ORANGE, NJ – The Orange High School wrestling team enjoyed a good showing at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association District 10 tournament held at Nutley High School, Feb. 17-18.
The Tornadoes finished sixth out of 10 teams.
Ezechiel Conserve finished second in the 285-pound weight class to lead the Tornadoes. Conserve was pinned by Union City’s Elyezer Oliviery in a time of 5:42 in the final.
Jean Joseph and Divad Drakeford each finished third for the Tornadoes. In the third-place consolations, Joseph decisioned Nutley’s Jacob Gonzalez, 11-8, in the 113-pound class, and Drakeford pinned Nutley’s David Sanchez in a time of 39 seconds in the 220-pound class.
Conserve, Joseph and Drakeford qualified for the NJSIAA Region 3 tournament at West Orange High School, Feb. 22, 24-25. The top three finishers in each weight class qualified for the regions.
Ebenson Macenat and Junior Marcelin each finished fourth in their weight classes for the Tornadoes at the district tournament. In the third-place consolations, Macenat lost to West Orange’s Edgar Moreno, 11-2, in the 120-pound class and Marcelin lost to Nutley’s Craig Haddock, 15-4, in the 170-pound class.
The Region 3 tournament will be held in Tarnoff Gym at West Orange High School as follows:
Feb. 22 and 25: Doors open for fans at 4:30 p.m. and the tournament begins at 6 p.m.
Feb. 26: Doors open for fans at 7:30 a.m. and the tournament begins at 9 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m..
There will be small charge at the door and refreshments will be available throughout the tournament.
The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the NJSIAA state tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 3-5. This year, the NJSIAA expanded the number of NJSIAA state tournament qualifiers from three to four finishers in each weight class in the regions.