Both the boys and girls varsity wrestling teams performed well at this year’s Mercer County Tournament on January 27th and 28th at Robbinsville High School. The boys finished in fifth place, and the girls finished in fourth! The boys had several wrestlers place in the top five or higher, with one wrestler losing in the finals and finishing second. The Lady Spartans had three wrestlers finish in first place as Mercer County Champs.

Senior Dana Volb won the 114 lb. weight class with a pin over a strongly regarded Hopewell wrestler to take the title. Also grabbing gold was Rowan Lacy-Cancel who won in an 11-7 victory at the 126 lbs. And finally, at 165 lbs., Ella Johnson took the title with a pin of her Ewing opponent at 1:13 of the first period.

On the boy’s side of the tournament, sophomore Alex Castano took a silver medal at 113 lbs., finishing the highest of the Spartan wrestlers on the weekend. Castano is having an excellent season, with a record of 18-5 with 7 pins. Senior Dream Hemingway finished third in the 215 lb. weight class by pinning his opponent in the first period of his final match, moving to 20-4 on the season. Junior Elliot Morris moved to 19-4 on the season by winning bronze due to a third period pin in the third place match at 175 lbs. 

Other wrestlers of note in the tournament were juniors Anthony Giglio who finished fourth, and Alex Hart who finished fifth in their respective weight divisions. Giglio has done very well at the 165 lb. division on the season, with a record of 15-5 that includes 8 pins and a gold medal at the Blue Devil Classic tournament in December. Hart also has been a force on the mat this year, with a first place finish at the Blue Devil Classic, and a record of  20-4 with 8 pins.

Overall the boys have a record of 9-7, and with two matches to go before districts, it is clear that they have returned to being a force on the mat in Central Jersey wrestling. And the girls have done very well in their tournaments and individual matches, picking up both some hardware and respect across Mercer County.