Howell’s Gudewitz, Middletown South’s Rowland win third girls wrestling region titles, lead group of 10 region champs from the Shore

Middletown South senior Thea Rowland and Howell junior Kyle Gudewitz each won their third NJSIAA region championships to headline a group of 10 Shore Conference girls wrestlers who secured region titles on Sunday afternoon.

Rowland, last season’s 145-pound state champion, rolled to the Central Region 152-pound region title with three pins in four bouts, including a 27-second pin of Raritan’s Brigid Hatton in the championship bout. Rowland also won by first-period fall in the first round and quarterfinals before an 8-3 win over Hillsborough’s Maria Imhauser in the semifinals. Rowland was also fourth in the state at 145 as a sophomore.

Gudewitz was last season’s 114-pound state champion and won her third region title with an 11-0 major decision over Bordentown’s Madison Blumenthal in the Central Region 114-pound final. Blumenthal was the state third-place finisher at 114 last season. Gudewitz won by fall in her first three bouts, all in the first period. She is now in position to become the Shore’s first girls four-time region champion next season. Gudewitz is a two-time state medalist who was third in the state at 107 as a freshman.

Jackson Memorial, the top-ranked girls team in the state, had another big tournament with three champions and six total wrestlers advancing to the state tournament in Atlantic City. Junior Brian Dugo won her second region title by placing first in the Central Region 126-pound bracket, while junior Madison Rucci (100) and sophomore Jada Figueroa (120) won their first region titles. Ava Bonilla placed second at 107,  Dominique Lopez finished second at 138, and Marlowe Donato wrestled back to place third at 114 and clinch a spot in the state tournament.

Rucci continued her tremendous season to win her bracket with two pins, a technical fall, and a 16-2 major decision over Marlboro’s Nola Allen in the championship bout. She is now 40-1 on the season and looking for a state championship after finishing fifth at 107 last season.

Figueroa won the 120-pound title as the No. 2 seed, defeating Monroe’s Aman Cheema 6-2 in the final. Figueroa won by fall in the round of 16, by 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals, and by fall in the semifinals.

Dugo was the top seed at 126 pounds and made quick work of the field with three pins in under a minute to reach the final where she won by 18-3 technical fall over Robinsville’s Cristy Mejia. Dugo is a two-time state medalist.

Also winning titles in the Central Region were Freehold Township senior Rosabella Kearns at 145, Point Boro senior Emily Breen at 165, Lakewood senior Daniela Palacios at 185, and Howell junior Giavonna Farrell-Byers at 235. In the South Region, Central Regional junior Jade Hahn won the 185-pound title.

Kearns won by fall in 1:42 over Point Boro junior Charlize Schlam to win her second region championship and complete a dominant run through the bracket. She won by fall in the round of 16, by 15-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals, and by 12-3 major decision in the semifinals. Keaarns is a two-time state medalist who placed fifth at 138 pounds last season.

Breen won the 165-pound title as the No. 4 seed, pinning the No. 1 seed in the semifinals and pinning a returning state medalist in the final. After reaching the semifinals, Breen won by fall over top-seeded Sofia Sousa of Old Bridge in 3:43. In the final, she worked for the fall early in the second period and pinned Steinert’s Ella Johnson in 2:16 to win the title. Johnson was eighth in the state at 165 last season.

At 185, Palacios (19-1) won a dramatic final against Lawrence’s Tanvi Medisetti. The bout was tied 1-1 late in the third period when Palacios took Madisetti down with 25 seconds left to go up 4-1 and then secured the fall at the 5:58 mark. Palacios won by fall in the first two rounds and then defeated Hightstown’s Keyra Huastitlan, 3-0, in the semifinals.

Farrell-Byers Gudewitz had one of the most dominant champion runs in the region by going unscored upon and pinning all four of her opponents to win the 235-pound championship. The only point she allowed was an escape to North Brunswick’s Rahkai Degrasse in the final.

Hahn won her first region title with an impressive technical fall over Gateway/Woodbury’s Shaelie Young, a returning state medalist. Young was third in the state at 185 pounds last season. Hahn (24-1) was the state runner-up at 185 as a freshman. She won her first two bouts by fall in the first period before winning 16-1 over Young in the final.

Also advancing to the state tournament for Central were Liliana Alicea at 165 and JayAnna Hahn at 132. Alicea is the defending 165-pound state champion but fell to Rancocas Valley’s Jeveah Turner by fall in the semifinals. She bounced back to win both of her consolation bouts by fall to place third. Hahn finished third at 132 pounds with an 8-6 decision over Holy Spirit’s Kylee Gaddy.

 

NJSIAA girls state qualifiers from the Shore Conference

100

Madison Rucci, Jr., Jackson Memorial (C-1st)

Nola Allen, Jr., Marlboro (C-2nd)

Elizabeth Avila, Sr., Brick (C-3rd)

 

107

Ava Bonilla, Jr., Jackson Memorial (C-2nd)

 

114

Kylie Gudewitz, Jr., Howell (C-1st)

Marlowe Donato, Jr., Jackson Memorial (C-3rd)

 

120

Jada Figueroa, So., Jackson Memorial (C-1st)

Maeve Witte, Sr., Freehold Township (C-3rd)

 

126

Briana Dugo, Jr., Jackson Memorial (C-1st)

 

132

Sophia Babineau, Sr., Manalapan (C-2nd)

JayAnna Hahn, Fr., Central (S-3rd)

 

138

Dominique Lopez, Sr., Jackson Memorial (C-2nd)

 

145

Rosabella Kearns, Sr., Freehold Township (C-1st)

Charlize Schlam, Jr., Point Boro (C-2nd)

Natalia Rusin, Jr., Middletown South (C-3rd)

 

152

Thea Rowland, Sr., Middletown South (C-1st)

Brigid Hatton, Sr., Raritan (C-2nd)

Eliza Toth, So., Point Boro (C-3rd)

 

165

Emily Breen, Sr., Point Boro (C-1st)

Liliana Alicea, Jr., Central (S-3rd)

 

185

Jade Hahn, Jr., Central (S-1st)

Daniela Palacios, Sr., Lakewood (C-1st)

 

235

Giavonna Farrell-Byers, Jr., Howell (C-1st)

Perla Castillo, Sr., Lakewood (C-2nd)