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Sports

Two Ocean City Wrestlers Advance to Region 8 Quarterfinals

Anthony DeSantis and Lucas Pearson win opening-round matches to advance to the next level in state competition.

Anthony DeSantis felt extremely comfortable in his Region 8 preliminary round wrestling match on Wednesday night.

The Ocean City High School senior easily could have been in the practice room instead of in a packed gymnasium with a trip to to quarterfinals of state competition at stake.

DeSantis pinned Penns Grove's Isaiah Coppage in two minutes, 43 seconds in a 160-pound match to advance to Friday's quarterfinals at Egg Harbor Township.

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The Red Raiders' Lucas Pearson also advanced after winning his 215-pound opening-round match.

The quarterfinals, which begin at 5:30 p.m., will feature Wednesday night winners, and district champions, who received first-round byes. The top three finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advance into the NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships.

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"I expected to win tonight," DeSantis said. "You have to expect to win."

DeSantis didn't take Coppage lightly, but it was apparent to him early he could handle his opponent.

The Red Raiders' 160-pounder  took a 2-0 lead after the first period, and was ahead 4-1 when he recorded the pin. DeSantis, who often likes to wrestle from a neutral position, spent most of the match working on top.

"In my district finals match, I wasn't sharp on top," DeSantis said. "I knew I could take the kid down, so I figured I might as well work on top."

"He was pretty dominant," Ocean City coach Dave Castellini said. "We thought he had a great shot going in.  He pretty much capitalized on all his mistakes."

Pearson topped Delsea's William Porch, 7-4. The Ocean City 215-pound wrestler took a 2-0 lead after the first period, and led 5-3 after the second.

"It was another great match for him," Castellini said. "He has been doing really good at the end of the year. He is kind of peaking right now, so it's a good time for that."

Pearson is a much tougher critic than his coach. The senior was not happy with his performance.

"It was a tough match. It was  a lot tougher than I expected," Pearson said. "I didn't wrestle my best. It's time to step it up. This is the regions."

Jake Terry's season came to an end after being pinned by Penns Grove's Nick Elmer in 2: 18 in his 171-pound match.

The Red Raiders still have four wrestlers alive in Friday's quarterfinals, as district champions Coley O'Brien (125) and Dan Pettit (145) hit the mat for the first time in regions.

What seed and whom they wrestle will be determined during Thursday's seeding meeting.

"We would have liked all three to advance, but we have four going on Friday night and it has been awhile since we have had that here in Ocean City," Castellini said. "So that's real good."

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