Irvington HS wrestling team impresses at ECT

IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington High School wrestling team enjoyed a good showing at the 45th Essex County Tournament at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange Jan. 16-17.

The Blue Knights finished seventh overall in the team standings among the 21 scoring teams. Seton Hall Prep won the team title for the fifth straight season. 

Edwin Louis won the 220-pound weight class to lead IHS. Louis, a junior seeded No. 1, pinned SHP’s Andrew Mitzak, seeded third, in 2:47 in the final. 

The Blue Knights had five other medal winners.

Carl Banks, a senior, took third place in the 138-pound weight class, while seniors Zalyn Smith and Jamal Joseph each finished fourth in the 145-pound weight class and 195-pound weight class, respectively. Banks, seeded No. 2, pinned Cedar Grove’s Antonio Cuffari, the No. 4 seed, in 3:53; Smith seeded fifth, was pinned by Nutley’s Jacob Gonzalez, seeded third, in 33 seconds and Joseph, seeded third, lost by a 5-0 decision over Caldwell’s John Casale, seeded fifth, in the third-place consolations. 

Justin Evans, a sophomore seeded fourth, took fifth place in the 285-pound heavyweight division as he pinned Montclair’s Sebastien Fortune, seeded seventh, in 4:36 in the fifth-place consolation.

Jayson Turner, a freshman seeded fifth, placed seventh in the 120-pound weight class with a pin in 1:39 over Verona’s Derek Bernardino, seeded 11th.

Team standings: 1. Seton Hall Prep, 259.5 points. 2. West Essex, 227. 3. Livingston, 146. 4. Nutley, 131. 5 tie. Caldwell, 106. West Orange, 106. 7. Irvington, 99. 8. Belleville, 90. 9. Cedar Grove, 89. 10. Bloomfield, 67. 11. Millburn, 62. 12. Verona, 52.5. 13. Columbia, 49. 14. Newark Academy, 46. 15. Orange, 39. 16. Montclair, 29. 17. Newark Collegiate, 12. 18. Glen Ridge, 11. 19 tie. Barringer, 8. Newark East Side, 8 21. Weequahic, 2