WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange High School girls wrestlers Jazzira Lopez and Razz Smith enjoyed stellar performances at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Region 2 tournament at Union High School on March 8.
Lopez, a senior, took third place in the 114-pound weight class and Smith, a junior, took fourth place in the 120-pound class.
As a result, Lopez and Smith qualified for the NJSIAA state championships.
Lopez won by pin over Briana Butler (Piscataway) 2:37 in the first round. After losing to Jaliyah Richards (Scotch Plains–Fanwood) by pin in 50 seconds in the semifinals, Lopez won by major decision over Annabell Toye (Delaware Valley) 13-0 in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, Lopez pinned Marianna Zegel (Madison) in 3:34 to improve to 32-5 on the season.
Smith won in the first round, before losing in the quarterfinal by pin. Smith then won three straight matches. She pinned Paige Karp (Bridgewater-Raritan) in 1:11 in the consolation first round. She won by decision over Kailee Alford (Irvington) 7-4 in the consolation second round. Smith won by major decision over Isabella Morales (Elizabeth) 16-6 in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, Smith lost by pin to Jane Rodrigues (Piscataway) in 1:04 to move to 28-7 on the season.
WOHS senior Ariana Soria took sixth place at 138 pounds. She won in the first round, before losing in the quarterfinals. Soria then won in the consolation first round and won in the consolation second round. She lost by an 8-3 decision to Cassidy Costello (Scotch Plains–Fanwood) in the consolation semifinals and lost in the fifth-place match by pin to Jaelys Peralta (Perth Amboy) in 3:07 to finish 21-13 on the season.
The other WOHS wrestlers in the region tournament were junior Alana Everett (100 pounds), senior Emily Paguay (126), senior Hunter Sedita Lott (165) and junior Mosie Prince (235). Everett and Paguay each finished 19-12 on the season, and Sedita Lott finished 18-8. Prince finished 9-11.
The NJSIAA state championships, which consist of the top four finishers in each weight class from the four region tournaments, will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, March 12-14, along with the boys state championships.
Lopez qualified for the state championships for the second straight season.
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