By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Nick Maher was confident heading into the District 5 wrestling tournament last weekend.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South senior will take that same confidence to Atlantic City for the state championships, which begin tonight at Boardwalk Hall.
At last weekend’s Region 5 tournament at Hunterdon Central, Maher defeated Connor Mills of Delaware Valley, 8-5, to win the 138-pound weight class. He is the No. 5 seed at 138 for the state finals and will face the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Benjamin Brisman of Pascack Hills and Mike Nigro of Cranford.
“I am looking forward to it,” Maher said. “I went to districts and I thought I could win. You have to take every match seriously and you can’t just blatantly think someone is not going to be good, that is how upsets happen. But you have to think they are not as good as you are. If you don’t believe you can win then you can’t win.
“I am looking to do well this weekend. I am not just happy with making it. That wasn’t my goal. My goal is to do well at the tournament.”
Maher will be joined in Atlantic City by a pair of Montgomery High wrestlers who advanced through Region 5. Dylan D’Amore lost in the 285 finals to Anthony Porcaro of Sayreville, 3-1, in sudden victory. Terence Rohmeyer of Montgomery was third at 126 after he defeated Alec Gleason of East Brunswick, 4-2, in the third-place match. August Rohmeyer finished fourth at 132.
Terence Rohmeyer is unseeded at 126 and will open the state tournament against eighth-seeded Garrett Norcross of Ridgefield Park. The winner of that match will face the No. 1 seed, Ty Agaisse of Delbarton. D’Amore is seeded seventh at 285 and will open against Andrew Baez of Highland Regional.
For Maher, the fifth seed seems just about right and he is anxious to see what happens on the mat this weekend.
“I think that is a good spot,” Maher said. “My coach thinks it is a good spot. No matter what if you are the best guy you have to be able to beat the best guys. So if you think you are the best it doesn’t matter where you are seeded.”
For Maher, this will be his second trip to the state finals and having been there before should help this year.
“The atmosphere is great and I like it a lot,” he said. “Bu while you are there you just need to focus on the wrestling. At the end of the day it is just a mat and a match. Boardwalk Hall is cool and everything, but you have to treat it like any other match.
“Last year I think it got to me a little. But I feel like last year kind of got that out of the way. Now I know what to expect and I am not going to let it affect me.”
