IRVINGTON, NJ – The Irvington High School varsity wrestling team has enjoyed an historic season.
The Blue Knights, under head coach Kyle Steele, finished the regular season with a stellar 19-5 record, including winning the Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division with an 8-0 record.
The 19 wins are the most in a season for Irvington.
In addition, the Blue Knights won the NJ Urban wrestling league championship for the second year in a row and qualified for the state sectional tournament for just the fourth time in school history. IHS lost to top-seeded Cranford in the first round in the North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 tournament on Feb. 6.
Senior Tyhmir Lassiter earned his school-record 100th win Friday, Feb. 10, against Trenton and is 29-3 on the season at the 182-pound weight division. Lassiter finished third at the Essex County Tournament, Jan. 19-20, at Codey Arena.
The Blue Knights have several other wrestlers who are having strong seasons, such as 113-pound Terrell Ashman, who has a 21-10 record; 132-pound Jefferson Jean-Paul, who is 24-9; 145-pound Clerson Xavier, who is 21-8; 138-pound Peter Dumerand, who is 21-11; 170-pound Jerwin Martilus, who is 22-7; and 285-pound Carl Napoleon, who is 26-7.
At the ECT, Ashman placed fourth in the 113-pound class; Napoleon (285-pound class) took fifth; Dumerand (138) and Martilius (170) each took sixth; and Jefferson Jean-Paul (132), Jefferey Benjamin (195) and Martineau Jean-Louis (220) each took seventh for IHS.
The Blue Knights will gear up for the Distric 15 tournament at Westfield on Saturday, Feb. 18. The teams in District 15 include North Hunterdon, Roselle Park, Somerville, Westfield, Irvington, Ridge, Carteret, Bernards, Metuchen, and Weequahic. The top three finishers in each weight class will advance to Region 4 at Union High School.
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