Four Braves Advance to Region 8 Semifinals

Six minutes of wrestling is difficult enough, but Steve Schwartz had to do it with gauze stuffed up his nose to stop some bleeding during his heavyweight match Friday night.

The Absegami High School heavyweight didn't allow that to stop him, as the No. 7 seed upended No. 2 seed Tom Rementer of Clayton, 4-1, to advance to Saturday morning's semifinals.

"It slowed my breathing down because I could only use one nostril," said Schwartz. "It slowed me down a little bit, but not too bad."

Schwartz is one of four Braves to advance to the semifinals at Egg Harbor Township High School, joining Mike Jiampetti (119 pounds), Alex Gong (171) and Kevin Stadtmueller.

The top three finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advance to the NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships, which begin on March 4 in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.

Schwartz took a 2-0 lead in the second period, and was ahead 2-1 in the third. Both wrestlers seemed tired, but Schwartz was able to register a takedown late to clinch the upset.

"It was a pretty good match, maybe better than I expected," said Schwartz, who will take on No. 3 seed Trent Hampton of Pennsville in the semifinals. "I knew I wasn't going to cruise. It was going to be a difficult match. I just wanted to be calm."

Jiampetti took care of business in quick fashion like he did on Wednesday night.

The Absegami junior, the No. 2 seed, pinned No. 3 7 seed Stewart Richardson of Schalick in 1 minute, 42 seconds.

"I knew I was going to go out there and wrestle hard like I usually do and do my thing," Jiampetti said. "I still have my eyes on making it to the region finals.

Since finishing second in the districts, Jiampetti believes he is more focused and motivated.

"I'm starting to peak now," Jiampetti said. "I feel like I'm on top of my game."

Gong, the No. 3 seed, won an 11-1 major decision over No. 6 seed Anthony DeVito of Pennsville. Gong was in complete control of the match from start to finish.

"I thought it was a pretty hard match. His knee affected him so it helped me out a little more."

Top seed Stadtmueller, who is under the weather, edged No. 8 seed Jordan Murray, 3-2, to advance to the semifinals.

Stadtmueller registered the only takedown of the match, but it was his escape in the second period that got him the victory.

"It was a lot closer than I wanted it to be," said Stadtmueller. "I'm sick right now, but I'm pushing through it. It was a tough test and I think it will help me out tomorrow."

Absegami's Nate Ross (140) and Chris Hahn (152) dropped their quarterfinals match, but will still have a chance to earn a spot in the state tournament by finishing third on Saturday.

The Braves duo will need to battle back through the wrestleback rounds, and win the consolation match.

Ross, the No. 2 seed, was toppled by No. 7 seed Colton Newsome of Pennsville, 3-2. Hahn, the No. 7 seed, lost to No. 2 seed Phil Bakuckas of Hammonton, 15-0.