Due to their similar size and skill, Aidan Rotbaum and Louis DellaVolpe went head-to-head during every Nutley wrestling practice as well as in summer workouts together.
The two practice partners will once again be competing together this coming weekend, only this time it will be on New Jersey’s biggest stage for wrestling – Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships
They’ll be joined by Bloomfield heavyweight Gabreil McCulloch, who took fourth place to earn his third consecutive trip to Atlantic City.
Nutley’s Carina Rivera and Michelle Gavilanes, as well as the Bloomfield quintet of Saharia Quamina, Madelyn McLaughlin, Leanna Noel, Reno Prochillo and Lesly Sanchez qualified pfor the NJSIAA State Girls Wrestling Championship, with their performances last weekend’s regional championships.
“That’s my partner in the room every day,” said Rotbaum, a sophomore. “We started working out in the summer. We did everything together and to know that we’re going to be in Atlantic City together is a good feeling.”
Both Rotbaum and DellaVolpe punched their tickets to Atlantic City after strong performances during the Region 3 Championships this past Friday and Saturday in West Orange. DellaVolpe took second place at 150 pounds, while took fourth at 157 pounds.
“We’ve been training a lot together for this,” said DellaVolpe, a freshman. “Our goal was to both make it down here and make some noise so we’re really excited.”
DellaVolpe (38-4), who was seeded second among the 11 wrestlers at 150 earned a first round bye before defeating Hanover Park’s Joey Tantawi by decision, 8-7, in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
The next morning, DellaVolpe clinched his spot with a 13-8 decision over Pope John’s Lukas Katsigiannis in the semifinals.
While DellaVolpe’s day ended on a down note, a tech fall defeat to Delbarton’s Jayden James in the final, it was a weekend which saw DellaVolpe reach his biggest goal in what has been one of the finest rookie seasons in Nutley history.
“This was the main goal,” DellaVolpe said. “I accomplished all my goals so far and this was the main goal. I really wanted to make it down here and I think I can make some noise. My goal is to place.”
“He’s had a great season,” said head coach Mike DiPiano. “One of the best freshman seasons in Nutley history. We’re very proud of him and we know his dad (Marc DellaVolpe, a long-time Nutley assistant who passed away in October) is looking down, proud of him as well.”
Rotbaum had to take a longer path to earn his spot.
Making his first appearance in the regions, Rotbaum (36-8) earned a first round bye, then pinned Hanover Park’s Nando Ott at 5:36 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Rotbaum’s Saturday started with a tech fall loss to Brayden Lombreglia of Pope John in the semifinals. Roughly an hour later, Rotbaum officially clinched his spot, when in the wrestleback semifinals, better known as the ‘blood round’ he defeated Caldwell’s Ben Lattimer by a 15-5 major decision.
“I only had really an hour (before the next match against Lattimer),” Rotbaum said. “As soon as I lost (to Lombreglia), me and my coaches talked and I had five minutes to think about that match and get it out my head before I had the next match
“In the region you have to have a short memory because you are wrestling again so quickly in the wrestlebacks and it’s high stakes, in a hot gym where everybody’s excited,” said DiPiano. “Aiden did a great job at taking five minutes, throwing the loss in the backseat and moving forward with it. He was ready, he was prepared, and he wrestled a great match to get to Atlantic City.”
While it will be their first time down there as competitors, both Rotbaum and DellaVolpe have experienced the state championships at Atlantic City. Last year, Rotbaum was selected to room with Brandon Toranzo when the then-senior heavyweight took third place in the state, an experience Rotbaum said further motivated him this season.
DellaVolpe remembers going to the state championships every year since he was 4 with his father Marc and got to accompany him for several team events throughout the weekend.
“Yeah (it will feel different since I’ll be on the mat when we’re out there,” DellaVolpe said. “The other years I was just watching. I’ll be a little nervous, but I’ll be alright.”
DellaVolpe and Rotbaum were the only Observer-area athletes to qualify for the state championships, but they were not the only ones to have notable performances during the Region 3 Championships.
Kearny’s Matthew Pagan took fifth place at 106 pound, concluding a surprising run as the 10th seed. Lyndhurst-North Arlington’s Nate Boyd finished fifth at 126 pounds and Nutley’s Antonio Maiden was 5th at 144.
Finishing in sixth place at their respective weight classes were Nutley’s Christopher Cifelli (126 pounds) and the Bloomfield tandem of Aidan Matias (120) and Alejandro Valencia (190).
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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.)