By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – If you’re the kind of person who believes in destiny, well, then that’s what was at play on Saturday night during the Region 8 wrestling finals at Egg Harbor Township High School. James Ingersoll of EHT and Atlantic City’s Joe Cutugno have been going at it on the mats since they were tykes, so it was only fitting that they met as seniors with the 160-pound region title on the line. There was plenty at stake for each wrestler. Cutugno had never beaten Ingersoll during a high school match and wanted desperately to take the region crown and prove that he could finally overtake his longtime nemesis. Ingersoll also had never won a region title, and wanted desperately to win one in his home gym, and also win one for longtime coach Mike Caiazza, who has been coaching wrestling for 30 years. Ocean City senior Cooper Gallagher hoists Red Raiders coach Dave Castellini in the air after Gallagher won the region title in the 182-pound weight class on Saturday. Ocean City senior Cooper Gallagher hoists Red Raiders coach Dave Castellini in the air after Gallagher won the region title in the 182-pound weight class on Saturday. hard-working kid, a sincere kid. He’s always there helping all the kids in the room. Just a good all-around kid. We kept telling him, ‘you’re gonna get it, it’s going to happen. Just keep working.’ And he did. It’s nice to see a kid who maybe isn’t the most talented kid in the world but works as hard as he possibly can, it’s great to see that hard work pay off.” Hard work certainly paid off for another wrestler, Ocean City’s Cooper Gallagher. Gallagher had to bow out of last season’s region tournament with an oblique injury and this season was laser-focused on proving that he could be a region champion. He did just that Saturday night, outlasting St. Joseph’s C.J. LaFragola 4-2 with a takedown late in the first overtime period of a grueling match. “I was thinking that this is the last chance I’m ever going to get at this and I knew I had to win,” Gallagher said. “I feel like we were evenly matched with strength, which I’m not really used to. I’m used to being able to overpower people but he came after me. It was more of a brawl out there. “I feel like I’m in a dream right now. My district title hasn’t even sunk in yet, so I’m just completely overwhelmed right now. It’s the best feeling in the world.” St. Augustine Prep 152-pounder Jack Clark, who is ranked nationally, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after taking apart the competition throughout and beating Clearview’s Ed Lenkowski via a second-period injury default. Holy Spirit’s Patrick D’Arcy won the title at 113 pounds with a 3-1 win over Clearview’s Zach Firestone, defending state champ Bryan Dobzanski of Delsea had no trouble winning the title at 220 pounds, and Hammonton’s Kellen Whitney scored a dramatic 5-3 win over Nick Rodriguez in overtime. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]