Wrestling:No. 5 Southern rolls past No. 18 Kingsway to retake South, Group 5 crown

Conor Collins of Southern defeats Gavin Hawk of Phillipsburg in the 132 pound bout during the wrestling match between Phillipsburg and Southern at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, NJ on January 19, 2023.
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Southern, top-seeded and No. 5 in the NJ.com Top 20, rolled to a 48-14 victory over No. 18 Kingsway in the sectional final of the South Jersey, Group 5 NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics wrestling tournament, in Manahawkin.

The Rams (17-1) earned its fifth consecutive South, Group 5 title, and its 16th overall title.

Southern, the top-ranked public school in the state, won all bouts between 144 and 215. Cole Velardi (175), Riley O’Boyle (215), Anthony Mason (106), and Connor Collins (132) recorded pins for the Rams while Attila Vigilante added five points with a tech fall at 113.

Mitch Bivona took a 13-0 major over Joseph Leone at 165, Colin French outworked Luke Van Brill for a 5-4 decision at 190. Matt Henrich took a 7-0 decision at 157 over Benjamin Dryden, Scottie Sari edged Nathan Lubonski 7-4 at 120, and Hayden Hochstrasser recoded a 7-4 decision over Tommy DiPietro at 144.

Nathan Taylor gave the Dragons (16-9) five points off a tech over David Ferrante at 126 whil Davd Pietro outlasted Wyatt Stout for a 5-4 decision at 138 and Christopher San Paolo took a pin over Alexnader Sipper at heavyweight.

Southern will host Passaic Tech in the Group 5 semis on Friday.

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