West Orange HS wrestling team enjoys good ECT showing

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High wrestling team enjoyed a good showing at the 45th Essex County Tournament at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange Jan. 16-17.

The Mountaineers tied for fifth place overall with Caldwell among the 21 scoring teams. Town neighbor Seton Hall Prep won the team title for the fifth straight season.

Adonis May, a senior, finished second in the 195-pound weight class to lead the Mountaineers. May, seeded second, dropped a tough 2-1 decision to SHP’s Michael Massa, the No. 1 seed, in the final.

The Mountaineers had other medal winners.

Damianlee Torres, a junior seeded No. 1, took third place in the 120-pound weight class with a 5:50 pin over Bloomfield’s Gerald Van Baelen, seeded No. 2, in the third-place consolation. 

Justin Barr, Daniel Pereira and Kevon Atkins each finished in fourth place. In the third-place consolations, Barr, a freshman seeded fourth, was pinned by Livingston’s Jason Quirk, a freshman seeded sixth, in 28 seconds in the 113-pound weight class, Pereira, a junior seeded 15th, lost to Bloomfield’s Zachary Andruchowitz, the No. 1 seed, by a 6-4 decision in the 182-pound weight class and Atkins, a senior seeded No. 6, lost a tough 1-0 decision to Belleville’s David Peterkin, seeded No. 5, in the 285-pound heavyweight class.

Ari Rosu, a sophomore seeded seventh, took fifth place in the 160-pound weight class with a pin in 3:14 over Caldwell’s Jack Askling in the fifth-place consolation. Daniell Neil, a senior seeded ninth, took seventh place in the 132-pound weight class with a 16-second pin over Belleville’s Brandon Costello in the seventh-place consolation.

Team standings: 1. Seton Hall Prep, 259.5 points. 2. West Essex, 227. 3. Livingston, 146. 4. Nutley, 131. 5 tie. Caldwell, 106. West Orange, 106. 7. Irvington, 99. 8. Belleville, 90. 9. Cedar Grove, 89. 10. Bloomfield, 67. 11. Millburn, 62. 12. Verona, 52.5. 13. Columbia, 49. 14. Newark Academy, 46. 15. Orange, 39. 16. Montclair, 29. 17. Newark Collegiate, 12. 18. Glen Ridge, 11. 19 tie. Barringer, 8. Newark East Side, 8 21. Weequahic, 2