Dodgers Crown Davis Champion, Six Advance to Regional Tournament

The wrestling team represented itself well at Saturday's District 10 tournament in Millburn, crowning one champion while six wrestlers advanced to next week's region tournament in Union.

Leading the way for Madison was 119-pounder Patsy Davis, who took home his first-ever District 10 title in sparkling fashion.

The junior, who was seeded No. 1 in his weight class, cruised to his second consecutive finals appearance as he recorded a first-period fall over Millburn's Dylan Pollock in the semifinal round.
 
In the finals, Davis squared off against Nick Polimeni of Seton Hall and was utterly dominant, working his way to a 9-2 decision and the 119-pound championship.
 
“I feel good, I think I wrestled better than I did in any of the other finals [matches] this year,” said Davis, who before Saturday had lost all three of his finals matches this season, and each by one point. “I went out there on my feet and took him down a bunch of times and that’s what won the match.”

SECOND-PLACE FINISHERS
 
Madison senior Mike Boardman, who came into the tournament seeded No. 1 at 285 pounds, first stopped Roselle Park's Mark Signorello in the first 48 seconds of the first period, then stopped Chatham's Greg DeLade in the third period of the semifinal round, moving the Madison senior into the District 10 finals for the first time.

In the finals, Boardman faced second-seeded William Salovitch of Seton Hall Prep and lost a tough 2-1 decision in overtime.

Also wrestling in his first District 10 final was senior Jack Anzul, at 189 pounds. He also walked away with a silver medal.

Anzul's path to the finals included a win over Millburn's Austin Harrison in the quarterfinals, before receiving a forfeit in the semis as Columbia's Yalan Sessay was unable to go. 

In the finals, Anzul, who entered the tournament as the second seed, went up against top-seeded Connor Gabriel of Roselle Park. Trailing 4-2 in the second period, Anzul was taken down to his back and pinned, for a second-place finish.

THIRD-PLACE FINISHERS
 
The Dodgers also saw three other wrestlers advance to the region tournament, as Matt Allen (140 pounds), Peter Willis (145) and Ed Carr (160) each rebounded from semifinal losses to take home third-place finishes.

“I was hoping to have six [wrestlers advance] or maybe more,” Madison head coach Steve Healey said. “I thought we had a chance to get one or two more, but you always want more than what’s going to happen towards the end of the season. But I’m happy with six guys and we’ll see what we can get done down the road.”

Madison finished third overall in the team scoring with 136 points.

The top five in team scoring ended as follows: Seton Hall Prep (230), Roselle Park (195), Madison (136), Millburn (106), and Columbia (94).