WEST ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall Prep crowned six individual wrestling champions and set an Essex County Tournament record by scoring an amazing 342.5 points, which beat the previous record of 275, set by Livingston in 2001.
The Pirates captured their ninth team title, which is the most in Essex County Tournament history. Their six champions tied a school record, which was also achieved in 2020, 2005, and 1983. All of their 14 wrestlers that were entered placed from first place through fifth place. Following the trophy presentation, third-year Pirate head coach Lou Mascola said, “These results are the expectations when you are putting in the hard work every day in the room.” Mascola, himself a four-time county champion, was very excited that wrestlers from various grades were so successful. Only two seniors were in the tournament lineup, so the future looks very bright for the Pirates.
The following are the final tournament results for each wrestler and their season record.
First place
- 106 pounds: Sophomore Anthony Pellegrino, 10-0 record, won by medical forfeit over Alex Esposito, West Essex.
- 113: Junior Logan Brzozowski, 21-4 record, pinned Matthew D’Arcy, St. Benedict’s Prep, :55.
- 120: Freshman Andre Morero, 17-8 record, defeated Thomas Ruane, West Essex, 4-2.
- 126: Junior Carlo VanVolkenburgh, 19-6 record, major decision Franco Graffeo, Nutley, 14-3.
- 174: Senior Anthony Cerreto, 20-4 record, defeated Temuulen Mendbileg, St. Benedict’s Prep, 4-3
- 215: Freshman Rocco Salerno, 23-2 record, defeated Chris Nigro, West Essex, 3-1.
Second place
- 132: Freshman Matthew Farley Jr., 14-7 record, lost to Rocco Negron, Belleville, 5-2.
- 138: Junior Brandon Bauer, 19-5 record, lost to Jason Quirk, Livingston, 5-3.
- 144: Junior Nicholas Orejola, 17-5 record, lost by medical forfeit over Anthony Barra, West Essex.
- 190: Sophomore Clark Rich, 17-7 record, lost to Arthur Rosu, West Orange, 3-1.
Third place
- 157: Senior Chase Carroll, 12-11 record, pinned Jahrod Hughes, East Orange Campus, 3:16.
Fourth place
- 285: Junior Jack Tierney, 13-9 record, lost to Nelson Clermont, Montclair, 4-2.
Fifth place
- 150: Sophomore Cody Aniche-Farrell, 14-9 record, defeated Nick Janish, West Essex, 5-2.
- 165: Junior Evan Surmay, 12-11 record, pinned Kwabena Abrokwa, East Side, 3:45.
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