Brandon Keller to Wrestle for State Title

wrestler Brandon Keller is one victory away from accomplishing his goal of standing alone atop New Jersey's 132-pound weight class.

Keller, who has spoken all season about wrestling for a state title, will get that chance today in Atlantic City after winning a pair of matches at the State Wrestling Tournament on Saturday.

Keller, a No. 2 seed, found himself with a semifinal matchup with Connor Melde of Bergen Catholic, who was the No. 1 seed in the bottom group. The first period saw the two wrestlers feel each other out and ended scoreless. Melde (29-5) started the second period on the bottom and managed an escape to take the 1-0 advantage. The lead was short-lived as Keller responded with a takedown to take a 2-1 lead after two periods.

Keller added a third point in the third when he recorded an escape and was able to keep from being taken down for the remainder of the matchup to punch his ticket to the state finals. Once the horn sounded to end the match Keller leaped into the waiting arms of Timber Creek head coach Nick Cottone.

You can watch the video of Keller's semifinal match at NJ.com.

Keller will face Scott DelVecchio of South Plainfield in the finals. Keller and DelVecchio are hardly strangers. The seasoned grapplers met last month in the team state semifinals with DelVecchio getting the better of Keller, 5-1. DelVecchio entered the tournament 40-0 and has been considered by many media outlets as the favorite to take the 132-pound state title.

Before Keller could advance to the finals, he had to take care of business in the quarterfinals against Katon Washington of Montclair. The match saw another scoreless first period, but Keller came out strong in the second, scoring an escape and takedown to grab a 3-0 advantage. Keller made his position on top count, as he pushed Washington’s shoulders towards the mat to get a three-point near-fall.

The match was then delayed by a nosebleed from Keller, a problem that dates back to the Region 8 Tournament and came up again in Keller’s semifinal match. Despite the blood, Keller persevered and recorded a 6-1 win.

While Keller was the clear star for Timber Creek, a couple of other Chargers did well in wrestlebacks. Ricky Carter started his day with a loss in the quarterfinals, but responded by winning two matches to remain in contention for third place. Carter's second consolation win came against North Bergen’s Anthony Giraldo, who had reached the semifinals, but dropped two-straight matches to meet his elimination.

Shade nearly joined Carter in a third-place match, but fell to Anthony Pafumi, of St. Peter’s Prep, 1-0, in the semifinal round of wrestlebacks.

Bryce Shade and John Amato—who lost in Friday’s pre-quarterfinals—fell in the first round of wrestlebacks, ending their respective seasons.

The consolation rounds begin, today, at 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 2 p.m.