2005 NJ Kids' State Tournament
Wallkill Valley's duo of Ryan Callahan and Kodie Sdilvestri along with the Sussex-Wantage twosome of Devin Carter and Dominic Gallo were crowned state champions at the New Jersey Kids' State Wrestling Tournament that ended Saturday, March 26 at Lakewood with the Intermediate Division finals. The previous week, the Bantam, Midget, Junior and High School Cadet Divisions were contested on Saturday and Sunday at Union High School. Gallo posted an 8-1 decision over Tyler Connell in the Bantam Division's 45-pound title bout. He advanced to the title round by blanking Blairstown's Chris Polanco 2-0 in the semifinals after pinning Jefferson's Brian Daman 1:29 into their quarterfinal clash. He had opened his quest for the gold medal with a 6-0 shutout over Brandon Chabot of Toms River. Carter and Callahan won titles in the Junior Division on March 19 in Union. Carter defeated Coley O'Brien of Buena 4-2 for the 75-pound title after ousting top-seeded Connor Melde of Pascack Hills by a 6-2 score in the semifinals. Seeded No. 4, he won a 9-2 decision against fifth-seeded Matthew Sausman in the quarterfinals after decking Union's Michael Stepien 43 seconds into their pre-quarterfinal confrontation. Callahan, the top seed in the 126-pound bracket, opened his quest for the title by pinning eighth-seeded Joe Lombardo 2:10 into their quarterfinal match. He was awarded a forfeit in the semifinals before posting a 6-2 decision over sixth-seeded Canaan Bethea of Princeton in the championship bout. Unseeded, Silvestri claimed the last local title on Saturday in Lakewood. He pinned Johnny Short in 2:35 to begin his climb to the title and followed with a second fall, showing Phillipsburg's Charlie McGuinness the gym lights at 4:22 of the quarterfinals. He won by disqualification over Taylor Walsh in the semifinals before defeating second-seeded Mike Tully 3-1 in the finale. To advance to the state championship tournament, the young grapplers, who have to be New Jersey residents, had to place in the top three at one of eight regional tournaments contested around the Garden State. In youth wrestling, the format consists of five divisions based on age, with a minimum of 11 weight classes in each of the divisions. The Bantam Division is for participants born from 1996 to 1998 while those born in 1994 and 1995 compete in the Midget Division. Competing in the Junior Division are Youngsters who were born in 1992 and 1993 while the Intermediate Division is for those born in 1990 and 1991 who are not freshmen students. The High School Cadet Division is for grapplers born in 1989 and 1990 who are freshmen in high school and may be members of their school's varsity, junior varsity or freshmen programs. Visit njwrestling.org for complete results of all the youth and high school tournaments. 2005 NJ Kids' State Tournament Bantam Division 45 pounds: 1. Dominic Gallo (Sussex-Wantage); 5. Brad Daman (Jefferson) 60 pounds: 7. Michael Derin (Wantage) 80 pounds: 7. Brian Alvino (Wantage) 85 pounds: 6. Gunther Wassong (Sussex Christian) Heavyweight: 2. Danny Cunico (Kittatinny Midget Division 65 pounds: 2. Avelino Jacinto (Stillwater) 90 pounds: 7. George Scalley (Jefferson) 110 pounds: 6. Brett Fundell (Sussex Christian) Junior Division 65 pounds: 8. Patrick Healy (Jefferson) 75 pounds: 1. Devin Carter (Sussex-Wantage) 80 pounds: 6. Kevin Churchill (Newton); 8. Danny Haines (Hopatcong) 95 pounds: 8. Mike Labell (Lenape Valley) 105 pounds: 5. Bill Smith (Wantage) 119 pounds: 6. Zachary Reinauer (Sparta) 126 pounds: 1. Ryan Callahan (Wallkill Valley) 140 pounds: 3. Vincent SanFillippo (Wallkill Valley) Heavyewight: 2. Stephen Mihail (Newton) Intermediate Division 90 pounds: 1. Kodie Silvestri (Wallkill Valley); 4. Bill Gould (Sussex-Wantage) 105 pounds: 4. Nicholas Bach (Stillwater) 119 pounds: 4. Troy Hernandez (Kittatinny) 133 pounds: 2. Braden Carter (Sussex) Heavyweight: 2. Richard Salman (Lenape Valley); 6. Matt Simons (Vernon) Super Heavyweight: 4. Devin Gould (Sussex-Wantage) High School Cadet 103 pounds: 6. Kevin Wagenhoffer (Stockholm) 125 pounds: 3. Kyle Donadio (High Point) 135 pounds: 4. Billy Hotalen (High Point) 145 pounds: 6. Rich Joseph (Kittatinny) 152 pounds: 4. Vincent Gallo (High Point) 171 pounds: 6. Carlos Yarosz (Hopatcong)