Just one year after going 16-8 with two Passaic County champions, the West Milford Highlanders’ Wrestling Team has gone into rebuilding mode. The team lost three top wrestlers in the county, Spencer Ribitzki and Colin Menier. Both of them placed first in the Passaic County Tournament, and Ben Marchetto placed third in the County Tournament.
The team lost seven seniors to graduation and will lose another eight after this season, but the Highlanders have many underclassmen preparing to take over next year.
As the season is coming to a close, the black and gold have a 6-16 record. They beat Monroe in their fourth match of the year, and have won five of their last nine matches.
Senior Jesse Araujo tore through the 132-pound weight class and captured first place in the Passaic County Coaches Tournament. Junior Nick Triverio placed second in the Tournament’s 157-pound weight class, falling to Passaic Tech’s James Conklin in the finals. Lastly, sophomore Tyler Martinez placed fourth in the 113-pound division of the tournament.