Kinnelon's Maroldi Crowned District Champ

The quest for Atlantic City officially began for high school wrestlers this weekend, as both Kinnelon High School and Butler High School competed in the District 4 championship at West Milford High School.

While Kinnelon only sent two competitors to the district championship, one was crowded a champ—Luke Maroldi at 135 pounds—and the other—Carey Feliciano—reached the final of the 145-pound division.

Both will advance to the regional tournament along with Butler's Tyler DeScafano, Tyler Loranger, Matt Polhemus, Rich Polhemus and Adam Zandonella—all district finalists—and Sean Mullin, who placed third at 152 pounds.

“This is about seniors finalizing their career,” Butler assistant coach Jim Matsakis said. “They've been in the program for so long, and you hope they all win but you know...there's more urgency because of the finality.”

Butler finished fourth in the district with 110 points, while Kinnelon recorded 43 points. Pequannock captured the team title with 198 points.

Maroldi beat Butler's Matt Polhemus with a 9-1 decision to capture the 135-pound division. Maroldi's teammate, Feliciano, lost to Pequannock's Tyler Van Dyke 6-2 in the final of the 145-pound division.

“It's the culmination of a career of hard work,” Kinnelon head coach Brian McDonald said. “For me, it also represents the beginning for a whole group of others. This team is on the beginning of their journey.”

For Butler, DeScafano reached the 125-pound championship bout before being pinned by Jason Zuniga, of Wayne Valley, in 1 minute, 10 seconds.

Loranger was also a finalist in the 130-pound division, but was pinned by R.J. DeGeorge in just 18 seconds.

Rich Polhemus was pinned by Pequannock's Bob Weisse in 1 minute, 29 seconds in the final of the 140-pound division.

Zandonella lost by a 13-0 decision to Lakeland's Kevin Bracken in the final of 189.