NJIC WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK
Mason Brancato, Pompton Lakes, Sr., 285
Brancato won his first Passaic County title on Saturday in West Milford via a pin of Clifton senior Isaac Cazimoski in 2:45. Brancato defeated Paterson Eastside’s Luis Lopez in the quarterfinals via a 17-second pin and then Wayne Valley’s Benedetto Cooper in a 23-second fall in the semifinals. The reigning Region 1 215-pound champ pinned Hawthorne’s Alex Torres in a dual on Wednesday.
Leo Danziger, Emerson-Park Ridge, Sr., 28
Danziger went 2-2 in the last seven days, but one of those wins were one of the best walk-offs we may see all season. Emerson-Park Ridge led 36-31 going into the final bout in which Danziger was facing county medalist and senior Dante Downey of Westwood. Danziger put Downey to his back in in 4:46 to close the book for the Cavos and sent what was a raucous gym in Washington Township into a frenzy.
