Sports
Three West Deptford Wrestlers Get Top Seeds in District 29
Evan Zuzulock, Drew Spector and Dan Eckley enter Friday's wrestling championships as number ones.
Evan Zuzulock, Drew Spector and Dan Eckley enter today’s District 29 Wrestling Championships with a big targets on their backs.
The trio of wrestlers from West Deptford High School earned top seeds Wednesday night, placing them as the favorites to win a district title.
The tournament starts tonight with pre-quarterfinals and quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m., and continues Saturday with semifinals at 11 a.m., consolations at 4 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m. All of the wrestling takes pace at Gloucester County College and tickets can be purchased at the door.
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West Deptford will be competing against District 29 counterparts Paulsboro, Clayton, Gloucester, Gloucester Catholic, Clearview, Deptford, Pitman and Gateway. The top three finishers in each weight class will advance to the Region 8 Wrestling Tournament, beginning on Tuesday at Egg Harbor Township High School.
On paper, the Eagles have eight wrestlers positioned to make trip to Egg Harbor for regions, and head coach John Craig sees the possibility for even more.
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Along with top seeds Zuzulock (119 pounds), Eckley (145) and Spector (140), West Deptford boasts three No. 2 seeds (Tyler Kaminski, 112; Josh Gilliano, 130; and James Shields, 152) as well as two No. 3 seeds, brothers Sean (160) and Rory Bonner (171).
Both Bonners are in stacked weight classes, but Craig believes each of his wrestlers can perform up to, and beyond, their seeding.
“Looking at the seeds, everyone is capable of doing as well as they are seeded, and hopefully a couple of guys go above their seeds,” Craig said. “We have some guys where I think there is a good chance they can overcome their seeds.”
Considering all of the wrestlers with good seeds, West Deptford is likely to also contend for the team title. However, Craig is not as focused on the team area right now. The time for team events has passed. Districts is about individuals achieving their goals, he said.
“The goal for each wrestler is to try and win a district championship,” Craig said. “We set team goals during the season, but individually, this is their time. If they perform well as individuals than the team success will come.
"I want to see as many kids as possible move on to regions and have as many champs as we can.”
Bellow is the seed for each West Deptford wrestler.
103: Dustin Zuzulock, No. 4
112: Tyler Kaminski, No. 2
119: Evan Zuzlock, No. 1
125: Andy Leighton, No. 5
130: Josh Gilliano, No. 2
135: Scott Dennis, No. 6
140: Drew Spector, No. 1
145: Dan Eckley, No. 1
152: James Shields, No. 2
160: Sean Bonner, No. 3
171: Rory Bonner, No. 3
189: Frank Willerton, No. 6
215: Bryan Snow, No. 5
285: Dave Branco, No. 8