The 50th Essex County Wrestling Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 21 and 22) at the Richard J. Codey Arena will have plenty of its usual excitement, but also possible history-making performances including whether Seton Hall Prep’s state-ranked 215-pounder Rocco Salerno can become just the 11th county wrestler to win his fourth ECT title.
Meanwhile, there other Essex grapplers – including state-ranked Caldwell senior Carmine Sipper (120) and West Essex’s Reid Clausi (165) along with SHP’s Andre Morero (126) - will be seeking a third ECT title, an achievement reached by just 18 other wrestlers.
As far as the team title is concerned, SHP is seeking its 12th ECT title, including a fourth in a row, and ninth in the past 10 years.
Action begins 4 p.m., Wednesday, on four mats with preliminary bouts and then concluding the evening with the quarterfinals.
On Thursday, the ECT girls preliminary and quarterfinal bouts begin at 11 a.m. The boys semifinals are slated for 4 p.m. followed approximately an hour later by the third-place, fifth-place and championship matches, along with the girls finals, while continuing to utilize all four mats in the spacious arena.
Because of heating issues affecting Codey Arena at the time of last year’s ECT, the 2025 wrestling event was held at Essex County College in Newark.
“We’re excited to be back at Codey Arena which is a tremendous site for our county tournament,” said St. Benedict’s Athletic Director Frank DiPiano who is also the ECT co-director along with Nutley’s Joe Piro. “We’re also glad to have the girls on hand to compete at the arena on Thursday with their county tournament which continues to grow in popularity.”
Among the returning standouts to watch in the ECT boys event is SHP’s Salerno, who recently earned his 100th career victory, is ranked No. 6 in the state at 215 according to nj.com No. 1 in that weight class is Dante DeLuca of Don Bosco Prep.
The Pirates’ senior standout has the opportunity to join his coach Lou Mascola (2008-2011) as a 4-time ECT champion. A fairly recent 4-time ECT champ occurred eight years ago with Cedar Grove’s lower weight grappler Anthony Clarizio (2015-2018).
Caldwell’s Sipper recently became Caldwell’s all-time winningest wrestler with his 129th victory, surpassing state champion Blake Maffei for No. 1 on the Chiefs’ impressive list that also includes Anthony Casciano in third, 4-time ECT champ Mike Kwapniewski (1988-1991) in fourth and another state champ Steve Martell in fifth.
The Navy-bound Sipper, who came through with a strong showing when he finished third in the state at 113 last March, is currently ranked No. 6 at 120 by nj.com in a weight class led by Delbarton’s reigning state champ Cam Sontz.
West Essex’s Clausi, a junior, could have a shot at being a 4-time ECT champion after winning county titles at 144 in both 2024 and 2025. He is now ranked fourth in the state at 165 in a weight class where another Delbarton star, Jayden James, is ranked No. 1.
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