By Andy Loigu

In winning his second consecutive regional wrestling championship, Hackettstown 145-pounder Alex Carida shared the Outstanding Wrestler award with Delbarton 126-pounder Pat Glory at the Region 3 Tournament at West Orange on Saturday.

Carida and five other qualifiers from our area now are headed to Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall for this weekend’s state championship competition, the ultimate goal for every high school wrestler in the Garden State.

It is unusual to see a defending champion seeded third, but Carida paid no attention to that. Without distraction, he simply let his performance on the mat stand on its merits, knocking off the top two seeds in the semifinal and final rounds. He outlasted top seed Travis Tavoso of Delbarton to win a 2-1 decision to wrap up the championship. “It’s big for the town, just glad I could do it twice,” Carida said as his accomplishment sank in afterwards.

Joe Andes made it two region champions for Hackettstown to celebrate this year, winning the 285-pound crown with pins in each round. He wrapped up the title with a fall in 1:53 over Ryan Knox of Randolph. “I’ve become a lot better,” he said, looking forward to the trip to Atlantic City where he knows he will need to be at his best. “I work in shots, not just standing around and leaning on guys.” Andes took the step from being the runner-up at Region 3 last year to earning the championship this time.

The Blue Streaks of Warren Hills send three wrestlers to Atlantic City this year. Jarod Ostir (182) and Nick Galka (220) earned second place regional finishes. Codey O’Rourke took fourth at 126 pounds. O’Rourke won his quarterfinal bout with a 53-second pin.

Belvidere’s Quinn Melofchik punched his ticket to AC with a second place finish at 106 pounds. “I’ve just got to work on my feet more, get that first takedown,” Melofchik said regarding what it will take to earn a medal at Atlantic City.

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The Blue Streaks’ Kyle Wulff suffered an astonishing near miss in the quarterfinals, losing in overtime to West Orange junior Edgar Moreno. Moreno got a takedown at the final buzzer to send the bout into overtime and then scored a takedown 20 seconds into the extra session for a 5-3 decision. Many observers felt the overtime should not have happened, that the takedown which tied the match at 3-3 came a few seconds late and Wulff should have won.

Warren Hills junior Durodolu Ajayi did not qualify for states, but had an outstanding run considering this is the first year he’s ever wrestled. He bested Gerald Eatman of West Orange 9-4 in the 285-pound pre-quarterfinal, his 19th win of the season. Earlier on January 25, he opened a lot of eyes when he lost a narrow 3-2 decision to Hackettstown’s polished and experienced Andes. He will be a performer to watch next season.

At 6-foot-5, Ajayi is an imposing figure when he takes the mat. Unlike most men his size, he is nimble on his feet. He took up the sport in December in order to stay in shape and gain agility for football.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.