p.m. No. 10 Paulsboro at No. 7 Palmyra, 5 p.m. No. 15 Pennsville at No. 2 Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls Overbrook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
BOWLING SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II TOURNAMENT Boys semifinals Manchester Twp. at Seneca Salem Tech at Overbrook
WRESTLING Region tournaments
Saturday
BOWLING SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II TOURNAMENT Boys championship at Laurel Lanes
Woodstown district champion Hyland among 15 Salem County wrestlers advancing to region tournaments
By Riverview Sports News
Woodstown sophomore Greyson Hyland won a district championship Saturday to lead a group of 15 Salem County wrestlers from two districts advancing to region wrestling championships.
Hyland scored a 6-1 decision over Gateway/Woodbury’s Brandon Bourdon to win the 175 division in District 31. Hyland won his first two matches by major decision and decision. Bourdon pinned his first two opponents.
Woodstown advanced seven wrestlers to the regionals. Travis Balback (120), Alex Torres (132), Zach Bevis (165) and Mateo Vinciguerra (215) were district runnerups.
Schalick/Cumberland advanced five wrestlers. Daniel Lloyd (138) and Ayden Jenkins (144) were district runnerups.
Pennsville advanced two wrestlers with Sky Eppes (150) finishing second at 150.
Penns Grove’s Clinton Bobo advanced out of District 29 as runnerup in 175.
DISTRICT 31 TEAM SCORES: Delsea 287, Gateway/Woodbury 153, Schalick/Cumberland 125, Woodstown 121.5, Vineland 89, Pennsville 62, Millville 50, Buena 27, Cedar Creek 26, Gloucester Catholic 18.
REGION QUALIFIERS 106: Greyson Pettit, Delsea; Josh Kinchen, Vineland; Caleb Jenkins, Schalick/Cumberland. 113: Amari Vann, Delsea; Christian Snyder, Gateway/Woodbury; DeAnthony Harden, Schalick/Cumberland 120: Gage Summers, Delsea; Travis Balback, Woodstown; Aidan Barbato, Gateway/Cumberland. 126: Blaise Verdino, Delsea; Dante Gismondi, Gateway/Woodbury; Patrick Tull, Millville. 132: Zavier Stokes, Delsea; Alex Torres, Woodstown; Jayden Cinkowski, Vineland. 138: Chase Rossi, Gateway/Woodbury; Daniel Lloyd, Schalick/Cumberland; Matt Montalto-Summers, Delsea. 144: Michael Stokes, Delsea; Ayden Jenkins, Schalick/Cumberland; Brett Rowand, Woodstown. 150: Jamar Dixon, Delsea; Sky Eppes, Pennsville; Noah Ubil, Gateway. 157: Andres Cortes, Gateway/Woodbury; Charlie Muzzarelli, Buena; Lionel Powell, Vineland. 165: Riley Boos, Delsea; Zach Bevis, Woodstown; Donte Nocito, Gateway/Woodbury. 175: Greyson Hyland, Woodstown; Brandon Bourdon, Gateway/Woodbury; Noah Cruz, Vineland. 190: Salvatore Marchese, Delsea; Aamir Dunbar, Cedar Creek; Elias Lussi, Pennsville. 215: Alex Grippo, Delsea; Mateo Vinciguerra, Woodstown; Jayden Jones, Millville. 285: Jose Berrios, Delsea; Marcus Offer, Millville; Frank Leon-Keenan, Gloucester Catholic.
DISTRICT 29 TEAM SCORES: Washington Twp. 246, Kingsway 216, Clearview 144.5, Pennsauken 114.5, Deptford 64, Pitman 58, Clayton/Glassboro 48.5, Penns Grove 40, Lindenwold 10.
REGION QUALIFIERS 106: Jason Meola, Kingsway; Dylan Hetzel, Washington Twp.; Carter Greco, Clearview. 113: Colton Hagerty, Washington Twp.; Ryan Preziosi, Kingsway; Eoin Curran, Deptford. 120: Christian Hoopes, Washington Twp.; Lucas Silvestre, Pennsauken; Brady McCollough, Clearview. 126: Ramon Alfonso Arroyo, Kingsway; Adriano Platt, Pitman; Anthony Morales, Clearview. 132: Conrad Raynor, Clayton/Glassboro; Aiden Hardy, Washington Twp.; Andrew Jamieson, Pennsauken. 138: Michael Horn, Washington Twp.; Elijah Beatty, Clearview; Jaylen Huertas, Deptford. 144: Tommy DiPietro, Kingsway; Stephen Borrelli, Clearview; Chaz Melton, Washington Twp. 150: Chase Helder, Kingsway; Jackson Hoopes, Washington Twp.; Kole Reiss, Clearview. 157: Benjamin Dryden, Kingsway; Raymond McFall, Washington Twp.; Tyler Trovato, Clearview. 165: Cole DeNick, Kingsway; Chase Rollins, Pitman; Adrian Alqutawna, Clearview. 175: Piotr Bochenski, Washington Twp.; Clinton Bobo, Penns Grove; Joseph Leone, Kingsway. 190: Luke Van Schenk Brill, Kingsway; Christopher Lamonthe, Pennsauken; Aaron Veytsman, Clearview. 215: Andrew Osborn, Washington Twp.; Kameron Hoskins, Pennsauken; Ryland Angel, Kingsway. 285: Luciana Mazzeo, Clayton/Glassboro; Mitchell Lando, Washington Twp.; Shane Davilla, Pennsauken.
Woodstown goes down to the wire, but falls in South Jersey Group I semifinals; Pennsville falls in sectional quarters
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT At Woodstown Audubon 44, Palmyra 25 Woodstown 52, Haddon Twp. 18 Audubon 37, Woodstown 32 At Paulsboro Paulsboro 70, Pitman 4 Gloucester 60, Pennsville 16 Paulsboro 48, Gloucester 28 Championship match Wednesday Audubon at Paulsboro
OTHER MATCHES Penns Grove 42, Camden 22 Penns Grove 54, Lindenwold 18 Penns Grove 36, Riverside 21
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — In any match, no matter the time of the season ,it’s the little things that can make all the difference between in moving on to the next round of a tournament or going home disappointed. Woodstown didn’t do enough of the little things Monday night.
The Wolverines got to the semifinals of the South Jersey Group I team tournament, but failing to pick up a point here and there in key matches meant the difference in Audubon taking a 37-32 victory to derail their second-half express.
The Wolverines were 2-9 at one point in the season, but rallied in the second half of the year to become the second seed in the sectional team tournament. Five of those early matches came down to the final bout (1-4). Once they turned it around, they had won 10 of their previous 11 entering the tournament.
The Wolverines grabbed a 26-6 lead at the midpoint in the match, winning six of their first seven bouts, but even then they left points on the table. Their fortunes changed when they turned to the lighter weights, opening with back-to-back forfeits and winning only one of the last seven bouts.
The match was decided in the final bout when Audubon junior Tyler Perrozi scored a 10-2 major decision over Laitton Roberts at 144.
“We needed to pin in some areas, where at ’65 and ’75 we had them flat, close to flat, they were almost pinned, we didn’t get it,” Wolverines coach Adam Hyland said. “We get those two pins, we win by one, and we lost by five.
“Those little things are the big differences. We just didn’t come through on those pins tonight. It’s probably happened to us 10 times this year where it came down to the last match. It’s just the way it is. Sometimes you get the bull, sometimes you get the horns.”
The back-to-back forfeits were intended to keep Audubon from building any momentum, but it led the Green Wave to change its strategy and just go best-on-best the rest of the way to chase the points it missed on earlier in the match. The free points became the front end of four straight wins that gave Audubon its first lead of the match, 27-26.
Alex Torres put the Wolverines back on top when pinned Brayden Ervin in the second period at 132.
Torres got in a pickle early in his match, but he quickly turned his fortunes with the help of a headlock he’d been practicing since middle school and got his opponent on his back. It wasn’t long thereafter the Wolverines were back on top 32-27 with two matches remaining.
“When I was about to run out on the mat I was like, ‘This is going to be an important match,’ and it was,” Torres said. “So I ran out there, just giving it my best. It’s about the team at this point and I’ve got to do whatever it takes to help us.
“I had a little trouble when the kid put me to my back but all I was thinking about was I’m not going to give up and that’s when I turned the kid.”
The Green Wave retook the lead with Rocco Noce’s pin at 138, setting up the winner-take-all match at 144.
Angel Hernandez wrestled the 144 match for Woodstown in the quarterfinals, but the Wolverines have been alternating there all season and Hyland sent out Roberts against Audubon because “he does a little bit better job of not getting in danger.” Perrozi was wrestling up from his usual 138, but he was aggressive from the start and scored a dominating 10-2 decision to clinch it.
“I love it,” Perrozi said. “It’s so nervous, but it’s always the best having the last match, just coming down to it. I love the thrill of it and everything. As soon as I got the first takedown it relieved me so much.”
Audubon’s Tyler Perrozi has control over Woodstown’s Laitton Roberts in the match that decided their South Jersey Group I wrestling semifinal.
The Green Wave dedicated the victory to heavyweight Jacob Dutill, who spent Monday in the hospital after taking ill Sunday night. His teammates face-timed with him after the match to deliver the news of their victory.
“I was talking to our guys and just said our bullets have to make a bigger bang because we’re shorthanded and we went for it,” Audubon coach John Walsh said.
The Green Wave now faces top-seeded Paulsboro for the South Jersey Group I championship Wednesday.
Woodstown reached the semifinals with a dominating 52-18 win over Haddon Twp. The Wolverines established control with seven straight wins after losing the opening bout and Travis Balback clinched the victory with a decision at 120.
SJ GROUP I QUARTERFINALS WOODSTOWN 52, HADDON TWP. 18 144: Damian Shepherd (H) pinned Angel Hernandez, 5:22 150: Jayden Donahue (Wo) pinned Jaden Chanthavanh, 5:07 157: Brett Roland (Wo) pinned Antonio Reyes, 0:53 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) maj. dec. over Richard Poblano Benito, 14-5 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Joseph Sum, 0:59 190: Bradley Snitcher (Wo) pinned Elijah Borowicz, 1:36 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit 285: Andre Sinou (Wo) dec. Sean Weikel, 4-3 106: Andrew Marshall (H) pinned Chase Blandino, 1:35 113: Owen Ziegler (H) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) dec. Thomas Andrews, 5-3 126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Blake Thoder, 9-2 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Brady Monoid, 2:00 138: Willem Groom (Wo) dec. Jake Andrews, 4-2
GLOUCESTER 60, PENNSVILLE 16 285: Jeremy Smith (G) pinned Trevor Waddington, 2:54 106: Kloi Tighe (G) pinned Gina Shinn, 0:47 113: Josh Quinones (G) pinned Lucas Thomas, 1:08 120: Christopher Daniels (P) pinned Edgar Morales, 2:44 126: Mason Johnson (G) pinned Kameron Drummond, 5:09 132: John Pfeffer (G) dec. Ayden Perez, 6-1 138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Greg Harris, 2:21 144: Harry Ulmer (G) pinned Joseph Maurer, 3:20 150: Ashton Wall (G) dec. Sky Eppes, 1-0 157: Robbie McDade (P) maj. dec. over Collin Morrell, 9-1 165: Jacob Zearfoss (G) pinned Cole Campbell, 1:50 175: Jason Chiodi (G) pinned Connor Ayers, 2:48 190: Kaleb Wright (G) pinned Elias Lussi, 2:55 215: Jaden Thompson (G) pinned Daniel Emmons, 4:33
SJ GROUP I SEMIFINALS AUDUBON 37, WOODSTOWN 32 150: Jayden Donahue (Wo) dec. Giovanni Patti, 7-4 157: Brett Rowand (Wo) won by forfeit 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) maj. dec. over David Borodziuk, 13-1 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) maj. dec. over Gabriel McCracken, 9-1 190: Christian Burton (A) pinned Bradley Snitcher, 0:32 215: Andre Sinou (Wo) pinned Syncere Faulk, 0:59 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) dec. Sam Myers, 6-1 106: Rocco Monteferrante (A) won by forfeit 113: Nicholas Sassany (A) won by forfeit 120: Lucas Stinger (A) dec. Travis Balback, 11-5 126: Blaise LaFrance (A) pinned Carson Bradway, 2:40 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Brayden Ervin, 2:54 138: Rocco Noce (A) pinned Willem Groom, 1:53 144: Tyler Perrozi (A) maj. dec. over Laitton Roberts, 10-2
Woodstown 120 Travis Balback gets Haddon Twp.’s Thomas Andrews on his head in the bout that clinched the Wolverines’ victory in the South Jersey Group I wrestling quarterfinals.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 5-11
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Gloucester City, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Kingsway, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Maple Shade, 5:30 p.m. Boys Gloucester City at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Maple Shade at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Williamstown, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING South Jersey Group I Tournament At Woodstown Audubon vs. Palmyra, 6 p.m. Haddon Twp. at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Audubon-Palmyra winner vs. Haddon Twp.-Woodstown winner, 7 p.m. At Paulsboro Pitman at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville vs. Gloucester, 5:30 p.m. Pitman-Paulsboro winner vs. Pennsville-Gloucester winner, 7 p.m.
Penns Grove, Camden, Riverside at Lindenwold, 4 p.m. Schalick at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.
SWIMMING NJSIAA Playoffs Schalick vs. Barnegat at St. Francis Community Center, 4:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Cape May Co. Tech at GCIT, 6:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Salem at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island, N.Y., 5 p.m.
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Boys Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5 p.m. Glassboro at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Salem CC at Bucks County CC, 5 p.m. Men Montgomery County CC at Salem CC, 7 p.m.
BOWLING TCC Showcase at 30 Strikes, 4 p.m.
SWIMMING Schalick at West Deptford, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday
BASKETBALL Girls Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
WRESTLING Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 5 p.m. Pitman at Schalick, 5 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m.
SWIMMING Schalick at Camden Academy Charter, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Pitman, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Boys Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Clayton at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Overbrook at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Washington Twp., 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Pitman, 7 p.m.
SWIMMING South Jersey Group C Tournament Schalick at Middle Twp. Woodstown at Oakcrest
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pleasantville at Salem, 5 p.m. Cape May Co. Tech at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Millville at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Lower Cape May, 5:30 p.m. Boys Buena at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Cape May Co. Tech, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Woodstown at Delran, 6 p.m.
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls South Jersey Invitational Tournament at Eastern Regional HS Woodstown vs. Williamstown, 8 p.m. Boys Bridgeton at Salem, 12:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Salem CC at Lackawanna College, 1 p.m. Men Harrisburg Area CC at Salem CC, noon
WRESTLING Schalick, Burlington Twp., Cherry Hill-West at Maple Shade, 8 a.m. Pennsville, Cedar Creek, Delran at Hightstown, 10 a.m. Salem, Mainland, Timber Creek at Pennsauken, 10 a.m.
Friday roundup: Balback’s pin lifts Woodstown to Diamond Division wrestling crown; also, indoor track sectionals
By Riverview Sports News
SICKLERVILLE – The Woodstown wrestling team went hunting a division title Friday night and it went down to the wire.
Travis Balback’s first-period pin at 120 gave the streaking Wolverines a 42-34 win over Timber Creek for the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Balback pinned Matthew Steele in 1:52.
The Wolverines, who host half the bracket in the South Jersey Group I tournament Monday, are now 11-10. They were 2-9 at one point this season.
Both teams were 3-0 in the Diamond Division going into the match.
The teams traded bouts early in the match. Three straight pins by Brett Rowand (157), Zach Bevis (165) and Greyson Hyland (175) gave the Wolverines a 30-10 lead. A pin by Mateo Vinciguerra at 215 pushed the lead to 36-16, then Timber Creek won three straight bouts (285-106-113) to set the stage for the winner-take-all bout at 120.
All Balback had to do was not lose and the Wolverines would wear the crown, and he took care of business.
WOODSTOWN 42, TIMBER CREEK 34 126: Devin Karge (T) dec. Carson Bradway, 5-2 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Josh Wolfenden, 1:22 138: Joey Walker (T) dec. Willem Groom, SV 4-2 144: Laitton Roberts (Wo) pinned Eric Rambaran, 2:00 150: Ryan Kuriger (T) maj. dec. over Zayden Donahue, 13-4 157: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Gavin Bates, 3:13 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Zyeir Green, 1:02 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo( pinned Elijah Green, 5:49 190: Amir Reason-Dallas (T) pinned Karsten Hantho, 1:42 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Josh Bartell, 1:38 285: Jayson Ross (T) pinned Andre Sinou, 0:27 106: Ryan Pancoast (T) pinned Chase Blandino, 3:58 113: Dominic Speakman (T) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Matthew Steele, 1:52. Records: Woodstown 11-10, Timber Creek 10-8.
OTHER MATCHES SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 44, ABSEGAMI 33 106: Liam Kisby (A) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 4:19 113: DeAnthony Harden (SC) pinned Rafael Estrada-Perez, 2:40 120: Luke Silva (SC) dec. Tristan Brown, 4-0 126: Chase Williams (SC) pinned Michael Famelio, 3:25 132: Aiden Torres (A) pinned Colin Bittle, 4:22 138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Brendan Ross, 0:19 144: Ayden Jenkins (SC) won by forfeit 150: Christopher Eaton (A) pinned Michael Carastro, 0:31 157: Ibn Russell (A) dec. Riley Papiano, 1-0 165: Sebron Hall-Jones (SC) won by forfeit 175: Julian Rivera (A) pinned Jake Magonagle, 0:40 190: Brayden Wright (A) won by forfeit 215: Evan Elliott (SC) pinned Mason Tharp, 1:42 285: Noval Jenkins (SC) pinned Brandon Miller, 0:43 Schalick had 1 team point deduction (taunting 285).
BURLINGTON TWP. 37, PENNSVILLE 34 215: Messiah Malik (B) pinned Daniel Emmons, 0:12 285: Trevor Waddington (P) won by forfeit 106: Gina Shinn (P) won by forfeit 113: Xavier Moy (B) pinned Lucas Thomas, 3:58 120: Christopher Daniels (P) pinned Jacob Palentchar, 1:15 126: Kaiem Uthman (B) maj. dec. over Kameron Drummond, 20-9 132: Gabriel Supernavage (P) pinned Lucas Rush, 0:29 138: Anthony Cook (B) pinned Maddox Efelis, 0:51 144: Travis Hagan (P) dec. Nicholas Davis, SV 7-5 150: Logan Kahrs (B) dec. Sky Eppes, 9-3 157: Robbie McDade (P) maj. dec. over Dominick Saulle, 12-4 165: Eric Salazar-Hernandez (B) pinned Cole Campbell, 4:45 175: Connor Ayars (P) dec. Dylan Zerillo, 5-1 190: Jacob Davis (B) pinned Justin Oldaker, 1:48
PITMAN 42, PENNS GROVE 26 113: Skylar Nicola (P) won by forfeit 120: Double forfeit 126: Adriano Platt (P) pinned Devine Arce, 4:18 132: Adam Gonzales (PG) pinned Justin Evans, 3:18 138: Jacob Lawrence (P) pinned Raeed Clark, 0:56 144: Chris McIntyre (P) won by forfeit 150: Jonathan Bruno (P) pinned Jayden Owens, 1:55 157: Tre Brown (PG) maj. dec. over Robert Graves, 11-0 165: Chase Rollins (P) pinned Antonio Garris, 0:55 175: Dwayne Guzman (PG) won by forfeit 190: Clinton Bobo (PG) maj. dec. over Dominic Saffioti, 18-5 215: Isaiah Upshur (PG) won by forfeit 285: Aiden Milward (P) pinned Antonio Cooper, 3:49 106: Double forfeit
PENNS GROVE 54, SALEM 6 150: Jayden Owens (PG) pinned Gabrielle Johnson, 0:55 165: Antonio Garris (PG) pinned Jajuan Anderson, 3:09 Penns Grove won by forfeit at 126, 132, 138, 157, 175, 190, 215. Salem won by forfeit at 285.
PITMAN 60, SALEM 6 150: Jonathan Bruno (P) pinned Gabrielle Johnson, 0:36 157: Robert Graves (P) pinned Jahquan Gooden, 0:51 285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) pinned Nicholas Horner, 0:31 Pitman won by forfeit at 106, 126, 132, 138, 144, 165, 190, 215.
Indoor Track
TOMS RIVER – Salem County produced four sectional champions, two runner-ups and qualified 18 individuals and four relays to state across 10 events at Friday’s South Jersey Group I indoor track championship at The Bubble.
All four champions came from the girls side. Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield swept the 1600 and 3200 meter races. Salem’s Anna Buzby won the 800 and Karima Davenport-White won the 55 hurdles.
Salem’s Dominique Lewis placed second in the girls shot put and Woodstown’s Cole Lucas was runner-up in the boys 800.
Salem finished third in the girls standings with 49 points. Schalick was fifth, Woodstown eighth, Penns Grove T-10 and Pennsville T-12. On the boys side, Schalick was sixth, Salem seventh, Woodstown tenth and Penns Grove T-11.
The complete list of Salem County qualifiers to state are posted below:
GROUP I GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Audubon 72, Clayton 59, Salem 49, Haddon Twp. 43, Schalick 22, Glassboro 15, Woodbury 15, Woodstown 12, KIPP Norcross 8, Bordentown 4, Penns Grove 2, Pennsville 2, Gateway 2, Linewold 2, Buena 1.
SALEM Anna Buzby: 3. 400 (1:01.84); 1. 800 (2:22.30); 4. Pole vault (8-0) Karima Davenport-White: 1. 55 hurdles (8.98); 6. 55 dash (7.76) Sairis Jiminez: 5. 55 hurdles (10.04) Dominique Lewis: 2. Shot put (34-10) 2. 4×400 Relay (4:22.25)
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 3; SJIBT Elite 8, four county basketball players could reach 1,000-point milestone among this week’s highlights
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Delran, 6:30 p.m. Boys Penns Grove at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Gateway, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Schalick vs. TBA, Toms River
SWIMMING Salem vs. Woodstown at GCIT, 8:15 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Kingsway, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at West Deptford, 4 p.m.
WRESTLING Deptford Twp. at Schalick, 5 p.m.
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Boys Schalick at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Salem, 7 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Men CC of Philadelphia at Salem CC, 6 p.m. Women Salem CC at Harcum College, 5 p.m.
BOWLING Salem Tech at Lindenwold, 4 p.m.
Wednesday
WRESTLING Cumberland at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville, Glassboro at Clayton, 6 p.m.
SWIMMING Tri-County Conference Showcase at GCIT, 3 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Schalick at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Boys Clayton at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Glassboro at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 5 p.m. Men Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 7 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Hammonton, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Kingsway, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls St. Joe (Hamm.) at Salem Tech, 5 p.m. Gateway at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Boys Salem Tech at Riverside, 5:15 p.m. Schalick at Gateway, 5:30 p.m. West Deptford at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Salem, Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Timber Creek, 5 p.m. Pennsville at Burlington Twp., 6 p.m. Schalick at Absegami, 6 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK NJSIAA Sectionals, Toms River
SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights at Giant Fitness, 6 p.m.
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls Pennsville at West Deptford, 11:30 a.m.
South Jersey Invitational Tournament at Eastern HS Paul VI vs. Timber Creek, 5:45 p.m. Woodstown vs. Cherokee, 7:30 p.m.
Boys Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 11:30 a.m. Salem vs. Paulsboro at Atlantic City, 6:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Raritan Valley CC at Salem CC, noon Men Salem CC at Luzerne County CC, noon
WRESTLING Bordentown, Vineland at Penns Grove, 9 a.m. Clearview, Hammonton, Central Regional at Pennsville, 10 a.m. Woodstown, Lacey, Pennsauken at Burlington Twp., 10 a.m.
Here is a complete look at Saturday’s sports action in Salem County, includes basketball, wrestling, track; will be updated throughout the day
Wrestling
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown’s impressive second-half turnaround continued Saturday morning as the Wolverines won three dual matches to get back to .500 for the season and put themselves in a position to host part of the first two rounds of the South Jersey Group I tournament.
In their last three matches before Saturday’s state cutoff, the Wolverines dominated Clayton/Glassboro 51-13, Penns Grove 54-18 and Millville 57-18, running their winning streak to seven in a row.
They are now back to .500 for the season, 10-10. At one point they were 2-9.
They started the day T-2 with Audubon in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, but were the virtual No. 2 having beaten the Green Wave head-to-head in one of their early-season victories. If it holds through the calculations of the other Saturday matches, as the No. 2 seed they will host 7, 3 and 6 when the tournament opens Feb. 5.
Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra pinned at 215 to clinch the Wolverines’ win over Millville, locking up a 3-0 sweep of the day and the presumptive No. 2 seed. Paulsboro currently holds the No. 1 spot.
With the best information currently available, Woodstown would host Haddon Twp. and No. 3 Audubon vs. No. 6 Palmyra. The other side of the bracket at Paulsboro projects No. 5 Pennsville vs. No. 4 Gloucester and No. 8 Pitman vs. Paulsboro. The seeds become official Monday.
In the Group IV bracket, Schalick/Cumberland is projected No. 7.
WOODSTOWN 51, CLAYTON/GLASSBORO 13 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned William Camp, 1:02 138: Conrad Raynor (CG) maj. dec. over Willem Groom, 11-2 144: Shawn McKellick (CG) pinned Angel Hernandez, 1:24 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Sam Raynor, 0:56 157: Zayden Donahue (Wo) dec. Brodie Carey, 3-1 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Colby Carr, 3:26 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Jamal Brown, 0:41 190: Karsten Hantho (Wo) dec. Jeffrey Smith, 11-6 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit 285: Luciano Mazzeo (CG) dec. Andre Sinou, 5-0 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Double forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Ryan Bivens, 1:13 126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Ryan McKellick, 5-2
WOODSTOWN 54, PENNS GROVE 18 126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Devine Arce, 7-0 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Raeed Clark, 1:03 138: Willem Groom (Wo) won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (PG) pinned Angel Hernandez, 2:53 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) dec. Anthony Brown, 12-8 157: Jayden Owens (PG) pinned Zayden Donahue, 0:16 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Antonio Garris, 1:39 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Clinton Bobo, 3:04 190: Isaiah Underwood (PG) pinned Karsten Hantho, 1:41 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Sumir Brown, 0:44 285: Andre Sinou (Wo) pinned Antonio Cooper, 0:29 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Double forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) won by forfeit
WOODSTOWN 57, MILLVILLE 18 138: Willem Groom (Wo) pinned Marzine Johnson, 2:25 144: Laitton Roberts (Wo) pinned Alexander Mendez, 2:41 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Jacob Jones, 4:59 157: Zayden Donahue (Wo) pinned Ryan Tepper, 2:39 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Marquis Allen, 5:51 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Trystan Brooks, 2:59 190: Xavier McBride (M) dec. Karsten Hantho, 7-0 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Jayden Jones, 2:23 285: Marcus Offer (M) dec. Andre Sinou, 1-0 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Vincent Devita (M) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) dec. John Roman, 8-1 126: Patrick Tull (M) pinned Carson Bradway, 0:38 132: Alex Torres (Wo) won by forfeit Records: Woodstown 10-10
MILLVILLE 60, PENNS GROVE 15 132: Patrick Tull (M) pinned Raeed Clark, 1:25 138: Marzine Johnson (M) won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (P) dec. Alexander Mendez, 9-6 150: Tre Brown (P) pinned Jacob Jones, 1:27 157: Jayden Owens (P) pinned Ryan Tepper, 0:52 165: Marquis Allen (M) pinned Antonio Garris, 4:43 175: Trystan Brooks (M) pinned Clinton Bobo, 3:00 190: Xavier McBride (M) pinned Isaiah Upshur, 0:43 215: Jayden Jones (M) pinned Isaiah Underwood, 1:24 285: Marcus Offer (M) won by forfeit 106: Double forfeit 113: Vincent Devita (M) won by forfeit 120: Caleb Rhodes (M) won by forfeit 126: Josh Roman (M) pinned Devine Arce, 5:29
SC Wrestling Quad
VINELAND 47, SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 28 175: Noah Cruz (V) pinned Eric Sulik, 1:31 190: Gabriel Rodriguez (SC) pinned Zach Echevarria, 1:28 215: Gavin Gallo (V) pinned Dean Jost, 1:30 285: Donny St. Jean (V) dec. Noval Jenkins, UTB 3-2 106: Dentin Pickett (V) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 1:05 113: Josh Kinchen (V) maj. dec. over DeAnthony Harden, 13-4 120: Luke Silva (SC) pinned Chad Score, 0:37 126: Leland Minkowski (V) pinned Chase Williams, 4:50 132: Jayden Minkowski (V) pinned Ryan Miller, 2:56 138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Everett Cronk, 0:33 144: Ayden Jenkins (SC) pinned Alejandro Calderon, 4:41 150: Riley Papiano (SC) maj. dec. over Caden Barnes, 12-3 157: Lionel Powell (V) maj. dec. Anthony Deaver, 13-2 165: Matt Torres (V) over Jake Magonagle, injury
RUNNEMEDE – Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky has never really been a big fan of these Saturday matinee games and now he has more reason to dislike them.
The Eagles went on the road and lost to Triton Regional 63-42. They have lost their last eight Saturday games going back to the 2020-21 season.
They were up by one at halftime in this one, but the Mustangs erupted for six 3-pointers and outscored them 30-8 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Triton speared 11 3s in the game, seven in the second half. Jayon Sanders-Cash (19 points) hit all three of his 3s in the quarter, Justice Avery (15) had two of his five, and Richie Kosma had the other.
It was a costly loss for the Eagles (6-10). Post Danny Saulin is facing a two-game suspension for a flagrant foul in the game and possibly more internally. The Mustangs also held Eagles 1,000-point junior Luke Wood to only four points – all in the fourth quarter.
Malik Rehmer led Pennsville with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds. Saulin went out with five points and nine rebounds.
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Lis, Johnson, Siedlecki, Na. Sutton); Camden Tech 1 (Ojeda). NOTES: The Warriors staged a fourth-quarter comeback. Schalick enjoyed a 20-point first quarter and then “we just lost ourselves,” coach James Turner said. It was the Cougars’ third straight loss after their win in the Wells Fargo Center, all without guard Reggie Allen in the lineup after receiving stitches for a cut above his left eye he suffered late in that game.
Girls games
WOODBURY 71, PENNS GROVE 48: The Thundering Herd took control of the game in the first half and put four scorers in double figures. Janessa Robinson led the winners with 18 points. Penns Grove’s Meely Horace led all scorers with 21 points and moved to within 72 of 1,000 for her career.
Salem County has the real possibility of four players reaching the 1,000-point milestone this week.
Notes: The Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter and had three shots around the rim in the closing seconds that didn’t fall.
SJIBT Elite Eight
Woodstown learned the identity of the final two teams joining it at Eastern High School for the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament. When Timber Ridge and Cinnaminson won Saturday morning, the Elite Eight was set. The tournament committee met Saturday to reseed the field.
The eight teams in order of seeds are Paul IV (11-4), Cherokee (11-5), Moorestown (14-3), Cinnaminson (14-5), Williamstown (11-4), Gloucester Catholic (11-4), Woodstown (11-3) and Timber Creek (10-7).
The Wolverines will play Cherokee Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Top-seeded Paul VI plays Timber Creek at 5:30. The Final Four games are Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15. The consolation game is Super Bowl Sunday at 1 p.m. with the championship game at 3.
Indoor Track
TOMS RIVER – The Salem girls led the Salem County contingent at the Tri-County Conference Indoor Track Showcase at the Bennett Complex Bubble Friday.
Led by Anna Buzby, the Rams fiished fifth in the girls standings with 28 points. Buzby won the pole vault (8-0), finished third in the 800 (2:24.82), sixth in the 400 (1:01.14) and ran the lead leg on the third-place 4×400 relay team (4:22.57).
Buzby was joined on the relay by Karima Davenport-White, Rhionna Timmons and Sairis Jiminez. Timmons scored with a sixth-place finish in the 55 dash (7.62) and Dominique Lewis was fourth in the shot put (36-11.5).
Woodstown and Pennsville tied for 11th with two points. Woodstown’s 4×400 relay team of Kayla Ayars, Sarah Seiden, Arie Still and Jaime Deal finished fifth (4:27.66) and Pennsville’s Megan Morris was fifth in pole vault (7-6).
Penns Grove’s boys 4×400 relay of Kylee Goodson, Theus Berios, Jared Ortiz and Knowledge Young was fifth in its race (3:39.85).
Riverview Sports News 