NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School varsity wrestling team enjoyed a dominant showing at the Essex County Tournament at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange, Jan. 17-18.
The Raiders finished third in the team standings with 124 points among the 21 schools.
Seton Hall Prep won the team title for the fourth straight year, amassing 256 points. West Essex was second with 238.5 points.
The Raiders boasted 12 medal winners out of the 14 weight classes.
Sal Mainiero finished second in the 152-pound title to lead Nutley. In the final, Mainiero lost to Jack Wilt of Seton Hall Prep by a 7-2 decision.
Daniel Jennings finished third at the 195-pound weight class with a pin over Newark East Sde’s Jonathan Padilla in 4:12.
Jacob Gonzalez took fourth place at 138 after losing to West Orange’s Edgar Moreno by an 8-7 decision.
Dominic Cofone took seventh at the 120 with an 8-0 decision over Drew Digangi of Livingston.
Peter Haverick took fifth at 145 with a 6-2 decision over Aidan Cunningham of Seton Hall Prep.
Matthew Chimento pinned Glen Ridge’s Iain Shaw to finish seventh at 160.
Anthony Haines took seventh at 170 with a pin over William Hales of Newark Academy in 3:12.
Michael Latorre finished seventh at 182 with a forfeit victory over Barringer’s Jeremy Romano.
Nicolas Polewka took seventh at 220 with a 6-3 decision over West Orange’s Amadu Kamara.
Billy Searle placed sixth at the 285-pound heavyweight class after losing by pin over Newark Collegiate’s Julio Figueroa in 54 seconds in the consolation.
Vincent Spagnuolo was sixth at 106 and Dean Polewka took eighth at 132.
The Raiders, under head coach Mike DiPiano, are in the midst of an outstanding season. They had a stellar 12-2 dual-meet record through Jan. 12. After losing to Seton Hall Prep in the season opener, Nutley won eight straight before losing to Kearny. The Raiders then won their next four matches.
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