Glover, Byrne also headed to state tournament this weekend in Atlantic City
WILLIAMSTOWN — The Caper Tigers can boast a pair of Region 8 wrestling champions in Tristan Rosemeyer and Chase Hansen, who earned his fourth straight title.
The Lower Cape May Regional High School wrestling team also had other place finishers at the tournament March 6-7 at Williamstown High School who will go on to compete at the state tournament in Atlantic City this coming weekend.
Hansen won his fourth Region 8 title and is closing in on the state record for victories and pins for a high school wrestler, having topped the win list for South Jersey wrestlers the week before at the District 32 tournament.
Hansen now has 174 wins and 114 pins. The current state record-holder is Bound Brook’s Andrew Campolattano, who graduated 15 years ago with 175 wins and 116 pins.
Hansen will have his shot at both records when he competes at his fourth consecutive state championship meet.
Tristan Rosemeyer won his second straight Region 8 title last weekend during the tournament at Williamstown High School, where he wrestled before transferring to Lower Cape May Regional High School.
Rosemeyer, a sophomore who transferred from Williamstown High School, had a close call in the 113-pound semifinal round of the tournament, winning by tiebreaker 3-1 over Nick Banos. He earned a bye in the first round and pinned Michael Lloyd in 3:39 in the quarterfinals.
In the finals, he won by a 4-1 decision over Evan Villecco.
This was his second Region 8 crown. Rosemeyer won his first as a freshman at Williamstown last year in the 106-pound class.
After a bye in the first round in the 138-pound division, Hansen earned pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals to make his way to the championship round.
He pinned Richard Garden in 1:02 and then Ryan Preziosi in 3:47 in the semifinals.
In the finals, he beat Amari Vann in a 10-4 decision. Vann is ranked third in the state; Hansen is No. 2.
Wrestlebacks
Other Cape Tigers punched their tickets to the state tournament with their finishes at regions.
Eli Glover, at 132 pounds, and Daniel Byrne, at 157, lost in the quarterfinals but both made it through wrestlebacks to finish third in Region 8.
Glover won a 7-1 decision over Ocean City’s Wyatt Tolson and Byrne pinned Clearview’s Elijah Beatty in 3:19 for their medal-winning finishes.
Glover had a bye in the first round of the tournament but was pinned just before the end of regulation in the quarterfinals to send him to the consolations. He won his first consolation bout by technical fall, 22-6, and then earned a pin in 4:30 to make it to his bout for third place.
Byrne won his opening match by technical fall, 18-3, in a time of 3:53, but was pinned late in regulation in the quarterfinals. In consolations, he earned a pair of major decisions, 13-5 and 19-8, to put himself in position for his third-place finish.
LCMR’s Shane Morrell finished in fourth place overall at 175 pounds, losing 4-1 in the consolation bout for third place.
Morrell had a bye in the first round of the tournament but got sent to the consolations after losing by a 32-second pin in the quarterfinals to Nicholas Daddona. Morrell won his next two matches in the wrestlebacks, earning an 11-2 major decision then a narrow 9-8 decision. He faced Daddona again in his final bout.
Billy Whitney won his opening match at 144 pounds by major decision, 14-6, then lost in the quarterfinals by another major decision, 14-6.
Whitney won his first consolation bout 8-2, but lost the next by technical fall, 19-2. He finished fifth overall in the wrestlebacks by winning 18-9 in his final bout.
David Douglass, at 190 pounds, pinned his opponent in 1:21 to take fifth place overall.
After a bye in the first round, Douglass lost a close 6-5 decision in the quarterfinals, sending him to consolations. He won his first wrestleback by pin then lost by a decision before his last match, which he won for fifth place.
At 285, John Hearon had a bye in his tournament opener then won a 4-2 decision. He was pinned quickly in the semifinals then got a bye in the consolations. He then lost by a tie-breaker before getting his final win via forfeit for fifth place.
The state championships are this weekend in Atlantic City.
By DAVID NAHAN/Cape May Star and Wave
