Haddonfield wrestlers rule home tourney

Bare-chested Haddonfield heavyweight Nick Conquest raised his beefy arms in victory yesterday and shouted: "Where's Pileggi?"

Conquest, who weighs 265 pounds, had just defeated Middle Township's Larry Alexander, 6-2, in the final bout of the 13th annual Haddonfield Wrestling Tournament. Michael Pileggi, with whom Conquest plays on the football team, owed him something.

"I won, so Pileggi has to come out for the wrestling team," the junior tackle said. "That was the bet."

Haddonfield won the seven-team tournament for the fourth time since it started in 1996. But it was the first victory for Pete DiPol as the Bulldogs' head coach.

"This is special because it's our tournament and it's my first time," DiPol said. "It's always good to get off to a quick start, and the kids start buying what you're selling in the practice room."

The Bulldogs dominated the tournament, winning eight of the 14 bouts in the final round. Seneca, which finished second, won four.

Palmyra finished last in team scoring, but the Panthers' Alex Moritz was named the tourney's outstanding wrestler.

"This will motivate me to keep winning," said the senior 119-pounder as he held the trophy. "This is the first time in my career that I've won one of these."

A four-year varsity wrestler, Moritz won his 103d career bout when he scored a major decision, 14-4, over Haddonfield's Will Steifel.

Wins by Conquest and teammmates Kris Rahn at 215 and Carson Stack at 125 surprised DiPol.

Conquest and Rahn "haven't been practicing much because of injuries," DiPol said. "And at 125, a freshman upset [Mike] Cecchini, the No. 1 seed from Palmyra, in the semifinal."

Stack pinned Cecchini in 1 minute, 10 seconds and then registered a technical fall over Pennsauken's Quamere Young at 3:42 of the match.

"My goal [this season] is 25 wins, which is on pace to win 100 over four years," said Stack, who started wrestling in first grade.

Seneca started well because 103-pound freshman Jake Baxter wrapped up Pennsauken's Luis Harkins in a cross-face cradle and pinned him in 1:14.

Seneca's Declan Deveney (152), Nick Palumbo (160) and Ryan Deveney (171) registered consecutive victories that gave the Golden Eagles a lift and promises of good things to come.

Palumbo sealed his 7-1 win over Haddonfield's Jake Carwile with a reverse headlock in the final seconds of the bout.

Team scoring:

1, Haddonfield, 279.5. 2, Seneca, 210. 3, Pennsauken, 119. 4, Middle Township, 116. 5, Pitman, 103. 6, Millville, 94.5. 7, Palmyra, 80.5.

103: Jake Baxter, Seneca, pin Luis Harkins, Pennsauken, 1:14

112: Kyle Klaus, Haddonfield, maj. dec. Anthony Soto-Vicente, Pennsauken, 18-6.

119: Alex Moritz, Palmyra, maj. dec. Will Steifel, Haddonfield, 14-4.

125: Carson Stack, Haddonfield, tech. fall Quamere Young, Pennsauken, 3:42.

130: Rob Schlitt, Haddonfield, dec. Matt Mullen, Pitman, 7-1.

135: Will Dengler, Haddonfield, dec. Alex Sadowski, Seneca, 4-2.

140: Max Famath, Haddonfield, pin Justin Peoples, Seneca, 1:14.

145: Ray Schlitt, Haddonfield, dec. Grant Wood, Seneca, 3-1.

152: Declan Deveney, Seneca, maj. dec. Jeff White, Middle Township, 10-1.

160: Nick Palumbo, Seneca, dec, Jake Carwile, Haddonfield, 7-1.

171: Ryan Deveney, Seneca, dec. J.P. Marquess, Haddonfield, 8-4.

189: Ricky McIlvaine, Pitman, pin Andrew Mackiewicz, Palmyra, 5:49.

215: Kris Rahn, Haddonfield, pin Jake Dougherty, Middle Township, 1:29.

275: Nick Conquest, Haddonfield, dec. Larry

Alexander, Middle Township, 6-2.