With several strong wrestlers back from last season’s 17-9 team, Nutley head coach Mike DiPiano made it a priority to challenge this group in a way it hasn’t before.
While the goal is for those early challenges to pay off when the Maroon Raiders get to the state team and individual tournaments, Nutley is already being rewarded from the early strategy.
This past Saturday when Nutley went to a tri-meet at state-ranked Middletown North, the Raiders returned from Monmouth County with one of their biggest wins in recent memory when it defeated perennial state power High Point, 37-30.
“We had a really nice year last year. We knew we had a good returning group and we wanted to challenge them,” DiPiano said. “The first third of the season, we put the guys through a little bit of a test and I think we came out of it on the right path.
“High Point is a blue blood. They’re one of the state’s historically great programs and our guys were game as we won eight matches out of 14. It’s one of the best wins of my career at Nutley.”
Now 5-2 through the first three weeks of the season, Nutley boasts quality wrestlers up and down the lineup, starting at 106 pounds with junior Valen Delaney (5-3), a veteran, who is now wrestling at his natural weight class, rather than competing up like he did in previous seasons. Freshman Frances Wesner has also seen action at 106
At 113 pounds is Luke Finkelstein (5-5), one of several talented freshmen who are making an immediate impact for Nutley. At 120 pounds is sophomore Evan Blanchard, who at 11-2, is on a mission after a disappointing finish in the districts last season.
“Evan’s been fantastic this year,” said DiPiano about Blanchard, who went 25-6 as a freshman. “He’s wrestled some good matches, he’s been scoring bonus points for us. He’s really put a lot of effort and work in, and it’s showing.”
Senior Adam Youssef is at 126 pounds and fellow senior Patrick Chell (4-4) has settled in at 132 pounds after initially competing at 144. Sophomore Evan Seborowski has also seen action at 132.
At 138 pounds is Christopher Cifelli (8-3), a four-year varsity wrestler who is committed to continue his career at Centenary, has his sights set on Atlantic City after narrowly missing a berth to AC a season ago. A District champion last year, Cifelli is nearing 100 career wins.
Michael Koster is at 144 and while the senior is best known for his play on the lacrosse field, is an accomplished wrestler who won 21 matches last season.
Freshman Jesse Quinn (5-5) at 150 is another underclassmen off to a fine start to his varsity career. Quinn has also seen action at 157 as Jacob Harlow works his way back from injury.
Aidan Rotbaum (8-5) is at 165 pounds and the junior has big goals after making it to Atlantic City last season with a 36-8 record as a sophomore.
“He hasn’t had the start of the season that he likes, but he’s coming off a football injury and he’s still trying to get his feet underneath him. He’s doing a fine job,” said DiPiano. “As he gets a little healthier, he’ll get his wind back. We have no worries.”
Junior AJ Maiden, a district champion at 144 pounds a year ago, is at 175 and off to an 8-3 start to a season that DiPiano believes could end with him making it to Atlantic City.
“He’ just a solid wrestler,” DiPiano said. “He wrestles a smart match, he knows what we need from him. He’s got some good wins already and he’s primed for a really nice run as we get later in the year.”
Senior Russell Van de Zilver is at 190 pounds with fellow senior Sean Vilchez (4-2) at 215 after being a regional qualifier last year.
At heavyweight is Nolan Brewer (7-4), who despite being very undersized for the spot, has been very productive for Nutley.
“I don’t care if he’s wrestling a 260 pounder or a 220 pounder,” DiPiano said. “He’s calm, he’s a smart wrestler. He knows what we want from him and he executes it well.”
Freshmen Elizaiah Perez (132 pounds), Christian Smeragiuolo (132), Jason Nolasco (138) and Nicolas Rivera (157) as well as sophomore Owen Marsala (165) are other promising underclassmen with bright futures.
Nutley looks to continue its winning ways in a busy week that begins by hosting Livingston on Wednesday and traveling to rival Bloomfield on Friday. On Saturday, it then competes in a quad at Dover with Madison and Union.
On Jan. 17, Nutley hosts St. Benedict’s and Morristown for the annual Gift of Life Wrestling Duals to raise funds and awareness for organ donation.
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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.)