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Schools

Drew Spector Claims Record Third District Tilte; Evan Zuzulock Gets First

West Deptford senior Drew Spector made history with his third District 29 championship, while junior Evan Zuzulock earned his first.

SEWELL — The way Drew Spector sees it, Saturday’s accomplishment was nothing more than a step toward a bigger goal.

History will remember it quite differently.

Spector, a senior member of the West Deptford High School wrestling team, won his school-record third title at the NJSIAA District 29 Individual Wrestling Championships at Gloucester County College Saturday night. He achieved the feat in a dominating 15-0 technical fall over Pitman’s Tylor McIlvaine in five minutes, 49 seconds in the 140-pound weight class.

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“I just work hard,” said Spector, who raised his career win total to 99. It’s not my goal (to win district titles). My goal is to place as high as I can in states and try to take care of regions.”

Although Spector was modest of his accomplishments, West Deptford head coach John Craig gushed over what the senior has done on the mat.

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“Drew’s a phenomenal wrestler, there’s no other way to describe it,” Craig said. “He controls matches so well and that’s not from anything but hard work. The kid’s a workhorse. He comes to practice every day, outworks his opponents and is a great captain and great leader.

“He does everything right. He’s a poster boy of ‘If you do everything right, success will happen.’”

Eagles’ junior Evan Zuzulock also won a district title, pulling out a 3-2 decision over Paulsboro’s Juan Rivera in the 119 weight class. The top three wrestlers from each weight class advance. Joining Spector and Zuzulock at next week’s Region 8 Wrestling Tournament will be runners-up Tyler Kaminski (112 pounds), Josh Gilliano (130), James Shields (152) and Rory Bonner (171), as well as third-place finishers Dustin Zuzulock (103) and Sean Bonner (160).

Seniors Dan Eckley and Bryan Snow saw their seasons come to a close with losses in the semifinals and consolations.

The Region 8 Tournament begins Tuesday in Egg Harbor Township with the second- and third-place finishers in Districts 29, 30, 31 and 32 competing. Each district champion is given a bye and will compete on Friday.

Evan Zuzulock’s title win was a near mirror image of his 6-5 decision over Rivera during a regular season dual meet. Zuzulock said he used the information he gained in that meeting to help him win his first district championship.

“I knew I had to watch his shots,” said Zuzulock, who scored the only takedown of the match in the third period to go up 4-3. “He has real good double leg (takedowns), so I had to be on the defensive end when we were neutral.”

About two hours before his victory, Evan watched younger brother Dustin (a No. 4 seed at 103 pounds) advance to regions with a 5-3 win in the consolations. The match was 3-3 late in the third period before Evan scored the decisive takedown with 45 seconds left and held on for a victory that garnered the praise of Craig.

“The kid’s 95 pounds soaking wet, so he gives up 10 pounds every match, and at that size that’s 10 percent of your body weight,“ Craig said. “He is one of the toughest kids in our room. The kid’s all heart and all fight.”

The win also fired up Evan.

“Seeing him win and both of us going (to regions) together, with him only being a freshman, it feels good to know we are making a name for ourselves,” Evan Zuzulock said.

The Eagles have two sets of brothers moving on as Sean and Rory Bonner will each compete in the opening round of regions on Tuesday.

“It's been our goal to go to regions together,” said Sean, a senior. “It would have been fun to join him in the finals, but everything worked out.”

Paulsboro won the team title with 204 points, on the back of six individual champions. West Deptford placed second in the nine-team field with 184.

“I think we did a god job,” Craig said. “Obviously Paulsboro’s a really good team, probably the best team in South Jersey, and to come in here and battle like we did to get two champs, six finalists and eight guys moving on to regionals, is an accomplishment in and among itself. I’m proud of our guys, and I think they did a really nice job today.”

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