Christiansen, Garcia Win County Wrestling Titles

Kyle Christiansen and Nathaniel Garcia won county championships for the Bloomfield wrestling team on Saturday at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange. Christiansen, a seven seed who came out of no where, defeated fourth seeded Steven Benitez of West Orange, 10-9 in the 170 pound finals. Garcia, a four seed, knocked off third seeded James Avraamides in the 145 pound finals, 9-4. Adam Wooten reached the heavyweight finals, but lost a heartbreaking 3-2 triple overtime bout to West Essex's Dominic Valeriani.

Overall, the locals placed fifth, scoring 143.5 points, with Nutley winning the team tournament championship. The other strong finish for Bloomfield was Ian Chauncey taking third at 152 pounds.

Top three finishers:
Kyle Christiansen: 1st place 170 pounds

Nathaniel Garcia: 1st place 145 pounds

Adam Wooten: 2nd place HVY

Top ten team finishes:

Nutley: 203

West Orange: 169

Seton Hall Prep: 153.5

West Essex: 150.5

Bloomfield: 143.5

Belleville: 118

Verona: 111

Columbia: 76

Montclair: 75.5

Cedar Grove: 73.5

Finals

106 - Khari-Elijah Jarret (Columbia) def. Anthony DeLorenzo (Nutley): Pin 2:26

113 - Brenden Calas (SHP) def. Paul Scully (Verona): Pin 5:01

120 - Robert Trombetta (Nutley) def. Nick Polimeni (SHP): Inj. default

126 - Justin Colon (Belleville) def. Mike Marotti (West Essex): 3-1 (OT)

132 - Jason Estevez (Livingston) def. Katon Washington (Montclair): 6-5

138 - Desalegne Fried (West Orange) def. Anthony Pompei (West Essex): 6-4

145 - Nathaniel Garcia (Bloomfield) def. James Avraamide (West Essex): 9-4

152 - Brad Krosser (Livingston) def. John Faugno (Glen Ridge): 6-0

160 - Simon Levin (Millburn) def. Joe Anello (Belleville): Pin 3:18

170 - Kyle Christiansen (Bloomfield) def. Steven Benitiz (West Orange):10-9

182 - Frank Greco (Verona) def. Kevin Matlon (SHP): 6-5 (4 OT)

195 - Nick Gaeta (Nutley) def. Donte Bellamy (Montclair): 6-0

220 - Joe Festa (Verona) def. Anthony Angelone (West Orange): 7-5 (3 OT)

HVY - Dominic Valeriani (West Essex) def. Adam Wooten (Bloomfield): 3-2 (3 OT)