5 wrestlers who stood out on Day 1 of the Region 3 tournament in West Orange

WEST ORANGE — Action at Region 3 in West Orange saw many of the area's contenders climb that much closer to a potential state championship. Saturday will decide who reaches the regional podium and gains a trip to Atlantic City, but Friday night's matches set the tone for what to expect on day two.

Here are five of the wrestlers who made impressions during the first day of Region 3 action.

Aidan Carmody, Livingston

The Essex County champion at 106 pounds began the night in the first match of Region 3. Carmody showed why he was the top seed of the bracket as the junior had two decisive wins on Friday. Carmody began the night with a 14-0 major decision over Dawson McWilliams of Phillipsburg in the first round. Carmody punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 15-0 technical fall in 5:30 over District 12 champion Charlie Piccione of Warren Hills. Carmody is a win away from a return trip to Atlantic City and a potential regional final against rival Logan Brzozowski of Seton Hall Prep.

Santino Danise, Hanover Park

Eight freshmen are among the semifinalists in Region 3 and Danise's path might be the most impressive. The Hanover Park freshman pinned Kearny's Jacob Solinski in 3:37 in the first round, then earned a 7-0 decision over West Morris Central's Michael Ferrante in the quarterfinals. Danise now has 31 wins in a stellar freshman campaign and one more win in his next two matches Saturday to clinch a state championship berth. Danise is two straight wins away from being Hanover Park's first region champion at 113 pounds since Sean Conoly in 2015.

Nicholas Balella, Hackettstown

Balella has wrestled at three different weight classes this season, but the sophomore has been impressive at 120 pounds. Balella earned a technical fall over Joseph Rocco of Kearny in the first round, winning an 18-3 decision in 4:35. Balella then pinned Seton Hall Prep's Carlo Vanvolkenburgh in 5:17 to be one win away from a state tournament berth. Balella draws Phillipsburg freshman Gavin Hawk in the semifinals. Hawk defeated Balella in the District 10 final last weekend due to injury default.

Damian Weaver, Lyndhurst/North Arlington

There are only two undefeated wrestlers in Region 3 with Weaver (150) and Delbarton's Tyler Vasquez (132) both improving to 26-0 on Friday night. Weaver enjoyed a bye to the quarterfinals and overcame a loss in that round last year, pinning Cedar Grove's Chris Babcock in 2:12. Weaver is a win away from returning to the state championships but hopes to join brother Dylan (region champion in 2019 and 2020) as the fourth set of siblings in Lyndhurst wrestling history to both win region championships.

John Wargo, Phillipsburg

All but one of the top two seeds at every weight reached the semifinals after Friday night's action. In the final bout of the night, Wargo upset top seed Tyler McCatham of Warren Hills, holding on to a 2-1 decision at 285 pounds. After six minutes where each wrestler only had an escape to their name, neither was able to earn a takedown in overtime. Wargo was able to ride out McCatham for 30 seconds and escaped on his turn on bottom for the winning point. Wargo is the highest seed among semifinalists as the eighth seed. Wargo hopes to become Philipsburg's first heavyweight regional champion since Greg Troxell in 1990.

Robert Aitken is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.

Email: aitken@northjersey.com

Twitter: @robertaitkenjr

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ wrestling: 5 wrestlers who stood out on Day 1 at Region 3