Nutley High School wrestling impresses at tournaments

The Nutley High School wrestling team finished in second place out of 12 high schools at the Belleville High School tournament on Saturday, Jan. 7.

Belleville High School took first place.

Nutley was led by junior Brandon Toranzo, who won the 285-pound weight class. Toranzo posted a 5-2 decision win over Nelson Claremont of Montclair High School in the final to improve to 130 on the season.

Senior Ammar Mahmoud finished in second place in the 190-pound weight class for Nutley.

The third-place finishers for Nutley were freshman Chris Cifelli at 106 pounds, freshman Jacob Harlow at 126 pounds, freshman Sean Vilchez at 165 pounds and senior Will Jennings at 175 pounds. The fourth-place finishers for Nutley were senior Matt Nocerino at 120 pounds, senior Franco Graffeo at 132 pounds and senior Clayden Leybovich at 138 pounds. Finishing in fifth-sixth place for Nutley were freshman Patrick Chell at 113 pounds and senior Connor Harlow at 157 pounds.

At the Rahway High School tournament on Dec. 28, Nutley finished in second place out of 12 teams. Rahway finished in first place. Toranzo won the 285-pound title. Cifelli at 106 pounds, Harlow at 126 pounds, Graffeo at 132 pounds, Leybovich at 138 pounds, Jennings at 175 pounds and Mahmoud at 190 pounds all took second place. Nutley had a 9-3 record through Jan. 18.

SWIMMING CHAMP — Nutley High School senior Nead

Kojic is shown after taking first place in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Essex County Swimming Championships at New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday, Jan. 16. Kojic swam a personal-best time of 58.77 seconds, becoming the first county swim champion in Nutley history.

Belleville HS girls hoops team enjoying fine season this winter

The Belleville High School girls basketball team is enjoying a fine season.

The Buccaneers had a four-game winning streak through Wednesday, Jan. 18, to improve to an impressive 9-2 overall record, including 9-1 in the Super Essex Conference–Freedom Division.

Belleville defeated Weequahic High School of Newark 39-11, Golda Och Acade- my of West Orange 41-22, Technology High School of Newark 29-8 and St. Vincent of Newark 38-23 during the win streak.

Among the BHS leaders this season are seniors Amadi McIver, Amelia Fabara, Gianna DaSilva and Ashley Cely; junior Katherinne Avecillas-MacGregor; and sophomores Camila Cortes-Alonso and McKayla Reed.

BUCS WIN TITLE — The Belleville High School boys basketball team gathers with the championship trophy after winning the William Ferguson Holiday Tournament hosted by North Arlington High School. The Bucs defeated Bergen Tech 55-38 on Dec. 27 and North Arlington 43-31 in the final on Dec. 28. Belleville had a 5-9 overall record through Jan. 17, looking to gain more progress.