Weiss wins state wrestling title

It was a very memorable weekend in Atlantic City for Paige Weiss of Sparta High School and Carson Walsh of Pope John XXIII Regional High School.

Weiss captured the 100-pound championship at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Girls Wrestling Tournament finals Saturday afternoon, March 4.

Walsh reached the semifinal round of the 126-pound bracket, then earned a fifth-place finish at Boardwalk Hall.

Weiss, a freshman, had reached the finals Feb. 26, when the first three rounds of the girls state tournament were held at Phillipsburg High School. The finals were held at center mat at Boardwalk Hall.

Weiss, the second seed, met top-seeded senior Theresa Zeppetelli of Bogota/Ridgefield Park in the finals and immediately went to work in the first period.

She scored a takedown and added three back points to take a 5-0 lead with 45 seconds remaining in the opening period. She nearly scored a fall over Zeppetelli, who had pinned her in the region final in January.

Zeppetelli mounted a rally in the second period and cut her deficit to 6-4 heading to the final period. Weiss was cut loose to start the final period and held a 7-4 lead before Zeppetelli got a takedown with 34 seconds remaining.

Weiss (19-3) furiously fought off an attempt by Zeppetelli to get her on her back as time ticked down to :00 to give Sparta its first state wrestling champion since 1983.

On Feb. 26, Weiss pinned 15th-seeded Rihanna Allas of Warren Hills in 1:16 in the first round of the state tournament before earning a 4-0 victory over Kloi Tighe of Gloucester, 4-0, in the quarterfinal round.

She then pinned third-seeded Isabella Santos of Elizabeth in 4:33 in the semifinal round to reach the finals in her first varsity season.

Second appearance

Walsh, a sophomore, is becoming very familiar with being on the big stage at Boardwalk Hall.

A year ago, he began his varsity career at 113 pounds and reached the semifinal round before placing sixth in that weight class to cap a 26-9 season.

This season, Walsh, a District 3 and Region 1 champion, was seeded first for the 126-pound state bracket.

He defeated Noah Fontana of Mainland, 17-5, in the preliminary round and edged Anthony Depaul of St. Augustine, 3-1, in overtime in the pre-quarterfinal round. He then earned a 10-2 decision over Michael Campanaro of West Morris in the quarters.

Walsh suffered a 6-1 loss in the semifinals to Roxbury’s Luke Stanich, who ended up winning the 126-pound crown.

Walsh was edged in a wrestleback semifinal, 5-4, in a tie-breaker by Southern’s Conor Collins. He defeated Nathan Taylor of Kingsway, 9-3, in the fifth-place bout to punctuate a sensational 41-6 campaign.

Other wrestlers who competed at the state tournament for Pope John included Jake Holly (0-2 at 106 pounds), Dalton Webber (2-2 and quarterfinalist at 113), Jack Nauta (1-2 at 132) and Justin Holly (2-2 at 138).

Logan Hrenenko of Sparta also qualified for the states and finished 0-2 at 144 pounds.