From left, Millburn's Sam Gladson (third place), WOHS' Noah Tandy (first place) and Verona's Billy Czupak (second place) in the ECT 195-pound class.
WEST ORANGE, NJ – Head coach Stephan Zichella admitted he didn’t really have high expectations for his West Orange High School wrestling team at the Essex County Tournament.
Zichella just hoped his team can place as many wrestlers as possible and to finish as high as possible in the team standings.
Indeed, Zichella was pleasantly surprised that his Mountaineers exceeded his expectations.
The Mountaineers boasted seven place-winners, including two champions and one runner-up, at the ECT held Jan. 19-20 at Codey Arena in West Orange. WOHS also finished an impressive fifth overall in the team standings among the 22 teams.
After finishing fourth last year, junior Noah Tandy won the 195-pound title, decisioning Verona’s Billy Czupak, 3-2, in the final. It was a dramatic finish as Tandy scored an escape and a takedown in the final 20 seconds, including the winning takedown with three seconds remaining. “He wrestled really tough,” said Zichella of Tandy. “He’s been focused and it was great he was able to pull it off.”
Edgar Moreno, a sophomore whose season was cut short last year because of a broken hand, won the 120-pound title with a 4-1 decision over Seton Hall Prep’s Maguire Pecci. “He really stepped it up,” Zichella said of Moreno. “He just caught fire and wrestled exceptionally well.”
Senior Victor Lopez finished second at 113, suffering his first loss of the season after falling to Livingston’s Anthony Petrillo, 7-4, in the final. Lopez has been one of the team’s best wrestlers for the past few years. Zichella is confident Lopez can bounce back from this loss. “We really expect him to grow from the loss,” the coach said.
Other WOHS place-winners were junior Sebastian Rawls, fourth at 170; senior Abraham Dada, sixth at 145; junior Jordan DelValle, eighth at 182; and senior Victor Kuga, seventh at 285.
The Mountaineers, as a team, have been on a roll, going 4-1 recently to improve to a 5-4 record.
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