WEST ORANGE, NJ – The second-seeded West Orange High School varsity wrestling team defeated fourth-seeded and defending champion Passaic County Tech, 33-26, in a thrilling match to win the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 5 state tournament championship in front of a packed crowd at WOHS.
The Mountaineers, under 15th-year head coach Stephan Zichella, won their first section title since 2012 when they won the North 1, Group 4 title.
The match came down to the final bout. West Orange was leading 30-26 when freshman Dorian Rawls decisioned Ahmad Mohammad, 7-2, at the 138-pound bout to clinch the title.
Things didn’t go so well for the Mountaineers. They lost the coin toss. To Zichella, the coin toss is as significant as any other sport. That allowed Passaic Tech to get the matchups it wanted. The match started at the 145-pound class. Michael Charles, one of West Orange’s hottest wrestlers, lost to Cameron Bruffy in a major decision to start the match. Passaic Tech eventually took an 8-0 lead.
But the Mountaineers rallied and went ahead 14-8 and never looked back.
Colin Morgan “brought the gym down” with an exciting victory for WOHS with a first-period pin at 170 against Jose Guzman, after bumping up from 160, said Zichella. Sebastian Rawls followed with an 18-1 technical fall victory at 182, his normal weight class, against Joshua Acevedo.
Noah Tandy bumped up from 195 to 220 and wound up with a 10-2 major decision win over John Iglesias.
Daniel Neill scored a big pin for West Orange against Ameen Mohammad at 106. Neill got the pin in 1:39. That’s when the “place went nuts,” said Zichella.
Damionlee Torres won the 113 bout for West Orange with an 11-8 decision over John Turkousky in a back-and-forth contest. “He really competed and got off to an early lead,” Zichella said. “The kid he wrestled was very dangerous.” It was tied 8-8 with 10 seconds left before Torres scored an escape and a takedown for the 11-8 win. “At that point, we knew we had a shot” to win the title, said Zichella. “We closed it out well.”
James Benjamin then won at 120 as he beat Dylan Toy, 4-1, avenging a loss to Toy in a preseason scrimmage. “He wrestled a flawless match,” Zichella. “That was really big. It deflated (Passaic Tech).”
West Orange then lost at 126 and 132. West Orange’s Edgar Moreno lost at 132 against Christian Vertedor, 3-1, in a battle of two state-caliber wrestlers. That set the stage for the final match. Passaic Tech needed to get a major decision win or a pin to win it. But Dorian Rawls came through for the Mountaineers. “We knew Dorian could win it,” Zichella said. “He’s gotten a lot better. He pulled off the 7-2 decision. It was a nail-bitter. For him to score that victory, it was great. It was the moment of the season.”
For the Mountaineers, winning the section tile was special.
“Our number one goal this season was to compete for a sectional championship,” Zichella said, “and for them to wrestle and peak at this point of the year, is fantastic. It was a night that we will never forget. We’ve had a lot of bumps on this road, and for us to do this, is just great.”
In the semifinals on Feb. 7, WOHS defeated third-seeded Livingston, 47-15, at home.
West Orange then fell to Howell in the NJSIAA Group 5 state semifinals held at Toms River North HS on Sunday, Feb. 11 to move to a 15-6 record.
WOHS will gear up for the NJSIAA District 10 state tournament at Nutley HS, Feb. 16-17. West Orange has finished second in the district in each of the last two seasons in District 10 last year and in District 14 in 2016.
West Orange HS wrestling team captures North 1, Group 5 state title added by Joe Ragozzino on
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