Wrestling: Monroe's Profaci and Sayreville's Porcaro suffer semifinal losses

Editor's note: Greg Tufaro will file a story ASAP on Edison's Billy Povalac and other GMC wrestlers

ATLANTIC CITY – Sayreville heavyweight Anthony Porcaro and Monroe 132-pounder Sal Profaci entered the NJSIAA Individual Championships with different goals.

Profaci was clearly chasing a state title, while Porcaro merely wanted to place among the top eight finishers in his weight class.

After the two wrestlers endured heartbreaking losses in Saturday's semifinals at Boardwalk Hall, both are now on common ground, attempting to rebound to wrestle back for a third-place medal.

Porcaro, who dropped a 4-3 decision in tiebreaker to Brick Memorial's Nick Rivera, and Profaci, who fell 7-4 to two-time defending state champion Craig De La Cruz of Summit, were the lone Greater Middlesex Conference wrestlers to reach the semifinals.

They join Edison 145-pounder Billy Povalac, who rebounded from an opening night loss, as the only grapplers from the league with a chance to medal.

All three are guaranteed at least a sixth-place finish, and the medal for which they will wrestle will be determined by their performance in Sunday's wrestleback semifinals, which begin at 10 a.m.

The consolation finals and championship bouts will be contested at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

"It was disappointing," Porcaro (37-2) said of his loss, which occurred when Rivera rode him out in the second tiebreaker. "But you've got to pick yourself up and work from there. I'm still not out of this tournament. I could still place third. Coming into this tournament I told myself I was going to place Top 8. That's what I was aiming for. Once I got up to here (the semifinals), I thought I could accomplish so much more."

Profaci took a 39-0 record into the semifinals against De La Cruz, who had defeated Profaci in a region final two years ago and who beat Profaci in last year's 126-pound semifinals.

"He's crushed," Monroe head coach Billy Jacoutot said of Profaci, who placed fourth in the state a year ago. "You are looking at something you've been working for since you are five or six years old. You can kind of taste it. I feel like he wrestled the best he has in his career, and to fall a little bit short is devastating right now. But I think he's a tough enough kid to come back and battle through.

"Thankfully, he has 24 hours to reassess. That's what makes this place the Roman Coliseum. These guys are out there in front of 10,000 people. Their career dream is crushed and then they have to find a way to come back and finish at the highest possible level."

Immediately after Profaci scored a takedown for the first points of the opening period, De La Cruz countered with an athletic move for a reversal that evened the score. After Profaci escaped for a 3-2 lead at the start of the second, De La Cruz submarined for a takedown and a 4-3 advantage. Profaci evened the score at 4-4 with an escape before the start of the third, and De La Cruz returned the favor at the beginning of the final period for a 5-4 advantage. After a desperate Profaci lunged at De La Cruz in the closing seconds, De La Cruz scored a takedown to produce the final margin.

"He's always looking to score and attack," De La Cruz said. "He's always got a positive mindset. He's always looking to find an angle. He's always working. We've wrestled three times now. I guess we got a feel for each other. I went out there and actually had fun."

Profaci, who is headed to the University of Michigan on a partial athletic scholarship, entered the tournament with the same mindset, saying he was more relaxed than he had ever been in his career.

"We just came up short," Jacoutot said. "I don't feel like Sal wrestled bad. I honestly feel like the entire complexion of the match was changed on his first takedown when De La Cruz was able to snake around and get a reversal. I think that was the difference.

"Obviously when you are taking about wrestling a kid who has won two state titles, he's going to be very cagey and he's going to manage the match. I felt like if Sal could get out of that first period up 2-0 it could have been (a different outcome)."

After defeating Warren Hills' Andrew Pacheco, who is known for his big throws, Porcaro met up with Rivera, who is among the state's most skilled heavyweights.

"Anthony's a good matchup for anybody," Sayreville coach Marcus Ivy said. "He's athletic enough to hang with the guys who've got the big throw, but he's a good enough wrestler to hang around with the guys who are well-rounded. His athleticism is freaky, but he's got a wrestling knowledge where he can wrestle with you."

Rivera hit a Peterson for a reversal and a 2-0 lead midway through the second period and Porcaro evened the score with a reversal seconds later. Each wrestler escaped before the end of regulation to force overtime. Rivera escaped in the first 30-second period to register the decisive point.

Considering the disparity in their goals entering the tournament, one might suspect Profaci would have a more difficult time rebounding from Saturday's loss than Porcaro, but the reality is all wrestlers are in a similar position entering Sunday's consolation rounds.

"There are so many highs and lows to the tournament, and the fact that you have to find a way, I don't know what other like skills you can possibly teach in the sport," Jacoutot said. "After a crushing defeat, you've got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and go again."

Staff writer Greg Tufaro: gtufaro@mycentraljersey.com