Pin this one solidly to the win column Verona: The Verona High School wrestling team defeated Elmwood Park 48-25 in the first round of the North 2 Group 2 Sectionals.
Verona went into the match as the No. 4 seed to Elmwood Park’s No. 5, and the Hillbillies did struggle a bit at first. Then Dean Palmer got a 9-2 win by decision over Roman Cruz and Sam Zamloot followed that with a pin of Sebastian Polanco in a little over a minute, and put Verona in the lead. Tyler Dacosta followed that with a pin of his own of Elmwood Park’s Vinny Sakir, advancing Verona’s lead to 15-9. There was a pin from Frank Riggio over Alber Saegh, and another from John Pavia over Eddie Alfieri, and another from the team’s senior Riggio, Nick, over Jack Albetros.
But Verona wasn’t done with the pins and the wins. Cade Byrne pinned Abe Kario to make the score 39-19 Verona, and then Ryan Stanisci scored a 4-1 decision over Tyler Kario. Michael Garcia was the last match of the night and he made it a good one, with a pin of Jason Longaker in less than a minute.
Verona’s win advances the Hillbillies to a Wednesday match at Hanover Park at 7 p.m.
Photos copyright Joanna Breitenbach. Used by permission.
