Del Piano Finishes Career Among State's Best

It's far away. It's crowded. The days are long and exhausting.

In other words, Lucus Del Piano loved his trip to Atlantic City this past weekend.

Del Piano finished his wrestling career at South Brunswick High School by tying for 13th place among all of the 189-pound wrestlers in the state of New Jersey.

"It was amazing," Del Piano noted of the state championships in Atlantic City. "I've never been there before. There are a lot of people. This is one of the biggest things I've ever been involved with in my life."

Del Piano, a senior that finished this season with a record of 33-9, earned the right to wrestle in Atlantic City by placing third in the Region 5 Tournament.

The top 24 wrestlers in each weight class made it to Atlantic City. Eight were seeded into the top 16. The other wrestlers needed a win on Friday to make the top 16 and keep their season going.

DelPiano responded with a 3-2 win over Colin Egan of Wall.

"I was just happy to be in Atlantic City," Del Piano said. "Any type of win was a big accomplishment for me."

South Brunswick Coach Joe Dougherty was impressed.

"I thought he wrestled really well," Dougherty said. "He beat a region second-place finisher that we had a lot of respect for."

Del Piano's reward was to go up against St. Peter's Prep's James Fox, who came into the match 38-0 and ranked in the top 10 in the United States.

Fox won by pin before going on to win the state championship.

"He got to wrestle the eighth ranked kid in the country," Dougherty noted. "Lucus is a light 189-pounder. He probably weighs 178 pounds. Fox is a 200-pounder that is cutting weight. He is a big kid."

Big and strong.

"He's without a doubt the best guy I ever wrestled," Del Piano said. "He has great technique and he's extremely strong."

Because he reached the round of 16, Del Piano was able to continue in the first round of wrestlebacks. His season -- and career -- ended with a 7-5 loss to Roselle Park's Connor Gabriel.

While Del Piano wished he could have made it through another round or two, there was no denying this was a successful season and a great weekend.

"It was a great way to end my career," Del Piano said. "It was great time. I couldn't ask for anything more."