Belleville senior Rocco Negron poses with his District 10 tournament award
BELLEVILLE, NJ — Senior Rocco Negron won the 144-pound weight class championship and was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler to lead the Belleville High School boys wrestling team at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s District 10 tournament at Nutley High School on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Negron pinned Ethan Pinillis of Montclair in 1 minute, 39 seconds in the quarterfinals and pinned Alexandros Gliatis of Livingston in 48 seconds in the semifinals. Negron posted a 10-2 major decision over Joel Gonzalez of Verona in the final.
Seniors Jakob Ferrer and Leo Tiankee each took second place for the Buccaneers.
In the 113-pound weight class, Ferrer pinned Spencer Crawley of Bloomfield in 2:53 in the quarterfinals and won by a 9-2 decision over Jack Finkelstein of Nutley in the semifinals before dropping a tough 4-1 decision to Jake Taylor of Delaware Valley in the final.
In the 120-pound weight class, Tiankee pinned Dante Palmer of Verona in 2:31 in the quarterfinals and won by a 12-5 decision over Sebastian Kristal of Glen Ridge in the semifinals. Tiankee lost by pin to Nicholas Adams of West Orange in 1:32 in the final.
Freshman Lorenzo Tiankee took third place in the 126-pound weight class with an 8-4 decision over Kyle Cassidy of West Orange in the consolation.
The four Belleville wrestlers qualified for the NJSIAA’s Region 3 tournament at West Orange High School on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24.
Photo Courtesy of Belleville High School Athletics
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