Paulsboro's Duca off to fast start in Region 8 mat action
EGG HARBOR TWP. - Nick Duca was happy. For good reason. He was in the mood to celebrate. For good reason.
EGG HARBOR TWP. - Nick Duca was happy.
For good reason.
He was in the mood to celebrate.
For good reason.
And next thing he knew, he was way overweight.
For good reason.
"We were all so excited," Duca said of the atmosphere around the Paulsboro program after the Red Raiders snapped a state-team-title drought with a come-from-behind victory over Kittatinny Feb. 14 at Toms River North.
On Wednesday night, Duca showed no ill effects of his temporary gain in weight, and the grueling effort to get back down to qualify to compete at 106 pounds. He won his Region 8 opening-round bout with a 29-second pin at Egg Harbor Township High School.
"Feel good, feel strong," Duca said after his victory over Felix Torres of Absegami. "I'm good at this weight."
Duca dropped down to 106 pounds for the individual state tournament after wrestling most of the season at 113 pounds. He even competed in four bouts at 120 pounds.
Duca is looking for his first Region 8 title. He's the No. 2 seed in a tough weight class that includes Gateway sophomore Dante Mininno, the top seed, as well as Highland junior Seth Henry, the No. 3, and Williamstown sophomore Shumun Smith, the No. 4.
Duca lost to Mininno by a 6-4 score in the District 29 final Saturday. He is hoping for a rematch, and for a repeat of 2015 - when he lost to the Gateway wrestler in the regular season and in the districts, but beat him for third place in the regions.
"We just go back and forth," Duca said.
Paulsboro coach Paul Morina believes Duca can make some hay at 106 pounds.
"He just needs to keep advancing," Morina said. "That's the key, keep moving, get to Atlantic City and see what happens. He looks good. He's wrestling good."
Last year, Duca advanced to the state championships and won his first two bouts on Friday night. He fell just short of making the podium as a top-eight finisher.
"I felt like I should have placed," Duca said. "That's a big motivator for me."
Duca is surrounded by family around the Paulsboro wrestling program.
"There's like 50 of us," Duca said with a smile.
Duca's brother Anthony, a junior, won the 120-pound title at District 29 and had a bye on Wednesday to Friday's region quarterfinals.
His cousin Geno, a Paulsboro freshman, advanced out of District 29 at 113 pounds but lost his opening-round bout Wednesday night.
His father, Dean, is a Paulsboro assistant. So is his cousin Joe, Geno's brother and a former state champion for the Red Raiders who wrestled at Indiana University.
"He pushes us so hard in practice," Nick Duca said of his cousin Joe. "He gets us right where we need to be."
Nick Duca said he needed to rely a little more on his cousin's demanding workouts after Paulsboro won the team title.
Nick Duca was front and center in the Red Raiders' rally, both in a direct sense because of his victory in his bout at 113 pounds but also because of his senior leadership for a young team with several freshmen.
"I feel like I'm a good leader," said Duca, who plans to attend Rowan College of Gloucester County and wrestle for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year college. "When we won, when we finally won another title, I felt great. We all felt great.
"We celebrated. We all got together, had fun, ate a lot."
Duca said his weight went up to 122 pounds. That doesn't sound like much, unless you're trying to compete at 106 pounds (108 with the two-pound weight allowance).
"All year I knew I could get to 106 and I wanted to do it the right way," Duca said. "I kind of did it the wrong way, but it worked out."
@PhilAnastasia
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