South River's Santos stuns No. 2 seed at Region 5 wrestling tournament

A four-year letterwinner making his first trip to the regions, South River High School senior Leandro Santos had no idea what to expect.

Upon walking into the Hunterdon Central Field House, site of the opening round of the Region 5 Tournament, the 15th-seeded Santos took a moment to soak in the environment before deciding to warm up in an unconventional way.

As other competitors jogged, worked on moves with teammates, received last-minute instructions from coaches or sparred in isolation with phantom opponents, Santos found a vacant spot on a mat at the other end of the gymnasium opposite the official scorer’s table, where he prepared for second-seeded and heavily favored Aidan Dillon of Pingry in solitude.

“Before this whole thing started, I didn’t warm up like most people did,” Santos said. “I just put on my music, laid down and prayed a little bit. I didn’t even look at my seed or anything. I was just thinking I was going to go out there and wrestle. If I do end up winning, it was on my skill and with God, because I’m very religious.”

Santos’ mother, Dina, who was born and raised in Portugal, had not previously watched her son wrestle, but made the trip to Flemington on Wednesday night, mentioning to Leandro that she was looking forward to going to Atlantic City, site of the individual state championships.

“I said, mom, we’ll take it one step at a time,” Santos explained. “We’ll see how far I go in regions and then we’ll talk about Atlantic City.”

Santos trailed Dillon 7-4 midway through the second period of their 138-pound first-round bout, and just when it was starting to look like the only way the South River senior was going to get into Boardwalk Hall was with a ticket, he reversed Dillon to his back for a dramatic pin.

The coincidence of the fall time of 3:16 – matching the chapter and verse of John 3:16, the most widely quoted verse in the bible – was not lost on South River head coach Bobby Young, who three years ago talked the spiritual Santos out of quitting the sport.

“Every day he would come to practice and he was just getting more and more discouraged,” Young explained. “I just saw that he had the talent and I said, ‘You’re not quitting. I guarantee that you are going to be a four-year starter. Relax. Good things are going to come,’ and sure enough good things happened for him.”

Santos’ resume included a 1-3 record in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, in which he did not medal, along with a pair of third-place finishes at the season-opening Bear Invitational and in last weekend’s District 17 tournament.

Dillon, meanwhile, placed second in the Somerset County Tournament, first in the season-opening Wendy Pandy-Leh Classic, fourth in the rugged Hunterdon Central Invitational and finished runner-up for the second straight year in District 19.

Santos’ pin proved to be the biggest upset of the opening night, which saw three Greater Middlesex Conference wrestlers – Perth Amboy’s Joseph Pacheco (106), Old Bridge’s Mike Botte (126) and Piscataway’s Joseph Hatcher (152) – reach milestones with their 100th career victories.

Hunterdon Central’s Kevin Ciresa, one of five Red Devils to advance, was honored in a pre-event ceremony, during which he was presented a plaque for recording his 100th career win during last weekend’s district tournament. Ciresa is the 22nd wrestler in the storied program’s history to accomplish the feat.

Wrestlers from the GMC went 20-20 in the first round, including six head-to-head meetings, to advance to the quarterfinals, which will be contested back at the Hunterdon Central Field House on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Santos' opponent in the quarterfinals is seventh-seeded Justin Venezia of Hopewell Valley, the reigning District 18 champion and owner of a 27-8 record. Venezia pinned Santos earlier this season in the Bear Invitational semifinals.

Santos said his win over Dillon on Wednesday night was reminiscent of a regular-season victory he posted in 2015-16 over eventual district champion Yoscar Diaz of New Brunswick, who he was trailing 14-0 with 40 seconds remaining before recording an even more dramatic pin.

Only his career wasn't on the line, as it was at the Hunterdon Central Field House, where South River teammate Mark Pachecho's career came to an end on the very same mat before Santos' bout when Pingry's Kamal Brown advanced with a pin.  

“I was nervous,” Santos said about competing in a setting of organized chaos. “My first time at regions, a big crowd, so many people. I was saying to myself, this is a weird experience. Everybody is wrestling and you don’t know who is who. I was going crazy.”

The top four finishers from each of the state’s eight regions, which will be determined on Saturday, qualify for the individual state championships, scheduled for March 1-3 in Atlantic City.

Edison’s Dean Escobar also registered a first-round upset, knocking out incumbent state qualifier Josiah Walker of St. John Vianney with a 9-5 decision at 195 pounds.

“I have great (training) partners and I owe it all to my coaches,” said Escobar, a starting quarterback on the football team whose athleticism paid off. “That helps a lot, but it’s all the work you put in in the practice room and what you make of it. I just knew I had to take him down multiple times and I would win.”

Pacheco, who won a conference tournament title at 113 pounds and is an incumbent Region V runnerup at 106 pounds, entered this year’s region tournament having endured a 10-8 loss to Monroe’s Joseph Fiordaliso in the District 20 106-pound final.

As a result, Pacheco was the lone top seed of all 14 weight classes who was relegated to wrestle on Wednesday night. He regained his championship caliber form with an impressive first-period pin of Bound Brook’s Brandon Bowles.

“It made me hungrier,” Pacheco said of losing last weekend. “I wanted to get back to this after a loss in the district final, which should have been my 100th win. Wrestling at Perth Amboy has been a blessing and an honor for me. Getting up on the banner there (in the high school gymnasium) for 100 wins is pretty amazing.”

Pacheco said the loss to Fiordaliso “made me stronger and a better person,” adding, “I honestly feel like I needed that loss to wake me up because every loss motivates me, every type of obstacle motivates me.”

QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS

106  

    Bout 57 - Quarterfinal - Joseph Pacheco (Perth Amboy) 32-3 (12) vs. Jacob Venezia (Hopewell Valley) 26-5 (9)

    Bout 58 - Quarterfinal - Thomas O`Keefe (Middletown North) 31-9 (10) vs. Dean Peterson (Saint John Vianney) 30-0 (9)

    Bout 59 - Quarterfinal - Joseph Fiordaliso (Monroe) 26-9 (10) vs. Nicholas Ammirati (Holmdel) 33-6 (10)

    Bout 60 - Quarterfinal - Vincent Nadera (Old Bridge) 25-13 (9) vs. Brett Ungar (Hunterdon Central) 34-1 (9)

113  

    Bout 61 - Quarterfinal - Tyler Klinsky (Middletown North) 35-4 (10) vs. Joseph Butler (Saint John Vianney) 18-4 (9)

    Bout 62 - Quarterfinal - Michael Holland (Middletown South) 22-14 (10) vs. Colton Washleski (Hunterdon Central) 25-11 (9)

    Bout 63 - Quarterfinal - Robert Taddeo (Raritan) 24-15 (12) vs. Brandon Spellman (Pingry) 31-3 (11)

    Bout 64 - Quarterfinal - CJ Heaps (Delaware Valley) 18-12 (12) vs. Chris Lanciano (Hopewell Valley) 32-2 (11)

120  

    Bout 65 - Quarterfinal - Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick) 30-0 (12) vs. Michael Bilardo (Monroe) 22-12 (11)

    Bout 66 - Quarterfinal - Tyler Pepe (Saint John Vianney) 29-5 (10) vs. Jake Wiatroski (Old Bridge) 30-7 (12)

    Bout 67 - Quarterfinal - Xavier Pena (Bound Brook) 17-5 (10) vs. Fred Luchs (Middletown North) 26-12 (10)

    Bout 68 - Quarterfinal - Connor Platt (Spotswood) 28-8 (11) vs. Jack Bauer (Hunterdon Central) 22-6 (11)

126  

    Bout 69 - Quarterfinal - AJ DeRosa (Delaware Valley) 31-2 (11) vs. Max Brignola (Rumson-Fair Haven) 33-5 (9)

    Bout 70 - Quarterfinal - Jaleel Gopaul (Keyport/Henry Hudson) 23-2 (12) vs. Emmanuel Perera (Montgomery) 28-4 (12)

    Bout 71 - Quarterfinal - Anthony Donnadio (Hillsborough) 34-2 (12) vs. Anthony Romaniello (Hunterdon Central) 22-11 (10)

    Bout 72 - Quarterfinal - Jonathan Lamprecht (South Brunswick) 18-4 (12) vs. Mike Botte (Old Bridge) 30-8 (12)

132  

    Bout 73 - Quarterfinal - Hunter Graf (Hunterdon Central) 33-3 (12) vs. Charles Peterson (Saint John Vianney) 28-6 (12)

    Bout 74 - Quarterfinal - Kamal Brown (Pingry) 28-9 (11) vs. Mathew Castimore (South Brunswick) 26-11 (12)

    Bout 75 - Quarterfinal - James Rodriguez (Perth Amboy) 30-3 (10) vs. Mark Venson (Bound Brook) 6-4 (10)

    Bout 76 - Quarterfinal - Gage Crater (Delaware Valley) 27-10 (10) vs. Russell Benson (Raritan) 37-2 (12)

138  

    Bout 77 - Quarterfinal - Alec Bobchin (Princeton) 30-4 (11) vs. Shane Demeter (Manville) 24-8 (12)

    Bout 78 - Quarterfinal - Andrew Lombard (Monroe) 31-6 (12) vs. Pasquale Vizzoni (Hunterdon Central) 21-5 (11)

    Bout 79 - Quarterfinal - AJ Erven (Raritan) 30-8 (12) vs. Alec Meyers (Old Bridge) 27-11 (11)

    Bout 80 - Quarterfinal - Justin Venezia (Hopewell Valley) 27-8 (11) vs. Leandro Santos (South River) 23-11 (12)

145  

    Bout 81 - Quarterfinal - Stanley Wojdylak (Middletown North) 35-4 (12) vs. Trevor Mastorio (Sayreville) 29-6 (11)

    Bout 82 - Quarterfinal - Raymond O`Callaghan (Hillsborough) 27-11 (11) vs. Dean Gallo (Holmdel) 35-3 (11)

    Bout 83 - Quarterfinal - Christian Sookdeo (Raritan) 30-9 (12) vs. Marcus Petite (Piscataway) 26-9 (10)

    Bout 84 - Quarterfinal - Justin Gonzalez (Old Bridge) 25-12 (11) vs. Vincent Romaniello (Hunterdon Central) 31-5 (11)

152  

    Bout 85 - Quarterfinal - Joe Casey (Bound Brook) 26-0 (12) vs. Dan Colon (South River) 32-5 (12)

    Bout 86 - Quarterfinal - Kevin Ciresa (Hunterdon Central) 27-8 (12) vs. Steven O`Campo (WWP-South) 31-1 (12)

    Bout 87 - Quarterfinal - Scott Dupont (Holmdel) 36-2 (12) vs. Blake Clayton (Saint John Vianney) 20-9 (9)

    Bout 88 - Quarterfinal - Sam Goldweig (Red Bank Reg.) 32-6 (12) vs. Joseph Hatcher (Piscataway) 26-1 (11)

160  

    Bout 89 - Quarterfinal - Michael Petite (Piscataway) 31-1 (12) vs. Joseph Desapio (Delaware Valley) 23-14 (12)

    Bout 90 - Quarterfinal - Shea Obado (Spotswood) 28-6 (12) vs. Nicholas Weikel (Monroe) 29-8 (11)

    Bout 91 - Quarterfinal - Anthony Aquilano (Raritan) 33-6 (11) vs. John O`Beirne (Holmdel) 31-7 (12)

    Bout 92 - Quarterfinal - Jacob Mitchell (WWP-N) 21-12 (12) vs. Kevin Faulkner (Hillsborough) 32-3 (12)

170  

    Bout 93 - Quarterfinal - Nick Addison (Rumson-Fair Haven) 36-1 (11) vs. Dylan Lonnay (Raritan) 25-11 (12)

    Bout 94 - Quarterfinal - Justin Weimer (Middletown South) 30-4 (12) vs. Nick Recine (Piscataway) 31-2 (11)

    Bout 95 - Quarterfinal - Nicholas Caracappa (Saint John Vianney) 27-5 (12) vs. Dan Furmato (Hunterdon Central) 26-10 (11)

    Bout 96 - Quarterfinal - Justin Hopman (Monroe) 28-8 (12) vs. Shawne Ramsby (Delaware Valley) 15-4 (11)

182  

    Bout 97 - Quarterfinal - Nicholas Cofone (Middletown North) 37-2 (12) vs. Elijah Pitt-Goodson (Piscataway) 28-6 (12)

    Bout 98 - Quarterfinal - George Burdick (Raritan) 36-4 (11) vs. Luis Colon (Perth Amboy) 16-10 (11)

    Bout 99 - Quarterfinal - Kenneth Abode (No. Brunswick Twp.) 32-3 (12) vs. Liam Horan (Rumson-Fair Haven) 24-8 (10)

    Bout 100 - Quarterfinal - Jack Hardzewicz (Middletown South) 29-7 (12) vs. Michael Dooley (Hillsborough) 33-4 (12)

195  

    Bout 101 - Quarterfinal - Jacob Anderson (Middletown North) 27-0 (11) vs. Kyle Baszak (South River) 31-3 (12)

    Bout 102 - Quarterfinal - Eli Kalfaian (Delaware Valley) 24-6 (12) vs. Kaylon Bradley (Monroe) 23-5 (12)

    Bout 103 - Quarterfinal - Paris Foster (Piscataway) 27-8 (12) vs. Dean Escobar (Edison) 23-14 (11)

    Bout 104 - Quarterfinal - Justin Acevedo (Raritan) 30-9 (11) vs. David Ugalde (Bound Brook) 26-9 (11)

220  

    Bout 105 - Quarterfinal - Steven Giannios (Saint John Vianney) 28-3 (12) vs. Emilio Guerrero Nieto (Hillsborough) 22-15 (11)

    Bout 106 - Quarterfinal - Keshon Davila (New Brunswick) 31-7 (10) vs. Angelo Crespo (Hunterdon Central) 24-4 (12)

    Bout 107 - Quarterfinal - Matthew Rogalski (Manville) 31-2 (12) vs. Edison Quesada (Red Bank Reg.) 27-9 (12)

    Bout 108 - Quarterfinal - Brady Smith (Middletown South) 28-9 (11) vs. Ethan Wolf (Raritan) 36-2 (12)

285  

    Bout 109 - Quarterfinal - Michael Tyle (Manville) 30-1 (12) vs. Benedict Arthur (Sayreville) 21-10 (11)

    Bout 110 - Quarterfinal - Marcus Estevez (Franklin) 27-9 (10) vs. Adam Markman (Middletown South) 32-4 (12)

    Bout 111 - Quarterfinal - Paul Liseno (Saint John Vianney) 26-3 (11) vs. Ramiro Osuna Jr. (New Brunswick) 26-6 (12)

    Bout 112 - Quarterfinal - Austin Dewise (Middletown North) 21-8 (12) vs. Jervey Sistrunk (Bound Brook) 30-4 (11)

FIRST-ROUND RESULTS

106

Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Pacheco (Perth Amboy) 32-3 won by fall over Brandon Bowles (Bound Brook) 17-12 (Fall 1:21)

Champ. Round 1 - Thomas O`Keefe (Middletown North) 31-9 won by decision over Tristan Izzo (Rumson-Fair Haven) 10-7 (Dec 4-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Nicholas Ammirati (Holmdel) 33-6 won by major decision over Deon Pleasants (Piscataway) 12-8 (MD 16-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Vincent Nadera (Old Bridge) 25-13 won by major decision over Cole Psemeneki (Hillsborough) 25-11 (MD 11-2)

113

Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Butler (Saint John Vianney) 18-4 won by fall over Kamrin O`Neill (Matawan) 25-9 (Fall 5:28)

Champ. Round 1 - Michael Holland (Middletown South) 22-14 won by tech fall over Tucker Cochrane (Red Bank Reg.) 16-10 (TF-1.5 3:08 (15-0))

Champ. Round 1 - Colton Washleski (Hunterdon Central) 25-11 won by tech fall over Cristan Diaz (Bishop Ahr) 18-12 (TF-1.5 1:46 (15-0))

Champ. Round 1 - CJ Heaps (Delaware Valley) 18-12 won by fall over Max Greenberg (Montgomery) 21-12 (Fall 0:56)

120

Champ. Round 1 - Tyler Pepe (Saint John Vianney) 29-5 won by fall over Arjun Khatri (South Brunswick) 17-13 (Fall 0:45)

Champ. Round 1 - Xavier Pena (Bound Brook) 17-5 won by fall over Corey Crater (Delaware Valley) 10-20 (Fall 1:46)

Champ. Round 1 - Fred Luchs (Middletown North) 26-12 won by fall over Mike Lonnay (Raritan) 21-17 (Fall 4:32)

Champ. Round 1 - Connor Platt (Spotswood) 28-8 won by major decision over Bryan Mora (Piscataway) 10-17 (MD 10-2)

126

Champ. Round 1 - Max Brignola (Rumson-Fair Haven) 33-5 won by major decision over Nate Pujols (Middletown North) 24-14 (MD 8-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Jaleel Gopaul (Keyport/Henry Hudson) 23-2 won by fall over Tom Ammirati (Holmdel) 25-14 (Fall 5:19)

Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Romaniello (Hunterdon Central) 22-11 won by major decision over Corey Fernadez (Monroe) 25-11 (MD 13-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Mike Botte (Old Bridge) 30-8 won by decision over Erick Valentin (Piscataway) 11-20 (Dec 6-3)

132

Champ. Round 1 - Kamal Brown (Pingry) 28-9 won by fall over Mark Pacheco (South River) 25-12 (Fall 5:42)

Champ. Round 1 - Mathew Castimore (South Brunswick) 26-11 won in double overtime over Aaron Longo (Hopewell Valley) 21-16 (2-OT 7-1)

Champ. Round 1 - James Rodriguez (Perth Amboy) 30-3 won by fall over Jonathan Provenzano (Middletown North) 6-6 (Fall 1:38)

Champ. Round 1 - Gage Crater (Delaware Valley) 27-10 won by decision over Matthew Lisanti (Montgomery) 24-6 (Dec 10-4)

138

Champ. Round 1 - Shane Demeter (Manville) 24-8 won by fall over Sean Lubiak (South Brunswick) 23-13 (Fall 4:19)

Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Lombard (Monroe) 31-6 won by decision over Danny Ward (Middletown South) 22-14 (Dec 7-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Alec Meyers (Old Bridge) 27-11 won by decision over Jake Sisk (Piscataway) 19-17 (Dec 3-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Leandro Santos (South River) 23-11 won by fall over Aidan Dillon (Pingry) 29-8 (Fall 3:16)

145

Champ. Round 1 - Raymond O`Callaghan (Hillsborough) 27-11 won by major decision over Ian McCabe (Monroe) 25-12 (MD 15-7)

Champ. Round 1 - Dean Gallo (Holmdel) 35-3 won by decision over Zach Dobson (Pingry) 28-10 (Dec 3-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Justin Gonzalez (Old Bridge) 25-12 won in overtime over Jacob McCarthy (Montgomery) 19-8 (OT 12-10)

Champ. Round 1 - Vincent Romaniello (Hunterdon Central) 31-5 won by fall over Alexander Angeles (No. Brunswick Twp.) 21-10 (Fall 2:36)

152

Champ. Round 1 - Dan Colon (South River) 32-5 won in overtime over Holden Shikany (Pingry) 17-12 (OT 8-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Ciresa (Hunterdon Central) 27-8 won by fall over Evan Brown (Marlboro) 19-12 (Fall 1:21)

Champ. Round 1 - Sam Goldweig (Red Bank Reg.) 32-6 won in tie breaker - 2 over James Ecklyn (Raritan) 15-8 (TB-2 3-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Hatcher (Piscataway) 26-1 won by fall over Alwayne Mitchell (Matawan) 18-11 (Fall 1:03)

160

Champ. Round 1 - Shea Obado (Spotswood) 28-6 won by fall over Elijah Ade-Festus (Sayreville) 9-5 (Fall 3:29)

Champ. Round 1 - Nicholas Weikel (Monroe) 29-8 won by fall over Jahman McNeil (Bound Brook) 17-19 (Fall 3:01)

Champ. Round 1 - John O`Beirne (Holmdel) 31-7 won by decision over Nico Cerbo (Middletown North) 21-17 (Dec 6-5)

Champ. Round 1 - Jacob Mitchell (WWP-N) 21-12 won in tie breaker - 2 over Ray Lauricella (Hopewell Valley) 26-10 (TB-2 4-2)

170

Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Lonnay (Raritan) 25-11 won by fall over Yarinel Peralta (New Brunswick) 26-6 (Fall 5:37)

Champ. Round 1 - Nicholas Caracappa (Saint John Vianney) 27-5 won by fall over Joshua Perera (Montgomery) 26-9 (Fall 1:04)

Champ. Round 1 - Dan Furmato (Hunterdon Central) 26-10 won by fall over Maxwell Ronollo (Hopewell Valley) 26-8 (Fall 2:59)

Champ. Round 1 - Shawne Ramsby (Delaware Valley) 15-4 won by major decision over Michael LeRoy (Spotswood) 20-10 (MD 11-1)

182

Champ. Round 1 - Elijah Pitt-Goodson (Piscataway) 28-6 won in overtime over Jaden Lowe (Saint John Vianney) 18-9 (OT 8-4)

Champ. Round 1 - George Burdick (Raritan) 36-4 won by fall over Benjarmin Walker (New Brunswick) 22-15 (Fall 1:17)

Champ. Round 1 - Jack Hardzewicz (Middletown South) 29-7 won by decision over Alex Abarca (Manville) 21-11 (Dec 4-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Michael Dooley (Hillsborough) 33-4 won by major decision over Kyle Carney (Delaware Valley) 12-15 (MD 13-0)

195

Champ. Round 1 - Kyle Baszak (South River) 31-3 won by decision over Liam Riecks (Keansburg) 25-7 (Dec 5-3)

Champ. Round 1 - Paris Foster (Piscataway) 27-8 won by injury default over Brian LaCross (Hopewell Valley) 7-6 (Inj. 3:18)

Champ. Round 1 - Dean Escobar (Edison) 23-14 won by decision over Josiah Walker (Saint John Vianney) 16-8 (Dec 9-5)

Champ. Round 1 - Justin Acevedo (Raritan) 30-9 won by decision over Gustavo Palacio (South Brunswick) 23-13 (Dec 1-0)

220

Champ. Round 1 - Emilio Guerrero Nieto (Hillsborough) 22-15 won by fall over Joseph Porcaro (Sayreville) 15-14 (Fall 2:21)

Champ. Round 1 - Keshon Davila (New Brunswick) 31-7 won by fall over Elijah Mack (Old Bridge) 14-18 (Fall 3:33)

Champ. Round 1 - Edison Quesada (Red Bank Reg.) 27-9 won by fall over Zack Racanati (South Brunswick) 15-18 (Fall 1:12)

Champ. Round 1 - Brady Smith (Middletown South) 28-9 won by decision over Tim Coleman (Hopewell Valley) 20-16 (Dec 7-4)

285

Champ. Round 1 - Benedict Arthur (Sayreville) 21-10 won by decision over Keyon Goodwin (Edison) 23-11 (Dec 11-6)

Champ. Round 1 - Marcus Estevez (Franklin) 27-9 won by decision over Abdullah Mohamed (East Brunswick) 5-6 (Dec 5-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Austin Dewise (Middletown North) 21-8 won by fall over Matt Spirko (Raritan) 27-10 (Fall 1:19)

Champ. Round 1 - Jervey Sistrunk (Bound Brook) 30-4 won by fall over Victor Kizenko (Holmdel) 17-22 (Fall 0:54)