Watchung Hills second, South Plainfield third at Morris Knolls Wrestling Invitational

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Competing with three open weight classes, the South Plainfield High School wrestling team saw its run of 10 consecutive Morris Knolls Invitational titles come to an end as Seton Hall Prep dethroned the defending champions and Watchung Hills finished ahead of the third-place Tigers on Saturday.

Jake Stasil (145), Rob Saum (160) and Justin Hayward (182) won individual crowns to help Watchung Hills finish with 188 points, three more than South Plainfield.

Seton Hall Prep amassed 205 points to win the team championship.

Stasil’s 5-3 decision over South Plainfield’s Joe Sacco in the 145-pound final enabled Watchung Hills, which competed with 12 wrestlers, to finish ahead of the Tigers. Unlike Sacco, who qualified for states last year, Stasil, a senior, has not previously made it out of the regions, but his coaches know he is an outstanding grappler.

“Everybody placed in the top six, so everybody scored for us,” said Watchung Hills head coach Dan Smith, who received a second-place finish from 126-pounder Danny Miller.

“South Plainfield is a really good team. Things just worked out well for us today. (Finishing second) is something to build on for the season and something for our kids to feel good about themselves and let them know how good they can be.”

Anthony White (106), Joe Heilmann (126) Luke Niemeyer (195) and Zach DelVecchio (220) won individual titles for South Plainfield, which did not have wrestlers competing at 113, 120 and 285 pounds.

“We knew what we were up against,” South Plainfield head coach Bill Pavlak said, noting the field for this year’s Morris Knolls tournament, which included Jefferson and Henry Truman (Pa.) was loaded.

“Obviously, we would have liked to have had a full team. I think we are satisfied with the result. We just need to get a full lineup.”

South Plainfield, which received a second-place finish from Alex Amato at 138 pounds, will get a shot at redemption when it hosts Seton Hall Prep in a dual meet on Dec. 28.

“In a couple of weeks we are hoping to have a stronger lineup,” Pavlak said. “Our goals are still to win a section and compete for a group title.”

Eight Tigers placed among the Top 4 finishers in Saturday’s tournament.