Four West Essex, Caldwell Wrestlers Headed to AC

WEST ORANGE—Anthony Perrotti remembers the trip to Atlantic City for the state wrestling championship last March and he will never forget it.

However, the West Essex standout was just a spectator at the event during his sophomore year after transferring from Queen of Peace.

Only able to watch, it was an awful experience.

"I watched, but it was very difficult," Perrotti said of last year's final. "I think it paid off in the long run."

That's hard to argue following his performance Saturday in the Region 4 championship at West Orange High School that was punctuated with a quick pin of North Bergen's Jorge Reyes in just 58 seconds to capture the 119-pound division and secure a trip back to Atlantic City—this time as a competitor.

"I am not full yet and still hungry," Perrotti said of his quest for taking home the top prize next weekend.

Due to this week's snow storm, the quarterfinals, semifinals, finals and all consolation matches of the regional championships were held Saturday, with the top-three finishers in each weight class earning a spot in the state finals.

Perrotti will be joined in Atlantic City by teammate Frank Marotti, a junior who finished third at 140, and James Caldwell High's third-place finishers Dan Pierce (heavyweight) and Jason Kratsch at 145.

Although Alex Richardson, of St. Peter's Prep, and Queen of Peace's Frank Cagnina were named co-most valuable wrestlers in Region 4, Perrotti's dominating run was certainly worthy of consideration.

After a bye in Tuesday's pre-quarterfinals, Perrotti pinned Passaic's Tykkar Womack in 3:02 in Saturday morning's quarterfinals. He then recorded a 17-4 semifinal-round victory over Livingston's P.J. Farinella to reach the final, which lasted less than a minute.

Marotti joined his teammate by placing third at 140 after beating Rutherford's Mike Paskas 7-3 in the consolation round after losing a 7-4 decision to Passaic Valley's Ryan Dunphy—the eventual champ—in the semifinals.

"I dropped baseball and football just to train all year round," Marotti said.

"I just thought about getting to Atlantic City," he said of his determination following his semifinal loss. "It has been a goal of mine my entire life. I just want to thank all of my teammates, coaches and family for making me work harder."

Pierce earned his first trip to Atlantic City by pinning Joseph Ortiz, of Ridgefield Park, at 4:37 of the third-place heavyweight consolation match. Like Perrotti, Pierce was driven to not be a spectator at this year's state finals.

"I remember being in the bleachers last year," Pierce said. "It's unbelievable. I don't know how to explain it."

The Caldwell heavyweight rebounded after losing to West Orange's Emkiano Betancor in the semifinals to win his next two matches.

"I knew that [Betancor] was tough," Pierce said. "I knew that I had to come back to get third."

Kratsch also rebounded after losing to the eventual regional champion Frank Crocco, of Passaic Valley. Kratsch was pinned by Crocco in the first period, but made his way to the consolation match at 145 where he beat Fort Lee's Johansi Rivera, 8-5.

Several other wrestlers from West Essex and Caldwell fell just one or two wins short of qualifying for the state finals.

West Essex freshman Carlo Zazzara lost 9-4 to Bloomfield's Chris Rosetti in the 103 consolation match. At 112, West Essex freshman Mike Marotti, Frank's brother, lost to Passaic Tech's Devrin Egipciaco, 19-14, in the wrestleback, while Caldwell senior Andrew Kratsch lost a 7-6 decision to Paskas at 140.