BLOOMFIELD, NJ – For a guy who never wrestled in high school at Belleville or college at Seton Hall University, Sam Fusaro admits with a smile that he’s had a “host of thrills” in the mat sports.
As an assistant coach at Bloomfield, he saw Arthur Cuffari capture a state title at 135 pounds. And as the Bengals head coach, Fusaro saw Joe Chiaravallo earn a second-place finish at 189 pounds in his senior campaign, after placing third in the same weight class in his junior season.
This winter Fusaro, who has been a Health and Physical Education teacher at the Bloomfield Middle School for some 34 years, is hopeful for another good year.
“The problem is,” said Fusaro, “is that we’ve been hit by injuries and illness in the pre-season. We have to get to the practice room to get started in the right direction. We have some talented kids, but we really don’t have all that much depth.”
Leading the way for the Bengals will be four talented seniors. That group includes Pablo Estevez at 126 pounds, Elijah Hernandez at 160, Barak Pipkins at 170 and Adam Lutick at 220 pounds.
“They all did well as year ago,” said Fusaro. “As seniors, they want to be even better.”
Estevez, a very athletic kid, was a District champ as a junior. He certainly has the ability to make a run at a Region title in 2017.
“This is a very demanding sport, so you have to show a lot of discipline if you want to be successful,” remarked Fusaro, who enjoys competing against such quality programs as Belleville and Nutley. “Pablo is a kid you know will give a great effort every time out.”
Hernandez, who placed third in the District as a junior, works as hard as anyone on the squad. Fusaro feels that 2017 will be a top year for the youngster.
Pipkins, who placed second in the Regions as a junior, frustrates his opponents because he’s so quick on the mats. He can make a sudden move to end the match in a flash in the opening period.
The upper weight classes are always exciting ones to watch, and this winter Bloomfield has a real talented kid in Lutick at 220. He showed his stuff last February in the Regions with a second-place finish.
“Adam is a very strong kid,” commented Fusaro. “He’s going to win a lot of big matches for us this winter.”
Lutick won the title at 220 at Mount Olive Tournament on Sunday, Dec. 18, in the season opener.
Bloomfield will get its first test when it competes in the Roselle Park Tournament four days after Christmas. Then on Jan. 6, the Bengals will host a quality Seton Hall Prep squad. Bloomfield will travel to Nutley on Jan. 11 and then host a quality Cedar Grove squad on Jan. 13. Later in the month, Bloomfield will face a top Caldwell team at home, and then meet Belleville in a tri-match on the road.
“We have a challenging schedule,” said Fusaro. “Hey, in late January, the ECT (Essex County Tournament) is always very competitive. After that event, you can start thinking about the Districts, Regions and states.”
Fusaro says that even though wrestling is an individual sport, the team always has to come first.
“Everyone has to make sacrifices for the good of the team,” said Fusaro. “That’s just the way it is.”
MAT NOTES – One of the best kids to compete against Bloomfield during Fusaro’s time at the school, was Belleville’s Emilio Nardone in the early 1990s… When Fusaro was a student at Belleville in the late 1970s, the star athlete in Essex County was Bloomfield’s Kelly Tripucka in basketball… Cuffari attended college at Rutgers while Chiaravallo went to Columbia.
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