Thrive Spine & Sports Rehab Wrestler of the Week: Colts Neck’s Logan Waller

Every week this season, Shore Conference wrestling fans will have their chance to vote for the Thrive Spine & Sports Rehab Shore Conference Wrestler of the Week on our website.

The Week 7 Shore Conference Wrestler of the Week is Colts Neck junior Logan Waller, who became the Cougars’ first Shore Conference Tournament champion and was also voted as the SCT’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Seeded fourth in the 138-pound bracket for last weekend’s SCT, Waller defeated the No. 1 seed and pinned the state’s No. 2-ranked wrestler in the championship bout. In the semifinals, Waller scored a 7-5 decision over Shore Regional senior Al DeSantis, who was the top seed and is a three-time state tournament qualifier.

In the championship bout, Waller faced Long Branch senior Ryan Zimmerman, who entered undefeated and ranked second in the state by NJ.com. Waller opened a 7-1 lead in the second period by taking Zimmerman down for the second time in the bout and then turning him for three nearfall points. In the third period, Waller used a reversal to go up 9-1 before locking up Zimmerman in a cradle and pinning him at the 4:30 mark of the bout.

It was a statement win for Waller, who is now 27-1 on the season and ranked No. 4 in New Jersey at 138 pounds. After reaching the state tournament last season but failing to win a bout, Waller has his sights set on getting back to Atlantic City and making a run at a state title.

First, he and his teammates will try to win the program’s first state sectional title. Colts Neck is the No. 5 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 section and will travel to fourth-seeded Northern Burlington for a quarterfinal match on Monday. The winner will likely wrestle top-seeded Brick Memorial in the semifinals.

Appropriately, it was a two-man battle for the Wrestler of the Week award with Waller beating out Brick Memorial freshman Anthony Santaniello with 35.58 percent of the votes.

Archive

Week 6: Howell's Kyle Nase

Week 5: Donovan Catholic's Dom Brogna

Week 4: Howell's Nieko Malone

Weeks 1-3: Brick's Evan Tallmadge

Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.