WOHS wrestlers reach State tourney
By Steve Carfagna
Staff Writer
For head coach Stephan Zichella, the Regional tournament always leaves him with mixed feelings.
On one hand, he is excited about those of his wrestlers who are fortunate enough to see their seasons continue as they advanced to the State tournament in Atlantic City.
But on the other hand, he also feels for the many others who sadly saw their seasons come to an end. In particular, Zichella said he especially feels for the seniors who will never compete in another high school wrestling match again for his West Orange High School wrestling team.
Following this year’s Region 4 tournament, WOHS did have two of its wrestlers advance to the State tournament - junior heavyweight Emiliano Betancor and 171-pound sophomore Anthony Angelone. But for Zichella, his first reaction was on his seniors.
“We wrestled great and I am extremely happy that we did have two wrestlers keep their seasons alive, but at the same time, it’s also bittersweet as we had to say goodbye to some kids who have done a lot for this program, the team and for myself throughout the past four years or so,” he said.
Those seniors who competed in the Regions for WOHS included Harwin Wong; Karim Singleton, Hakim Williams, Vinny Angelone and Aleks Berman, while Jake Drappi was another twelfth-grader who qualified for the tournament but had to drop out earlier in the week due to illness, thus ending his season and career. Of those wrestlers, Zichella said Singleton, Williams, Angelone and Berman each placed in fifth/sixth place at the Regions.
While Zichella will certainly miss those seniors, the coach is certainly optimistic and encouraged with his two underclassmen who will take part in the festivities this weekend down in Boardwalk Hall.
“This is the first time since I could remember that we will be taking more than one kid down to the State tournament and the fact that they are both underclassmen is pretty impressive,” said Zichella, noting Betancor claimed the Region 4 title with a 3-1 win over Passaic’s 33-1 superstar wrestler Jorge Vicioso, while Anthony Angelone punched his ticket by pinning JT Nash of Kearny in 3:56 in the third-place consolation.
Most impressively, Zichella said Betancor has continued to establish himself as one of the greatest wrestlers in West Orange history.
“Emiliano, who is now 33-0, is the first wrestler we’ve ever had to remain undefeated this far into the season,” said the coach on the junior star, who defeated the state’s fourth-ranked heavyweight wrestler from Passaic in the Regional final. “Betancor was dominant leading up until the final, and then in the title round, he wrestled a real smart match and took advantage of one mistake to intelligently score a two-point takedown late in the second period to help him overcome an early 1-0 deficit. It was an exciting match between two great wrestlers and I’m just happy that Emo was the one who came out ahead in the end.”
And going into Atlantic City, Zichella said the sky would be the limit for the junior heavyweight.
“We’d like to see him go as far as he can and if he wrestles like he could, then he could certainly make some noise,” he said.
Pertaining to Anthony Angelone, the varsity coach said the sophomore’s feat this past weekend was about as good as it gets.
“Anthony, who is 28-6, came in as the fifth seed and he just put on one heck of a performance to get to where he is now,” he said. “Anthony has really peaked and what he did in the Regionals was really impressive. He battled for every second.”
Entering this weekend, Zichella said he hoped the sophomore would make the most of the trip that will feature him having to wrestle in a preliminary round.
“We just want him to give it his all in the six minutes that he’s guaranteed and if he wins that, then he goes to the double-elimination round with the other wrestlers,” Zichella said. “He’s in a very difficult weight class but we just want him to wrestle his best and either way, he’s already enjoyed an incredible season and whatever he does this weekend won’t take anything away from that.”
Notably, junior Pascal Louis and sophomore Desalegne Fried were two other WOHS wrestlers who competed in this past weekend’s Regional tournament with both finishing in seventh/eighth place.
Region 4
at West Orange High School
Pre-quarterfinals, Feb. 23
112: Harwin Wong, West Orange, pin Luis Lobo, Cliffside Park, 1:15.
125: Desalegne Fried, West Orange, dec. Emannuel Villanueva, Becton, 10-3.
145: Karim Singleton, West Orange, pin Ryan Mealy, Becton, 2:47.
152: Hakim Williams, West Orange, dec. Brian Knierim, Newark Academy, 10-3.
160: Vinny Angelone, West Orange, dec. Issac Morales, North Bergen, 5-4.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Donte Bellamy, Montclair, 16-0, tech. fall, 5:45.
189: Pascal Louis, West Orange, dec. Michail Amaro, St. Mary of Rutherford, 5-4.
215: Aleksander Berman, West Orange, dec. Sal Peralta, Secaucus, 7-3.
Feb. 27
Quarterfinals
112: Mike Marotti, West Essex, pin Harwin Wong, West Orange, 3:26.
125: Alexander Richardson, St. Peter’s Prep, dec. Desalegne Fried, West Orange, 15-0, tech. fall 3:50.
145: Jason Kratsch, Caldwell, dec. Karim Singleton, West Orange, 2-1.
152: Devin Ruiz, St. Peter’s Prep, dec. Hakim Williams, West Orange, 7-5.
160: Ahmad Bidas, Clifton, dec. Vinny Angelone, West Orange, 9-7.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Sean Shabazian, Verona, 7-4.
189: Michael Scrozzo, Queen of Peace, pin Pascal Louis, West Orange, 4:31.
215: Aleksander Berman, West Orange, dec. Abo Mahmoud, Becton, 6-2.
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, pin Gregg Froelich, Montclair Kimberley Academy, 0:47.
Wrestleback quarterfinals
112: Anthony Depasque, Clifton, pin Harwin Wong, West Orange, 1:42.
125: Michael Ferinde, Nutley, pin Desalegne Fried, West Orange, 2:58.
145: Karim Singleton, West Orange, dec. Alex Jilla, Newark Academy, 11-2.
152: Hakim Williams, West Orange, dec. Joe Anello, Belleville, 11-3.
160: Vinny Angelone, West Orange, dec. Mark Borcan, Bloomfield, 10-4.
189: Dave Zurla, Rutherford, pin Pascal Louis, West Orange, 1:35.
Semifinals
171: Jamie Westwood, Queen of Peace, dec. Anthony Angelone, West Orange, 18-3, tech fall 5:15.
215: Michael Silverberg, Livingston, dec. Aleksander Berman, West Orange, 3-2.
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, pin Dan Pierce, Caldwell, 1:28.
Wrestleback semifinals
145: Johansi Rivera, Fort Lee, pin Karim Singleton, West Orange, 5:51.
152: James Dugan, Becton, dec. Hakim Williams, West Orange, 6-0.
160: Rob Sotelo, Passaic Valley, dec. Vinny Angelone, West Orange, 9-4.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Joe Finkler, Bloomfield, 5-4.
215: Rashid Moore, Hudson Catholic, dec. Aleksander Berman, West Orange, 2-1 (4 OT).
Third-place consolations
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, pin JT Nash, Kearny, 3:56.
Finals
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, dec. Jorge Vicioso, Passaic, 3-1.
Staff Writer
For head coach Stephan Zichella, the Regional tournament always leaves him with mixed feelings.
On one hand, he is excited about those of his wrestlers who are fortunate enough to see their seasons continue as they advanced to the State tournament in Atlantic City.
But on the other hand, he also feels for the many others who sadly saw their seasons come to an end. In particular, Zichella said he especially feels for the seniors who will never compete in another high school wrestling match again for his West Orange High School wrestling team.
Following this year’s Region 4 tournament, WOHS did have two of its wrestlers advance to the State tournament - junior heavyweight Emiliano Betancor and 171-pound sophomore Anthony Angelone. But for Zichella, his first reaction was on his seniors.
“We wrestled great and I am extremely happy that we did have two wrestlers keep their seasons alive, but at the same time, it’s also bittersweet as we had to say goodbye to some kids who have done a lot for this program, the team and for myself throughout the past four years or so,” he said.
Those seniors who competed in the Regions for WOHS included Harwin Wong; Karim Singleton, Hakim Williams, Vinny Angelone and Aleks Berman, while Jake Drappi was another twelfth-grader who qualified for the tournament but had to drop out earlier in the week due to illness, thus ending his season and career. Of those wrestlers, Zichella said Singleton, Williams, Angelone and Berman each placed in fifth/sixth place at the Regions.
While Zichella will certainly miss those seniors, the coach is certainly optimistic and encouraged with his two underclassmen who will take part in the festivities this weekend down in Boardwalk Hall.
“This is the first time since I could remember that we will be taking more than one kid down to the State tournament and the fact that they are both underclassmen is pretty impressive,” said Zichella, noting Betancor claimed the Region 4 title with a 3-1 win over Passaic’s 33-1 superstar wrestler Jorge Vicioso, while Anthony Angelone punched his ticket by pinning JT Nash of Kearny in 3:56 in the third-place consolation.
Most impressively, Zichella said Betancor has continued to establish himself as one of the greatest wrestlers in West Orange history.
“Emiliano, who is now 33-0, is the first wrestler we’ve ever had to remain undefeated this far into the season,” said the coach on the junior star, who defeated the state’s fourth-ranked heavyweight wrestler from Passaic in the Regional final. “Betancor was dominant leading up until the final, and then in the title round, he wrestled a real smart match and took advantage of one mistake to intelligently score a two-point takedown late in the second period to help him overcome an early 1-0 deficit. It was an exciting match between two great wrestlers and I’m just happy that Emo was the one who came out ahead in the end.”
And going into Atlantic City, Zichella said the sky would be the limit for the junior heavyweight.
“We’d like to see him go as far as he can and if he wrestles like he could, then he could certainly make some noise,” he said.
Pertaining to Anthony Angelone, the varsity coach said the sophomore’s feat this past weekend was about as good as it gets.
“Anthony, who is 28-6, came in as the fifth seed and he just put on one heck of a performance to get to where he is now,” he said. “Anthony has really peaked and what he did in the Regionals was really impressive. He battled for every second.”
Entering this weekend, Zichella said he hoped the sophomore would make the most of the trip that will feature him having to wrestle in a preliminary round.
“We just want him to give it his all in the six minutes that he’s guaranteed and if he wins that, then he goes to the double-elimination round with the other wrestlers,” Zichella said. “He’s in a very difficult weight class but we just want him to wrestle his best and either way, he’s already enjoyed an incredible season and whatever he does this weekend won’t take anything away from that.”
Notably, junior Pascal Louis and sophomore Desalegne Fried were two other WOHS wrestlers who competed in this past weekend’s Regional tournament with both finishing in seventh/eighth place.
Region 4
at West Orange High School
Pre-quarterfinals, Feb. 23
112: Harwin Wong, West Orange, pin Luis Lobo, Cliffside Park, 1:15.
125: Desalegne Fried, West Orange, dec. Emannuel Villanueva, Becton, 10-3.
145: Karim Singleton, West Orange, pin Ryan Mealy, Becton, 2:47.
152: Hakim Williams, West Orange, dec. Brian Knierim, Newark Academy, 10-3.
160: Vinny Angelone, West Orange, dec. Issac Morales, North Bergen, 5-4.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Donte Bellamy, Montclair, 16-0, tech. fall, 5:45.
189: Pascal Louis, West Orange, dec. Michail Amaro, St. Mary of Rutherford, 5-4.
215: Aleksander Berman, West Orange, dec. Sal Peralta, Secaucus, 7-3.
Feb. 27
Quarterfinals
112: Mike Marotti, West Essex, pin Harwin Wong, West Orange, 3:26.
125: Alexander Richardson, St. Peter’s Prep, dec. Desalegne Fried, West Orange, 15-0, tech. fall 3:50.
145: Jason Kratsch, Caldwell, dec. Karim Singleton, West Orange, 2-1.
152: Devin Ruiz, St. Peter’s Prep, dec. Hakim Williams, West Orange, 7-5.
160: Ahmad Bidas, Clifton, dec. Vinny Angelone, West Orange, 9-7.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Sean Shabazian, Verona, 7-4.
189: Michael Scrozzo, Queen of Peace, pin Pascal Louis, West Orange, 4:31.
215: Aleksander Berman, West Orange, dec. Abo Mahmoud, Becton, 6-2.
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, pin Gregg Froelich, Montclair Kimberley Academy, 0:47.
Wrestleback quarterfinals
112: Anthony Depasque, Clifton, pin Harwin Wong, West Orange, 1:42.
125: Michael Ferinde, Nutley, pin Desalegne Fried, West Orange, 2:58.
145: Karim Singleton, West Orange, dec. Alex Jilla, Newark Academy, 11-2.
152: Hakim Williams, West Orange, dec. Joe Anello, Belleville, 11-3.
160: Vinny Angelone, West Orange, dec. Mark Borcan, Bloomfield, 10-4.
189: Dave Zurla, Rutherford, pin Pascal Louis, West Orange, 1:35.
Semifinals
171: Jamie Westwood, Queen of Peace, dec. Anthony Angelone, West Orange, 18-3, tech fall 5:15.
215: Michael Silverberg, Livingston, dec. Aleksander Berman, West Orange, 3-2.
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, pin Dan Pierce, Caldwell, 1:28.
Wrestleback semifinals
145: Johansi Rivera, Fort Lee, pin Karim Singleton, West Orange, 5:51.
152: James Dugan, Becton, dec. Hakim Williams, West Orange, 6-0.
160: Rob Sotelo, Passaic Valley, dec. Vinny Angelone, West Orange, 9-4.
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, dec. Joe Finkler, Bloomfield, 5-4.
215: Rashid Moore, Hudson Catholic, dec. Aleksander Berman, West Orange, 2-1 (4 OT).
Third-place consolations
171: Anthony Angelone, West Orange, pin JT Nash, Kearny, 3:56.
Finals
HWT: Emiliano Betancor, West Orange, dec. Jorge Vicioso, Passaic, 3-1.
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