Photo by Rich Morris/Courtesy of SHP. Larry Melchionda pinned Verona's PJ Shaw in the quarterfinals.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep wrestling team, with a dominating performance, captured its eighth Essex County Tournament title and fifth in a row at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange Jan. 16-17.
The Pirates outpointed West Essex, 259.5 to 227. SHP had six champions, two runner-ups, one third-, one fourth-, one fifth- and two sixth-place finishers.
After he captured his third title, Larry Melchionda said, “The thing that makes our program so special is that there is no hate; it is all love. It is all like a family; we are always building each other up.”
Jack Wilt, who won his second title, said, “This is the most special thing that I have ever been a part of. The whole team feels we are the hardest-working team in the state and everybody walks on the mat knows that they can beat whoever steps on the mat to oppose them.”
When asked about their eighth ECT title, 11th-year head coach Jack Decker said, “Scoring points in 13 of the 14 weight classes was really important. Our experience in this tournament was really important in defending our title. I am really proud of the performance of our whole team, which includes our assistant coaches, Ron DiLeo, Nick Dorey and Lou Mascola.”
SHP
First-place results
106-pound weight class: Dominic Tafuri, Cedar Grove, decisioned Joseph Sciarrone, SHP, 10-8, sudden victory.
120: Gabriel Jimenez, SHP, decisioned Michael Policarpio, Millburn, 6-3.
126: Melchionda, SHP, decisioned Ricky Cassidy, West Essex, 6-4.
138: Darren Jones, West Essex, disqualification over Conner Decker, SHP.
145: Cole Carroll, SHP, decisioned David Guerra, Belleville, 6-4, sudden victory.
160: Wilt, SHP, decisioned Salvatore Mainiero, Nutley, 11-5
195: Michael Massa, SHP, decisioned Adonis May, West Orange, 2-1, tiebreaker.
220: Andrew Mitzak, SHP, pinned Edwin Louis, Irvington, 2:47.
Third-place results
152: Sam Cohen, Millburn, decisioned Aidan Cunningham, SHP, 3-1.
170: Zach Merlino, SHP, pinned Nicholas Lagreca, West Essex, 2:30.
Fifth-place results
113: Robert Crofford, SHP, pinned Vincent Negra, Nutley, 1:26.
132: Nicholas Coletta, Cedar Grove, pinned Dean Musialowicz, SHP, 2:53.
182: Eddie Padilla, Livingston, decisioned A J Hinton, SHP, 2-1.
Photos by Rich Morris/Courtesy of SHP.
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