WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team captured its 10th Essex County Tournament team title and eighth in the last 10 years on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 24-25, at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange.
They accumulated 291.5 points, while Caldwell had 262.5 points and finished in second place. West Essex was third with 247.5 points.
The Pirates’ three champions have given them 74 in the 48-year history of the tournament. The following are some of the Pirates highlights.
Senior 138-pound Carlo Vanvolkenburg captured his third ECT title. He became the 18th wrestler in the history of the tournament to capture three titles.
Senior 120-pound Will Ligotti had to replace senior Logan Brzozowski, last year’s state tournament runner-up, who was sick. Ligotti finished in third place.
Eleven of the Pirates’ 14 wrestlers finished in the top-four places. Junior 113-pound Anthony Pellegrino captured his second ECT title and sophomore 215-pound also captured his second ECT title. In the first two rounds, the Pirates pinned 18 of a possible 27 opponents.
Here are the Pirates results:
- 113: First place: Anthony Pellegrino decisioned Jakob Ferrer (Belleville), 8-4.
- 120: Third place: Will Ligotti decisioned Dante D’Achille (West Essex), 7-6.
- 126: Fourth place: Leo Tiankee (Belleville) defeated Matthew Farley Jr. by injury default.
- 132: Second place: Ethan Kerlin (West Essex) decisioned Andre Morero, 5-2.
- 138: First place: Carlo Vanvolkenburgh pinned August Katz (Columbia), 5:43.
- 144: Second place: Reid Clausi (West Essex) decisioned Nicholas Orejola, 9-7.
- 150: Second place: Nick Janish (West Essex) decisioned Aidan Manning, 7-6, ultimate tiebreaker.
- 165: Third place: Evan Surmay defeated Aziah Robinson (Irvington) by injury default, 2:02.
- 175: Fifth place: Brandon Papa pinned Trevor Frantantoni (Bloomfield), 3:46.
- 190: Second place: Arthur Rosu (West Orange) decisioned Clark Rich, 9-3.
- 215: First place: Rocco Salerno pinned Michael Mignone (Caldwell), 1:52.
- 285: Second place: Brandon Toranzo (Nutley) major-decisioned Jack Tierney, 13-4.
Following the tournament, Head Coach Lou Mascola said, “Preparation is the key and this is an event that we get excited for each year and something we train for and hold in high regard. I am super proud of the boys’ effort. Everybody competed at a high level, with some guys really stepping up when we needed them.”
Vanvolkenburgh said, “It feels great and the hard work is paying off. Our team just kept battling even with a few guys out, but everyone continued to get in their work on and off the mats.”
Ligotti said, “I found out that I was going to wrestle in the tournament the day before at practice, so I just competed the best I could and stayed calm and enjoyed my first varsity tournament and earned a medal, which really made me feel great. If we are not in the starting lineup, then we must have that ‘next-man-up-always-ready’ mentality, which I had.”
Photos Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep
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