WRESTLING: Swartley takes Region 7 heavyweight title
- Cinnaminson's Swartley makes it three region titles in a row
- Holy Cross' Avery DiNardi, Seneca's Joe Manchio also accomplish the feat
- Joey Perez and Anthony Croce, longtime pals, wrestled a classic at 132
- Anthony Duca earned MOW for powerful weekend performance
TOMS RIVER - With his body mere inches from line, Lorenzo Hernandez did his best to move out of bounds.
Eventually, the Cherry Hill West heavyweight did, but the damage had been done. His opponent let enough time melt off in the second tiebreaker stanza for the point to become moot.
Size, strength and stubbornness. That mighty grip came as a demonstration of all three and it’s why Cinnaminson’s Keith Swartley stood a three-time Region 7 champion here at Pine Belt Arena on Saturday.
The achievement’s a first in school history for the Pirates.
“It means a lot to me but it’s not on my mind right now,” Swartley said afterward. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to repeat with district and region titles. Now, I have nothing to lose and a lot to prove.”
Moments after the rematch of the District 26 final, the two embraced.
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After the routine podium photo op, Swartley asked Hernandez if they could figure out a way to spar this week prior to the state tournament in Atlantic City.
“Wanted to see if he wants a practice partner,” the still-unbeaten Swartley at 32-0 said. “It would be a good option for the both of us.”
That’s because stylistically, the pair are threads from different spools.
Swartley’s brutish, deliberate movement can be near impossible to counter. No opponent in the past two years has earned a takedown against the Cinnaminson star.
Hernandez (35-3), the Courier-Post Defensive Player of the Year as a defensive lineman for the Lions' football team, took to the sport roughly two years ago. He's around 230 pounds while his counterpart weighed in closer to 260.
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“He’s definitely improved a lot; that was demonstrated on the mat,” Swartley said. “He made it to the freaking region finals. I’m lucky to be the one that stands on top of the podium tonight.”
The upper weights met last year in the region quarterfinals. In the toughest South Jersey bracket, they squared off again for first place.
“I’m disappointed and if I’d have lost to anyone else, I’d be mad as whatever,” Hernandez said. “To go into overtime with him and give him competition, I can’t be mad at that.”
They share more in common than just a division or past bouts.
Hernandez, who will play football at Villanova next season, got his first college offer on the gridiron from Justin Embler while he coached at Sacred Heart University.
On Saturday, Swartley broke Embler’s record for wins by a Pirate. Sunday, he broke a tie for most regional crowns.
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“I’ll claim that title for Keith, he’s the best heavyweight in South Jersey” Cinnaminson coach Michael McConnell said. “He’s the only (active) one to have three regional titles in a row.
“That counts for something.”
Swartley wasn’t the only Burlington County grappler to make it three in a row.
Holy Cross 152-pounder Avery DiNardi (25-3) did it when he topped Haddonfield’s Chris Bolletino (37-2) with a takedown in sudden victory, 3-1.
Seneca’s Joe Manchio (38-1) also accomplished the feat with a 14-3 major decision against Cherokee’s Collin Wickramaratna (34-4) at 113.
Drew Bowker of Rancocas Valley (38-3) got his first top placement on this stage with a 6-4 victory against Patrick O’Connell, the Toms River North 170-pounder.
Old friends meet again
In the last 20 seconds of a tied bout at 132 pounds. Camden Catholic’s Anthony Croce got a hold of Joey Perez’s foot and wouldn’t release.
The Red Raider couldn’t shake loose. A takedown and three back points gave Croce the title with an 11-6 decision.
“I was holding on pretty hard,” Croce said of the grasp. “With all my life.”
Difficulty of the matchup went far beyond the mat. It clearly showed after Perez walked across the arena floor and met with Croce and his family to exchange hugs and congratulations.
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The two were best friends through middle school.
“It’s kind of hard,” Perez said. “We’ve known each other so long but when you go to different schools, it kind of changes.
“It’s difficult wrestling your friend. He got way longer than I remember though. Every time he got on my legs I tried to keep moving and that’s something I didn’t do at the end. He finished his shot. That was the difference.”
Swarmed by coaches and teammates after the victory, Croce showed little emotion towards his first region crown.
“I don’t like celebrating very much,” he said.
Lucas Revano (39-2), the fellow Irish champ at 120 pounds with a 6-0 win against Shawnee’s Matt Higgins (30-6), marveled at the finish.
“That’s a Paulsboro kid versus a Paulsboro kid,” Revano said. “That was a long-awaited match. I’m so happy for him.”
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Croce said he’d never imagined a time when he’d see Perez on the mat with such high stakes due to the two schools’ alignment in separate regions before this season.
He added that many of the Red Raiders are longtime friends.
“I would hope they’d never turn their backs on me,” Croce said. “Because I’d never turn my back on them.”
Duca gets top honor
Paulsboro didn’t miss out on titles at 160 or 126 pounds. Santino Morina (36-5) and Anthony Duca conquered those classes, respectively.
Duca’s freight-train performance of two pins and a 20-3 technical fall in the championship against Cherokee’s Ryan Manahan (35-2) earned him a well-deserved Most Outstanding Wrestler plaque.
West Deptford 138-pounder Dylan Fischer (35-3) added another Colonial Conference man atop a weight class with his 51-second deck in the final.
Gloucester’s Tom McConnell earned Coach of the Year for the region and Mike Anderson of Collingswood got Assistant Coach of the Year.
The Panthers also took home hardware with Michael Taulane’s three-pin journey through the 195 bracket, capped by a deck in 2:24 of Pemberton’s Alex Cawley.
It marked his second consecutive Region 7 crown.
Taulane improved to 34-1. He finished the championship round the same way another local one-loss grappler opened it.
Pennsauken 220-pounder James Thompson (35-1) became the first South Jersey winner of the tournament with a 4-3 decision over Jackson’s David Lemay.
Mark Trible; (856) 486-2424; mtrible@gannettnj.com