Belleville High School wrestling team members are all smiles after winning the Belleville tournament title on Saturday, Jan. 7.
BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville High School wrestling team, under head coach Joseph Pizzi, is enjoying a successful season.
Belleville hosted and won its fourth annual wrestling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 7. The Bucs finished first out of 12 high schools.
Belleville had four individual champions in the tournament: junior captain Jakob Ferrer at the 106-pound weight class, junior Leo Tiankee at 120 pounds, junior captain Rocco Negron at 132 pounds and senior Fernando Collado at 165 pounds.
Ferrer improved his record to 10-0 on the season. “He did a great job,” said Pizzi in a phone interview with the Belleville Post, noting that Ferrer is also in the top five of his class academically. “He is a vocal leader and a great man.” Ferrer has started since his freshman year. He also is a former recreation wrestler.
Tiankee, another former recreation wrestler, also improved to 10-0 on the season and leads by example.
Negron was voted by the tournament coaches as the outstanding wrestler at the tournament after winning a tough weight class in impressive fashion and improved to 10-0. “He is a phenomenal young man. A lot of kids look up to him. He is one of our team captains and one of our leaders and contributors.”
The Bucs also had three third-place finishers: senior captain Matias Lopez at 138 pounds, sophomore Demetri Moya at 157 pounds and senior Sterling Fernandez at 215 pounds.
Lopez was a region tournament qualifier last season. Moya, who also plays football, shows much promise, and Pizzi has high hopes for him. Fernandez, who has a jiujitsu background, also has been doing well this season.
Pizzi is excited about the new, state-of-the-art Belleville Indoor Training Facility, which was unveiled a few months ago and is located at 522 Cortlandt St. The team used to train in the school cafeteria.
“I think it’s the best thing that Belleville athletics could have ever done,” Pizzi said. “We have our own double room down there for wrestling; there’s a weight room that we are able to utilize every single day; cardio section that we can utilize every day, with different cardio machines. There’s a turf room. We do rope slams; we run the track. It’s very beneficial to have and makes everything very convenient. It’s really given the kids a lot more energy; they love going down there, love to train, so I really think it’s turned the new page for our athletics here. The more we utilize it, the better we’ll be, and you’ll notice that in years to come. It’s awesome.”
The Bucs have high hopes for the rest of the season, looking to make a good showing in the Essex County Tournament and the district tournament.
“I have high hopes for the team, as long as we can stay healthy, and everybody is focused and fully locked in,” Pizzi said. “That’s the term that we have been using all year; we’re locked in. Every year, I have a different saying, and this year is ‘all gas, no brake,’ similar to the (New York) Jets. We have that saying. The kids have really bought into the philosophy, and it’s been great this year.”
Photo Courtesy of Joseph Pizzi
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