NUTLEY – Nutley High School wrestlers Darwin Pena and Justin Bivona finished in the top three of their respective weight classes at the Region 4 Tournament at West Orange High School.
Pena and Bivona earned berths for the state tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 4-6. The top three finishers in each weight class qualified for the state tournament.
Pena, a senior, took second in the 152-pound weight class, losing to undefeated Steve Bonsall of Newark Academy in the final on Saturday, Feb. 27. Pena moved to a stellar 36-3 record. Bonsall improved to 39-0. It marks Pena’s second straight trip to Atlantic City. Last season, Pena went 2-2 in the state tournament at the 145-pound class.
Bivona, a junior, decisioned Lyndhurst/North Arlington’s Matthew DeMarco in a 4-3 tiebreaker in the third-place consolation in the 182-pound class. Bivona avenged the quarterfinal loss to DeMarco in the previous day.
After losing in the quarterfinals to DeMarco, Bivona returned the next day to win in both the wrestlebacks quarterfinals and wrestlebacks semifinals before beating DeMarco to gain redemption. Bivona improved to 19-17.
Senior Robert Duxbury finished fourth in the 138-pound class for the Raiders, losing in the third-place consolation to Nick Fierro of Verona, 5-1, to miss a berth for the state tournament. Duxbury reached the semifinals, needing just one win to guarantee a state tournament berth. Unfortunately, he lost to Nicholas Santos of St. Peter’s Prep, 5-1. Duxbury then won in the wrestlebacks semifinals before losing in the third-place consolation to finish with a sensational 34-4 record.
In all, the Raiders boasted 10 wrestlers at the Region tournament, which consisted of the top three finishers in each weight class from the district tournaments.
Freshman Domonic Cofone lost in the preliminary round to become eliminated and finish with a 22-14 record.
Sophomores John Hickey (113-pound class) and Francesco Gabriele (126) both lost in the preliminary round. Hickey took fourth at the District, 14 Tournament but competed in the Region after the third-place finisher could not compete.
Sophomore Frank DeMaio (132) lost in the quarterfinals and lost in the wrestlebacks quarterfinals to finish with a strong 26-12 record.
Joseph DiPasquale, a junior at 145, lost in the quarterfinals. He won in the wrestlebacks quarterfinals but lost in the wrestlebacks semifinals to finish with a stellar 27-11 record.
Senior John Zarro (160) lost in the quarterfinals and lost in the wrestlebacks quarterfinals to end with an outstanding 28-9 record.
Junior Sabino Coppola (220) also lost in the quarterfinals and lost in the wrestlebacks quarterfinals to finish with a 21-15 record.
REGION 4 TOURNAMENT
NHS results
Feb. 24
Preliminary round
106: Matthew Nichter, Livingston, decisioned Domonic Cofone, Nutley, 3-1.
113: Anthony Petrillo, Livingston, major decisioned John Hickey, Nutley, 14-4.
126: Marco Macrino, West Essex, pinned Francesco Gabriele, Nutley, 3:40.
138: Robert Duxbury, Nutley, pinned Hunter Fortier, Passaic Valley, 1:52.
152: Darwin Pena, Nutley, pinned Kenneth Newman, Livingston, 2:28.
220: Sabino Coppola, Nutley, pinned Casey Kimmel, Livingston, :56.
Feb. 26
Quarterfinals
132: Gerald Jones, Caldwell, decisioned Frank DeMaio, Nutley, 4-1.
138: Robert Duxbury, Nutley, decisioned Chris Zaccaria, West Essex, 6-2.
145: Joseph McCarthy, Cedar Grove, decisioned Joseph DiPasquale, Nutley, 5-2.
152: Darwin Pena, Nutley, major decisioned Justin Montanez, St. Peter’s Prep, 17-6.
160: Kyle Schaffer, Caldwell, decisioned John Zarro, Nutley, 9-3.
182: Matthew DeMarco, Lyndhurst/North Arlington, decisioned Justin Bivona, Nutley, 13-6.
220: Jonathan Agosto, Passaic Tech, pinned Sabino Coppola, Nutley, 2:54.
Feb. 27
Wrestlebacks quarterfinals
132: John Schultz, Cedar Grove, decisioned Frank DeMaio, Nutley, 4-3.
145: Joseph DiPasquale, Nutley, decisioned Andrew Fernandez, Lyndhurst/North Arlington, 5-0.
160: Shawn Sodora, St. Mary of Rutherford, won by forfeit over John Zarro, Nutley.
182: Justin Bivona, Nutley, decisioned Kasson Quince-McGee, Montclair, 5-2.
220: Matthew Maddaloni, Caldwell, pinned Sabino Coppola, Nutley, 2:54.
Semifinals
138: Nicholas Santos, St. Peter’s Prep, decisioned Robert Duxbury, Nutley, 3-1.
152: Darwin Pena, Nutley, decisioned Dean Caravela, Caldwell, 3-1, sudden victory.
Wrestlebacks semifinals
138: Robert Duxbury, Nutley, decisioned Nick Fierro, Verona, 5-1.
145: Nicholas Esposito, Cliffside Park, major decisioned Joseph DiPasquale, Nutley, 13-2.
182: Justin Bivona, Nutley, decisioned Billy Czupac, Verona, 7-4.
Third-place consolations
138: Nick Legreaux, Passaic Tech, pinned Robert Duxbury, Nutley, 3:43.
182: Justin Bivona, Nutley, decisioned Matthew DeMarco, Lyndhurst/North Arlington, 4-3, tiebreaker.
Finals
152: Steve Bonsall, Newark Academy, decisioned Darwin Pena, Nutley, 4-2.
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