Nutley HS wrestling team wins District 14 Tournament title for fifth consecutive season

NUTLEY – Led by four individual champions, the Nutley High School varsity wrestling team won the team title at the state District 14 Tournament for the fifth consecutive year at Livingston High School on Feb. 20.

The Raiders had 204 team points among the nine teams. West Orange was second with 141 points; Livingston was third with 136.5 points; Bloomfield was fourth with 132 points and Montclair was fifth with 121 points.

Frank DeMaio, Joe DiPasquale, John Zarro and Justin Bivona were crowned champions in their respective weight classes for the Raiders.

In the finals, DeMaio decisioned Brad Murill of Belleville, 15-8 , in the 132-pound bout; DiPasquale won by technical fall over Abraham Dada of West Orange, 19-3, in the 145-pound bout in 4:25; Zarro decisioned Belleville’s Joseph Nguyen, 4-3, in the 160-pound bout; and Bivona decisioned Kasson Quince-McGee, 3-1, in overtime in the 182-pound bout.

Robert Duxbury, Darwin Pena and Sabino Coppola each finished second for the Raiders. In the finals, Duxbury was pinned by Newark East Side’s Alexander Rodriguez in 2:24 in the 138-pound bout; Pena lost to Steve Bonsall of Newark Academy by decision, 6-2, in the 152-pound bout; and Coppola lost to Bloomfield’s Adam Lutick in an ultimate tiebreaker, 3-2, in the 182-pound bout.

The third-place finishers for the Raiders were Domonic Cofone in the 106-pound class and Francesco Gabriele in the 126-pound class. In the third-place consolations, Cofone pinned West Orange’s Andrew Roberts in 4:43 and Gabriele decisioned East Side’s Alex Ciola, 6-4. 

John Hickey finished fourth at 113, losing to Bloomfield’s Kevin Adorno, 4-3.

The 10 NHS wrestlers advanced to the Region 4 Tournament that took place at West Orange High School, Feb. 24, 26-27. The top three finishers in each weight class at the District advanced to the Region Tournament. Hickey qualified for the Region despite finishing fourth.

Louis Long, at 170,  finished fourth for NHS, just missed qualifying for the Region Tournament. In the third-place consolations,  Long was pinned by Newark Academy’s Cormac Seyfried. 

The top three finishers at the Region will advance to the state tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 4-6.