Second-seeded Monroe won by either pin or tech in all six of its bout wins to inch out a 34-32 win over third-seeded Hillsborough in the semifinals of the NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 Central Jersey, Group 5 tournament, in Monroe.
The Falcons (17-14) will take a short trip on Wednesday to face top-seeded Old Bridge in the sectional final. The GMC Red Division rivals faced each other once this season, with Old Bridge taking a 42-25 win over the Falcons in a Dec. 20 matchup.
The bonus points ended up being the deciding factor in the semifinals, as the Raiders (13-10) won eight bouts to Monroe’s six, but earned bonus points in three bouts. Joel Cholula’s 14-0 major decision loss to Hillsborough’s Logan McDermid in the second to last bout made a win mathematically impossible for Hillsborough.
Matt Shumsky gave the Falcons six points with a pin over Michael Sanchez at 150. Jayden Badillo earned a fall over Aren Hidalgo at 190, Anthony Marcos added six points at heavyweight with a pin over Cyaire Sharep and Kyle Capodanno pinned Charlida Cimino at 106.
Anthony Caponegro earned an 18-1 tech for Monroe over Anthony Mayo at 138 while Luke Pawliczak teched Dante Mayo 23-7 at 165.
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