With team titles in both the Cutter Classic in Fair Lawn and, this past weekend, in the Belleville Tournament, there’s no denying that Nutley’s wrestling team is off to its best start in recent years.
“We were very young last year with a lot of potential and these kids are starting to grow and we’re having a really good start of the season,” head coach Mike DiPiano said. “They’ve worked hard in the preseason and it’s paying off early.”
But as the early season tournaments give way to dual meets and a very competitive SEC American Division schedule, the goal for the Maroon Raiders is clear – make the state tournament.
It’s been five years since Nutley last earned a berth in the state tournament. And while plenty of work still needs to be done, the Raiders’ 4-1 start in duals has them currently seventh in power points for the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 section and in position to snap the drought.
“The goal is to make the state sectional tournament and we put ourselves in a good starting spot,” said DiPiano. “We had a really nice match with Seton Hall, we put 60 points on Bloomfield who made a section last year. We also beat Fair Lawn who made the section last year and we dropped 55 points on Lawrence who made the section last year.
“This lineup is deep. It’s a good lineup. We have the ability to score a lot of points.”
So far, Nutley has gotten fast starts from wrestlers up and down the lineup.
Headlining the group is junior Christopher Cifelli, a District 10 champion last season at 106 pounds. Cifelli has since bulked up to 132 pounds while remaining as strong as ever, going a perfect 10-0 to start the season.
“He’s wrestling really well right now,” DiPiano said. “He ended the season on a sour note last year, but didn’t complain about it. He put his head down and he went to work right away. He’s been wrestling since the end of last year and he’s in a better frame of mind this year.”
Two other Region 3 qualifiers from last season in the lower weights are back for the Raiders in junior Patrick Chell (5-3) at 126 pounds and sophomore Jack Finklelstein (8-3) at 120 pounds.
Finkelstein and promising 113-pound freshman Evan Blanchard (8-2) won titles at the Cutter Classic and took third in Belleville this weekend.
At 106 pounds, sophomore Valen DeLaney is off to an 8-3 start.
Nutley’s lineup took a hit when 138 pounder Jacob Harlow recently suffered a season-ending injury, but in a sign of its depth, senior Clark St. Amant, who wrestled more than 30 varsity matches a year ago, takes over at the spot.
Two talented sophomores follow in the lineup with Antonio Maiden (11-0) at 144 pounds and Aidan Rotbaum (7-1) at 150. Both were regional qualifiers a season ago and were champs in the Cutter Classic. Maiden added to his impressive start with a Belleville Tournament title, while Rotbaum was one of three starters to sit out on Saturday.
Freshman Louis DellaVolpe has made an instant impact performer at 157 pounds for Nutley, going 9-2. In an emotional moment, DellaVolpe was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Belleville Tournament after winning the title in the same gym where his late-father Marc starred.
“It was very emotional yesterday,” said DiPaino. “It was great that he wrestled really well and that he won OW in that gym. He’s a good wrestler and he’s going to surprise a lot of people this year.”
Junior Michael Koster is another veteran who made a big change in weight class, going from 138 to 165 this season. So far, Koster’s 9-2 in his new weight class.
Senior Tyler Vonroth is 5-4 at 175 pounds, while at 190 pounds, junior Sean Vilchez (8-3) was a region qualifier and took second place this season at both the Belleville Tournament and Cutter Classic.
Nutley has a pair of newcomers to the lineup at the upper weights with Damiano Farro at 215 pounds after the senior didn’t wrestle last season. While at 285 pounds, sophomore Nolan Brewer is 6-4 as he takes the spot previously held by Brandon Toranzo, who finished third in the state and is now wrestling at Rutgers.
Nutley’s depth goes beyond the starting lineup with senior Justin Bido, junior Adam Youssef and sophomores Trace Castellanos and Riley Garofalo having wrestled multiple varsity matches early on this season.
The depth was on full display in Belleville where, despite having three starters sitting out, Nutley outdistanced the field, with 139.5 team points, with Columbia taking second with 122.
Belleville, which finished fifth in the team standings, had one champion in Jirrad Ferrer at 106 pounds.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)