Host Nutley HS wrestling team finishes second overall at District 9 state tournament

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

The Raiders finished in second place out of 10 schools. Delbarton, located in Morristown, finished in first place with 351.5 points, and Nutley finished with 140 points.

Brandon Toranzo, a junior, won the 285-pound heavyweight title to lead the Raiders. Seniors Franco Graffeo, at 126 pounds, and William Jennings, at 175 pounds, each took second place; and freshmen Christopher Cifelli, at 106; Patrick Chell, at 113; and Jacob Harlow, at 120, each took third place for Nutley.

The six Nutley 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.

Senior Mathew Nocerino, at 132; senior Clayden Leybovich, at 138; freshman Sean Vilchez, at 165; and senior Ammar Mahmoud, at 190; each took fourth place for Nutley at the district tournament.

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

Finals

126-pound weight class: Chase Quenault, Delbarton, technical fall over Graffeo 23-7, 5 minutes, 25 seconds.

175: Simon Ruiz, Delbarton, pinned Jennings 40 seconds.

285: Toranzo decisioned Connor Martin, Delbarton, 12-5.

Third-place bouts

106: Cifelli decisioned Tommy Sica, Cedar Grove, 7-1.

113: Chell decisioned Rocco Russomanno, Belleville, 7-2.

120: Harlow won by injury default over Jerry D’Alessio, Cedar Grove.

132: Pierce Asfalg, Cedar Grove, pinned Nocerino 3:33.

138: Joseph Rocco, Kearny, decisioned Leybovich 7-1.

165: Edmund Dakar, Cedar Grove, decisioned Vilchez 4-2.

190: David Alvarado, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, decisioned Mahmoud 7-3.

  Nutley High School wrestling