Sports
UPDATE: Boardman Earns Trip to Atlantic City
Madison senior finishes 2nd at Region 3 wrestling.
Madison senior Mike Boardman's quest for a Region 3 wrestling championship may have ended, but the Madison senior still earned a trip to the Meet of Champions in Atlantic City.
Boardman finished second Saturday when he was pinned by Zach Troutman of New Providence in the 2nd period of their title match.
The top three finishers in each weight class move on to the state championships.
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On Friday, Boardman had moved to within two wins of making the trip down the Shore, advancing to the semifinal round with a 3-1 quarterfinal win over Plainfield’s Tiaquan Womack in the second round of the Region 3 tournament at Union High School.
“I feel great,” Boardman said. “This was a big one for me. I lost to him earlier in the season and I had redemption on my mind all day, I couldn’t concentrate in school. It was just Tiaquan Womack, Tiaquan Womack, all day.”
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Boardman, who before Tuesday’s opening round had never recorded a Region 3 win, will square off against second-seeded Austin Frank of Linden on today.
Boardman, who was locked in a 1-1 tie late in the match, went for it all from the top position, landing a perfectly executed Merkle, turning Womack to his back, and receiving the match-changing two points on his way to the win.
“I wrestled aggressive, I went all out and hit the Merkle, which I tried last year in the regions and I killed myself with it,” Boardman explained. “I went with the motto, wrestle like it’s your last match, and it was the winning factor.”
Madison 119-pounder Patsy Davis on Saturday saw his hopes for a trip to Atlantic City dashed with a 7-6 loss to Anthony DeFranco of Gov. Livingston in the Saturday wrestleback consolation.
Davis, who took third in the Region 3 tournament at 103-pounds last season, on Friday dropped a 3-2 decision to Delbarton’s Nick Anderson. He would have had to sweep three matches Saturday to return to the state championship meet.
(This update corrects an earlier version which incorrectly reported Boardman did not advance to Atlantic City.)
