Bloomfield HS wrestling team enjoys district tournament success

Bloomfield senior Michael Marzano, second from right, poses after taking second place at the District 9 state tournament at Nutley.

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School wrestling team enjoyed a stellar showing at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s District 9 state tournament at Nutley High School on Saturday, Feb. 18.

The Bengals finished in third place out of 10 schools. Delbarton finished first with 351.5 points, Nutley was second with 140 points and Bloomfield was third with 120.5 points.

Sophomore Anthony Lizama, at 113 pounds; senior Rahjohn Plummer, at 138 pounds; and senior Michael Marzano, at 144 pounds, each took second place; and senior Juan Millan, at 126 pounds; senior Estuardo Lopez, at 150 pounds; and sophomore Gabriel McCulloch, at the 285-pound heavyweight class, each took third place to lead the Bengals.

The six Bloomfield wrestlers advanced to the NJSIAA’s Region 3 state tournament at West Orange High School on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25. The top-three finishers in each weight class at the district 9, 10, 11 and 12 tournaments qualified for the Region 3 tournament. The top-four finishers in each weight class in the eight region tournaments qualify for the NJSIAA’s individual championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Thursday to Saturday, March 2-4.

Christopher Centeno, 157 pounds; and Trevor Frantantoni, at 175, each took fourth place at the district tournament for Bloomfield.  

Here are the Bloomfield results in the district finals and third-place bouts:

Finals

  • 113-pound weight class: Jayden James, Delbarton, pinned Lizama 1 minute, 05 seconds.
  • 138: Tyler Vazquez, Delbarton, pinned Plummer 1:02.
  • 144: Joseph Davi, Delbarton, pinned Marzano 2:50.

Third-place bouts

  • 126: Millan pinned Christopher Carson, Kearny, 1:18.
  • 150: Lopez pinned Victor Ayluardo, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, 3:09.
  • 157: Omier Kayyali, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, major-decisioned Chistopher Centeno 16-7.
  • 175: Michael Willis, Cedar Grove, decisioned Frantantoni 5-3.
  • 285: McCulloch decisioned Jonathan Viton, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, 6-3.

Photo Courtesy of Bloomfield High School wrestling