EHT’s Connor Agostino, Absegami’s Gavin Calcerano fight back to advance to Region 8 tournament

By NICK KOSKO Correspondent Egg Harbor Township sophomore Connor Agostino came into the District 32 wrestling tournament as the top seed at 195 pounds. Upstart Kolin Roberts of Mainland Regional, the No. 5 seed, stuck Agostino and pinned him with just four seconds left in the semifinal match. Suddenly, Agostino’s season was on the line. Gut-check time. Agostino was able to put the loss behind him quickly and win an exciting match against second-seeded Amaury Ortiz of Atlantic City, 3-2, in double overtime in the third-place match. Only the top three finishers advance to next weekend’s Region 8 tournament at Egg Harbor Township High School. Finish fourth and your season is over. Egg Harbor Township sophomore 195-pounder Connor Agostino, right, escaped with an overtime win over Atlantic City’s Amaury Ortiz to take third place at districts and advance to the region tournament. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan “I basically just cleared my mind of a bad loss and came out ready to wrestle to get to regions,” Agostino said. “I just wanted to use my technique to out-do his strength to win the match. Hopefully, I wrestle better next week and get on the podium to get to states.” The district tournament gives fans all kinds of storylines, such as Roberts coming out of nowhere to make it to the 195-pound final and nearly knocking off Ryan Lynd of St. Augustine Prep before losing 6-5. Still, Roberts advanced to regions as a No. 5 seed. For Absegami senior heavyweight Gavin Calcerano, just getting to wrestle in the Region 8 tournament is a huge success. Calcerano, a first-year varsity wrestler, was able to get a late takedown and fend off Owen Bowles of Cedar Creek for a 4-3 win. “I knew if I lost this match, my heavyweight coach was going to kick my butt. I pushed through the pain to get through this match,” Calcerano said. “(Bowles) went right for my feet, so I was able to get behind for the takedown for the win. I just want to do my best next week and represent my team well.” A couple of other higher-seeded wrestlers found themselves having to win the consolation final to get out of districts. Egg Harbor Township’s Hunter Thomas was seeded second at 113 pounds, but fell to Holy Spirit’s Tim Fitzpatrick in the semifinals. Thomas rebounded to beat Antonio Yeoman of Mainland Regional to survive and advance. St. Augustine’s Brandon Cirillo was another No. 2 seed who had to fight his way through the wrestlebacks before advancing at 160 pounds. A pair of Ocean City brothers also advanced. Senior Vinny Levin took second to Jarred Hodges at 152 pounds, and younger brother David worked his way through the wrestlebacks to finish third at 120 pounds.