West Orange Ends Dual Meet Season in Style

West Orange High School's wrestling team celebrated its seniors Monday night — with a win over Montclair, and a special moment.

Senior Cameron DeMarco, who hasn't been able to compete because of a shoulder injury, was named the team's captain for the season before the match, and then accepted a forfeit at 160 pounds to help the Mountaineers beat Montclair 46-18. West Orange finished its dual meet season with a 15-4 record, and will now prepare for this weekend’s District 13 Tournament at West Essex High School.

But last night it was about the seniors.

"We had our senior night cancelled (earlier in the season), so this was a good opportunity to have one last chance in their gym and for us to get another mach under our belt," said coach Steve Zichella.

Senior 112-pounder Dallas Sellers moved up to 119 and won 15-10. Senior 125-pounder Dawit Rutty won his ninth straight bout by pinning sophomore JedPaul De Los Santos in 59 seconds. It was his 15th pin of the season and gave him a 24-7 record.

Senior 145-pounder Zach White (23-7) won his eighth straight bout, beating Rayne Stokes by major decision 10-1. 

"He's been so energetic," said Zichella of White. "The greatest thing about Zach is not even necessarily the production on the mat, but in what he gives off it. His morale, he's a great leader in the room. He has fun and is truly enjoying himself this year. This sport is grueling, so it's tough to stay positive and maintain positivity and he does it as good a job as anybody I've coached."

Junior 140-pounder Connor Vanderhoof rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Brandon Williams 7-4.

"It was a great win for him, the Montclair kid is pretty tough — it was a gutsy performance from Connor," Zichella said.

Senior 285-pounder Emiliano Betancor (21-0) won by forfeit as did freshman 103 and sophomore 112-pounder Nikolas Holandez. Junior Jim Meyers had a 26-second fall at 152.