Wednesday was the Conference home opener for the Verona High School wrestling team, and the Hillbillies came away with a decisive win 57-15 win over Orange High School.
Seven Verona wrestlers came away with pins: Jimmy Loudon (113) defeated Jean Joseph in 1:37, Frank Gabriele (120) took down Hantz Nicolas is just 31 seconds, Joe Ballentyne (126) vanquished Ebenson Macenat in 59 seconds, John Gabriele (132) defeated Boodjy Merceda in 1:10, and Jake Quercio (138) finished Leonardson Joseph in 2:46.
Thanasi Grillias (145) and AJ Pengue (220) both battled it out with their Orange opponents for more than four minutes before finally getting their pins over Jhasim Dunn and Wennds Myrtil, respectively.
Three Hillbilly grapplers got their wins on points: Billy Czupak (160) defeated Erick Fajardo 7-2; Brian Wagner (170) had a 6-4 win over Juvenson Etheard and Mark Riggio (182) finished with a similar 6-4 victory over Dante Brunson.
Verona’s record now stands at 4-2. The team’s next match will be home against Livingston next Wednesday, January 14 at 5 p.m.
Photos copyright Donna Giuliano. Used by permission.
