The high school wrestling season is set to begin this week.
It’s not a misprint. What would normally be a December start to the first takedown has been shifted in a COVID-19 coronavirus compilation to mid-March in 2021, set to begin with the first of 15 scheduled dual meets this week.
Needless to say, it’s been a little difficult for veteran Nutley High School head wrestling coach Mike DiPiano to prepare the Maroon Raiders for a different kind of year.
“It’s been very weird,” DiPiano said. “In a regular year, we never took to the mat in the first week of practice. We did all our work outside with running and hand fighting. But now, with only two weeks of practice, these kids earned the right to get right into the wrestling room. I asked them to be fit on their own.”
The Maroon Raiders went to the Parisi Speed School for regular workouts and the captains of the team got the team together to go for jaunts around town.
“Those were strictly run by the wrestlers,” DiPiano said. “So they came to practice in pretty good physical condition.”
The Maroon Raiders also have a new practice home. They have a newly refurbished matted location inside the Nutley Recreation Center.
“We had no choice but to hit the ground running,” DiPiano said. “We don’t have a lot of kids this year, so we had to be ready.”
DiPiano said that the Maroon Raiders also feature a handful of kids that are brand new to the sport.
“We have a couple of kids who are raw,” DiPiano said. “We’re also going to have to forfeit a few weight classes. I feel bad about that.”
But right now, there is a team readying to face a season, an idea that could have been called ludicrous and insane six months ago.
“We’re extremely happy to be having a season,” DiPiano said. “A lot of us really worked hard to get to this point.”
The plans are right now to have a postseason as well with a region tournament and a state championship. There will not be state playoffs this year and the first-level District tourneys have been scrapped for this season, with only the top 16 wrestlers in each of the state’s four regions moving on to vie for a state title.
And that championship will not be held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this year. It more than likely will be held at the Rutgers Athletic Center, although there has been no official word.
Still, there’s a season to be had and the Maroon Raiders loom as a viable team.
“We’re excited to give these kids a chance to wrestle for a state championship,” DiPiano said. “At least we’re going to have it.”
And the Maroon Raiders have a battle tested team, a worthy team that should be competitive every single time they take the mats this season.
“I think we have a very veteran team,” DiPiano said. “I would have loved to have more kids, but we’ll work hard with the kids we have.”
Looking at the lineup, the Maroon Raiders have sophomore Mariah Koster poised to take over as the regular at 106 pounds. Yes, Mariah is a girl who will contend for girls’ state honors, but for now, she’s going to get her experience wrestling against the boys at 106.
“She wrestles in the offseason,” DiPiano said. “She’s going to be asked to wrestle in our lineup, but she’s very capable. She’s a tough wrestler.”
Koster’s experience against the boys will only help her when time comes to face off solely against girls at season’s end.
Senior Vinnie Negra is the Maroon Raiders’ fixture at 113 pounds.
“He’s extremely tough and gives you everything he has every match,” DiPiano said. “He’s a gritty wrestler. I’m looking at him being a winner for us.”
Sophomore Franco Graffeo is the 120-pounder.
“He went to the Regions last year,” DiPiano said. “He put on some size. He worked hard through the pandemic and is in great shape. He also grew a little.”
Graffeo was the Maroon Raiders’ 106-pounder last season.
“He’s not cutting weight anymore,” DiPiano said.
Nate Brewer is a freshman who is getting some work at 120 pounds.
Sophomore Connor Harlow is the team’s 126 pounder, where he’s joined by junior Clayden Leybovitch.
If there is one aspect that the Maroon Raiders have cornered the market in, it’s in wrestlers named Aiden – ironically all around the same weight class.
Senior Aiden Sanchez is the team’s 132-pounder. Sanchez didn’t wrestle last year and decided to come back out this year. Freshman Aiden O’Haire and sophomore Aiden Torres are sharing time at 138 pounds. O’Haire was part of the Nutley Recreation program. Torres is brand new to the sport. If they’re strong, then these three could be called Iron Aidens.
The Maroon Raiders are missing wrestlers in the 145 and 152-pound classes. Maybe one of the Iron Aidens will fill in, but DiPiano might not want to throw the newcomers to the wolves.
Freshman Julian Ycaza is the team’s 160-pounder, coming off a successful run with the Nutley Recreation program.
“He did some nice things with the Rec,” DiPiano said. “He’s going to have to fill in for us. He knows enough to handle himself.”
Senior Sal Mainiero returns for his final go-round with the Maroon Raiders. The 170-pound Mainiero won one match at the state championships in Atlantic City last year and won more than 30 matches.
“His goal is to make it back to the states,” DiPiano said. “He has the ability to be a state place finisher.”
Mainiero comes from a long line of successful wrestlers in his immediate family. His older brothers Vinnie (Nutley and St. Joseph’s Regional) and Dominic (St. Joseph’s and Queen of Peace) were state medal winners during their heyday.
Senior Anthony Haines, the jack-of-all-trades during the football season, is the Maroon Raiders’ 184-pounder.
“He won more than 20 matches in each of the last two seasons,” DiPiano said. “He’s a physical wrestler, a pinner. I’m excited for him.”
Senior Michael LaTorre is the Maroon Raiders’ 197-pounder, moving up one weight class from a year ago.
“He’s a big, strong specimen,” DiPiano said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”
In the mix is sophomore Will Jennings, the younger brother of former Nutley standout wrestler Dan.
“He’s a strong, skilled kid with a bright future,” DiPiano said of Jennings.
Senior Nick Polewka is the team’s 220-pounder.
“He made it to Atlantic City last year in what might have been the feel-good story of the state tournament,” DiPiano said. “He upset some seeds along the way.”
Senior Billy Searle, fresh off an All-State football season, is back for his final season as the Nutley heavyweight (275 pounds). Searle also made it to Atlantic City last year. Searle and Polewka battle each other in the Nutley practice room.
“He’s very capable of going a long way,” DiPiano said. “He’s bigger and stronger this year. He’s very athletic for a big man. He can move his feet well now. He’s a much improved wrestler. He used to be a football player who wrestled, but Billy’s become a wrestler now.”
Needless to say, DiPiano is high on the kids he has in his new fangled wrestling room.
“We have some promise,” DiPiano said. “We have to stay healthy. We have to make sure we make the right decisions in terms of protocol. We also have to have fun and be thankful. We have to be appreciative of the bus rides and camaraderie. If we can get better at the end of six weeks, we’ll see what happens. We just want to get better.”
CAPTION
The Nutley wrestling team will count on its senior leaders. Front row, from left, are Anthony Haines, Vinnie Negra and Sal Mainiero. Back row, from left, are Michael LaTorre, Billy Searle and Nick Polewka. Photo by Jim Hague
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”