West Deptford Wrestling Team Falls By 1 Point In State Semifinal

WEST DEPTFORD, NJ - The West Deptford High School wrestling team fell one point shy of advancing to the state championship match in Toms River over the weekend.

High Point defeated West Deptford, 34-33, in the semifinals of the NJSIAA State Group 2 wrestling tournament Sunday morning at Toms River North High School, according to nj.com. Later in the day, South Plainfield defeated High Point, 46-26, to win the State Group 2 championship.

Against High Point, West Deptford won eight individual matchups, but gave up bonus points at 106 pounds, as well as at 113, 120, 132 and 138.

Jake McConville earned West Deptford’s only bonus points of the match when he scored a pinfall at 126. Steve Brittingham (146), Gavin Gismondi (152), Cody Thurston (182), Gavin Shields (195) and Hayden Holmes (220) each picked up a decision for West Deptford. Corey Fischer (160) and Shane Kelly (heavyweight) each won their match by forfeit.

West Deptford qualified for the state tournament by winning the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 title with a 38-20 win over Haddonfield at home Friday night. West Deptford was the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group 2, and advanced to the finals with a 49-19 win over No. 8 Sterling in the quarterfinals and a 39-18 win over No. 4 Clayton in the semifinals.

Haddonfield was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, and advanced to the finals with a 63-15 win over No. 7 Haddon Heights in the quarterfinals and a 45-31 win over No. 3 Oakcrest in the semifinals.

West Deptford finished the team portion of the season with a record of 24-5. Now that the team portion of the season is over, next up for teams across the state is the individual tournament, which begins with the district round on Saturday, Feb. 16.

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