Mike Jiampetti and Kevin Stadtmueller were visibly frustrated and disappointed with their results in the Region 8 Finals on Saturday at Egg Harbor Township High School.
However, by finishing in second place, the Absegami High School duo secured a spot in next weekend's NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships.
The top 3 finishers in each weight class advances to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association State Wrestling Championships, which begin March 4 in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
"I'm happy that I made it and I did better than last year," said 215-pound Stadtmueller, who took third last year. "Making it to states was my ultimate goal."
Jiampetti (119) and Stadtmueller will be joined in Atlantic City by Alex Gong (171) and Steve Schwartz (heavyweight), who both finished in third place.
"I'm excited that we have four guys going," Absegami coach Shawn Scannell said. "I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get a champ. But we are taking four guys, and we only took three guys last year. We haven't had four guys go in awhile."
Stadtmueller, the top seed, lost 3-0 to No. 2 seed Dan Garwood of Clearview. Neither wrestler seemed interested in being the aggressor.
Garwood escaped in the third period for the first points of the match, and then secured a takedown for the win.
"We were both playing the defensive role," explained Stadtmueller, who is making his second trip to Atlantic City. "We both were kind of scared of attacking each other. That bit me in the butt. He got one good shot on me."
Stadtmueller shut out No. 4 seed Lucas Pearson of Ocean City, 5-0, in the semifinals.
Jiampetti, a No. 2 seed, lost to top seed Billy Ward, 11-2, in the finals, which was a rematch of the District 32 Tournament last week.
The Absegami junior defeated No. 3 seed Jovanni Arroyo of Oakcrest, 4-2, in overtime in the semifinals.
Gong, a No. 3 seed, suffered his first loss of the tournament at the hands of No. 2 seed Steven Swayze of Washington Township in the semifinals. Gong led 1-0 heading into the third period, where Swayze registered a reversal for the win.
Gong answered with two straight wins. The Absegami junior recorded a 3-1 decision over No. 4 seed Rory Bonner of West Deptford. A bloodied Gong, who was hit in the nose, then topped No. 5 seed Andrew Hughes of Clearview, 3-1, in the consolation round.
"It feels pretty good,' Gong said. "All my brothers went to Absegami and wrestled and it feels good to be the first one to go."
He added: "I was getting pretty beat up, and Scannell said, 'don't lose your head.' I tried to keep my composure. I'm really glad that I won."
Schwartz, a No. 7 seed, lost his semifinals match to No. 3 Trent Hampton of Pennsville, 3-1, overtime. The Absegami heavyweight came back to pin No. 5 seed Josh Hitchner of Woodstown in 4:46, and topple No. 2 seed Tom Rementer of Clayton, 5-3 in overtime to finish in third place.
Schwartz and Rementer were tied at 3-3 heading into overtime. Neither wrestler was able to score in sudden death. Schwartz was able to ride out Rementer in the first 30-second period. The Absegami senior then ended the match with a reversal .
Absegami's Nate Ross (140), and Chris Hahn (152) had their season end in the wrestleback rounds.
Ross, the No. 2 seed, stayed alive with a 6-3 win over No. 6 seed Joe Davone of St, Augustine, but lost a 4-1 decision to top seed Drew Spector of West Deptford.
Hahn, a No. 7 seed, also won his first match of the day, winning a 16-6 major decision over No. 6 seed Steminto Rowe-Akins. Hahn was then pinned by top seed Robert Shade of Timber Creek in 4:31.
