Fair Lawn Junior Wrestling Wraps Up 'Best Season in Recent Memory'

Fair Lawn's junior wrestlers recently capped one of the organization's most successful campaigns in years under the leadership of new co-head coaches Stephan Macchiorola and Joe Kover.

Macchiorola and Kover, who took over for longtime head coach Chris Tiernan, are both former Fair Lawn Junior Wrestling and Fair Lawn High School wrestlers.

Junior Cutter Classic

Fair Lawn opened up the season with a second place finish at the 12th Annual Junior Cutter Classic in December, narrowly losing to Paramus. It was the highest Fair Lawn has ever placed in its own tournament.

Seven wrestlers made it to the tournament finals. Dylan Cedeno, Anthony Dushaj, Joey Covino and Kevin Pisacane won golds, Conner Ahrendt and Daniel Tartakovsky took silver and Cole Bosch and Patrick Brand brought home bronze medals. Dylan Cedeno won the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Skip Bailey Invitational and Lenape Valley

Fair Lawn then swept through Saddle Brook's Skip Bailey Invitational with 19 medals, including 10 golds and six silvers and Lenape Valley Junior Open Tournament with 18 medals, including 7 golds and 4 silvers.

New Jersey Novice Wrestling Association 

Fair Lawn next hosted the inaugural New Jersey Novice Wrestling Association State North Qualifier. With the top three finishers in each weight class qualifying, Fair Lawn sent 11 wrestlers to the NJNWA State Championships. Michael Checinski, Ryan Rue and Aidan Fojon came away as NJNWA State Champions. 

Districts and Regionals

The team's season schedule concluded with Districts and Regionals.

In the district tournament, where 12 teams competed, Fair Lawn finished with its highest medal count in team history. The team took home 28 medals, including 11 first places, 13 second places and four third place finishes.

In a field of 51 teams at the regional tournament, the Junior Cutters were led with eight medalists — 6 gold (Cedeno, Eric Checinski, Dushaj, Fojon, Pisacane and Jakob Shapiro) and two silver (Ahrendt and AJ Puerto).

Program director Rick Puerto said none of the season's storylines were more satisfying than Pisacane's run to the regional title. After suffering a heartbreaking 5-3 defeat in the district finals to St. Benedict's Abubakar Mendheim, Pisacane defeated Mendheim to claim the region title.

USANJ Kids State Championships

The team also had eight wrestlers — Cedeno (2nd), Jakob Shapiro (5th), Benjamin Liss and Paul Higgins (6th), Anthony Motta and Zachary Shapiro (7th) and Eric Checinski and Fojon (8th) — place at the USANJ Kids State Championships.

Team Awards

Four wrestlers received awards at the team's annual ceremony, held last Thursday at the Riverside Manor in Paterson

• Noah Deahl received the Rock Award in recognition of work ethic, commitment, participation, acheivements and a "never quit" attitude on the mats
• Aidan Fojon (District 1st, Region 1st, NJNWA State Champ and USANJ 8th) won the Oustanding Acheivement Award
• AJ Puerto (2X District Champ, Region 2nd, qualified for USANJ States coming one win shy of placing, attending the National Competition at the War at the Shore and placing 6th) won the Most Improved Wrestler.
• Kevin Pisacane (District 2nd, Region 1, Cutter Classic Champ, Skip Bailey Champ, 1st at USANJ qualifier) won Most Outstanding Wrestler

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