The bright lights and big stage of Atlantic City are waiting for a half dozen wrestlers and now those wrestlers know which opponents are also awaiting.
The NJSIAA’s seeding committee held a meeting Monday morning in Robbinsville to decide what the brackets will look like for this weekend’s State Wrestling Tournament in Atlantic City.
The Chargers’ Brandon Keller (32-5) is the highest seed of the Timber Creek group, earning a No. 2 seed in the bottom bracket at 132. He will face No. 7 seed Brian McCrystal (34-4), of Bishop Ahr. At 170, Robert Shade (34-3) is a No. 5 seed in the top bracket and will face No. 4 Joey Balboni (31-5), of Brearley.
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Robert’s brother Bryce (32-5) drew one slot lower and will be a No. 6 seed in the bottom bracket of 152. He will face the winner of No. 3 seed Dillon Artigliere (34-1), of Roxbury, vs. Dylan More (30-6), of St. Joseph.
One of the more intriguing matches comes at 106 where Timber Creek’s John Amato (16-3) is a No. 5 seed in the top bracket and will take on a familiar face in No. 4 seed Tyler McBride, of Camden Catholic. The two met on January 23, with McBride (33-4) pulling out a 3-1 win.
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Rickey Cater (28-9), who fell to Buena’s Billy Ward in the 120 Region 8 final Saturday, was slotted as a No. 3 seed in the top bracket. He will face Anthony Rosamilia, of Bishop Ahr. The winner of that match will face No. 6 seed Joe Cruz (31-1), of Hopatcong. Although Cruz is seeded lower, he received the bye by virtue of being a region champ.
Dom Ruggierio, who took third at regions at 145, is unseeded and will face No. 2 Corey Stasennko (South Plainfield, 39-1) in the bottom bracket.
Please note that while the brackets are titled “top” and “bottom,” those titles do not represent a talent gap. The eight region champions were seeded and then placed in the appropriate brackets. Region winners who were seeded 1, 4, 5 and 8 were placed in the top bracket while seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 were placed in the bottom bracket. All region champions got a bye into the pre-quarterfinals.
For a complete look at the state brackets, click here.
