Nutley freshman Louis Dellavolpe, middle, stands on the podium after capturing the boys’ 157-pound championship at the Essex County Tournament at Essex County College in Newark on Jan. 23.
NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley High School wrestling team featured five placewinners, including two state-championship qualifiers, at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Region 3 tournament at West Orange High School, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1.
Freshman Louis Della Volpe took second place in the 150-pound weight class and sophomore Aidan Rotbaum took fourth place in the 157-pound weight class, punching their tickets to the NJSIAA’s state individual championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Thursday to Saturday, March 6-8. The top-four finishers in each weight class from the eight region tournaments qualified for the state championships.
Della Volpe, the No. 2 seed, decisioned No. 7 seed Joey Tantwai, of Hanover Park, 8-7, in the quarterfinals; and decisioned No. 6 Lukas Katsigiannis, of Pope John, 13-8, in the semifinals. In the final, Della Volpe lost by technical fall to No. 1 seed Jayden James, of Delbarton, 21-6, in 1 minute, 43 seconds. Della Volpe, who was the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Essex County Tournament earlier this season, is now 36-3 on the season.
Rotbaum, the No. 6 seed, upset No. 3 Nando Ott, of Hanover Park, by pin in 5:36 in the quarterfinals, before losing to No. 2 Braydan Lombreglia, of Pope John, in the semifinals by a 15-0 technical fall in 1:41. Rotbaum then won by a 15-5 major decision over No. 5 seed Ben Latimer, of Caldwell, to reach the third-place bout, where he lost to No. 4 seed Dylan Jones, of Cranford, by an 18-14 decision. Rotbaum is now 34-6.
Sophomore Antonio Maiden, the No. 5 seed, finished in fifth place in the 144-pound weight class after posting a 17-1 technical fall over No. 6 seed Christopher Taddeo, of Livingston, in 5:02. Maiden went 2-2 in the region and finished 34-4 on the season.
Sophomore Jack Finkelstein (113) and junior Christopher Cifelli (126) each finished in sixth place in their weight classes. Cifelli finished 30-11 and Finkelstein finished 29-11.
The Raiders had a total of eight competitors at the region tournament. The other competitors were junior Sean Vilchez (190), senior Damiano Farro (215) and sophomore Nolan Brewer (285). The region tournament consisted of the top-three finishers in each weight class from districts 9-13. NHS hosted District 11.
In addition, NHS senior Carina Rivera and freshman Michelle Gavilanes will be competing in the NJSIAA’s girls state individuals championships, also at Boardwalk Hall, March 6-8.
Photo Courtesy of Nutley HS head coach Mike DiPiano Jr.
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