Bengals Finish 7th at Essex County Wrestling Tournament

Bloomfield didn’t have any individual champions, but as a team, the Bengals worked their way to a top 10 finish at the annual Essex County Championship this weekend at Codey Arena in West Orange.

Senior Chris Rosetti was the top Bengal performer, finishing as the runner-up at 112 pounds. Rosetti won three matches before falling to Nutley sophomore Robert Trombetta, 7-5, in the finals.

With Rosetti leading the way, the Bengals finished seventh in the team standings with 108 points. West Essex won the team title with 198 points.

“We wanted to place as many as we could in the top eight, and try to finish as close to the top as we could,” said Bloomfield head coach Sam Fusaro.

Rosetti pinned East Side’s Eddie Santiago at 1:40 of the first round on Friday night, then topped Belleville’s Ricky Gencarelli by major decision, 10-2, in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning. He bested West Essex’s Carlo Zazzara, 5-1, in the semifinals later in the day to punch his ticket to the finals.

“Chris is fantastic,” said Fusaro. “He works extra hard and is a pleasure to coach. He’s a great kid. We are fortunate to have him in our program.”

Senior Joseph Finkler wrestled to third place at 189 pounds. He began his tournament with a pair of impressive wins, first topping Millburn’s Austin Harrison by technical fall, 15-0 at 2:04, on Friday night and then pinning Columbia’s Yalan Sesay 1:13 into their quarterfinal match on Saturday morning. After a pinfall loss to Montclair’s Donte Bellamy in the semifinals, Finkler rebounded to pin Barringer’s Wendell Sneed at 3:05 of the third-place match.

“Some kids pack up the tent and go home [after a loss], but he came back and wrestled to third place,” said Fusaro. “I’m proud of him. I’m proud of all of them.”

Bloomfield senior Cavan Penberthy finished fourth at 152 pounds. He earned a pair of wins on Friday, first topping West Orange’s Jimmy Myers, 13-2, and then pinning Cedar Grove’s Lorenzo Fazio 18 seconds into their match. Penberthy defeated Verona’s Craig Cundari, 18-11, in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning before falling to eventual champ Frank Marotti of West Essex, 9-3, in the semifinals. Penberthy fell to Nutley’s Brandon Keena, 3-1, in the third-place match.

Junior Michael-John Costantino finished fifth in the 119-pound bracket. He topped Millburn’s Dylan Pollock, 10-1, in the fifth/sixth-place match.

Junior Ian Chauncey also finished fifth, topping West Essex’s Mark Dipsey, 7-2, in the fifth/sixth-place bout at 145 pounds.