It won’t be Verona vs. Verona in the first round of the 170-pound class in the state wrestling championship this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that Joe Cordasco and James Kellner won’t take the mat against each other.
The brackets for the state championship have been released, and they have Cordasco, a Verona High School senior, facing Kieran Gerrity of Kittatiny in the first round. Cordasco took third place in the Region 4 championship last weekend; Gerrity finished second in the Region 1 tourney. The winner of this match will face Austin Wetterau of Shawnee High School, who was the first place finisher in Region 7.
Kellner, who attends Saint Peter’s Prep, has a bye in the first round of states after taking first place in Region 4. He will face the winner of a match between Nick Dell-Priscoli of Cinnaminson and Luke Farinaro of Don Bosco in the second round.
Two other Veronans will also be competing in Atlantic City. Nick Anderson, a senior at Delbarton, is the No. 7 seed at 132 pounds. Anderson, who has a 33-4 record going into states, finished second in Region 3. He takes on Joseph Lemerise of Cherokee High School in the first round of states.
Frankie Greco, a senior at VHS, is the No. 5 seed at 182 pounds with a 27-0 record. Greco, who took first in his weight class at Region 4, has a bye in the first round of states. He will face the winner of a match between Corey Markovitch of Cranford and Michael Burns of Morris Knolls. The 182-pound bracket is here.
