Junior Wrestler Brandon Toranzo Named New Jersey Athlete Of The Week

Junior Brandon Toranzo was named New Jersey Athlete of the Week by The Observer after his outstanding wrestling performances in the Rahway Tournament and the Kearny Tournament. The Observer is a print and e-newspaper serving the communities of Kearny, Harrison, East Newark, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, Belleville, Bloomfield and Nutley.

Toranzo transferred back to Nutley High School after two years of playing football and wrestling for Saint Joseph’s Regional High School. Toranzo said, “During my freshman year I was named All American after taking third place for the National High School Coaches Association (NCHAS) Tournament.” 

Despite the role he played on the Saint Joseph’s wrestling team, he decided he wanted to come back to Nutley for his junior year to further his wrestling career and become more involved within the community. Toranzo said, “The transition has been great. The teachers, the coaches, and the students have all been great and very supportive all around.” 

After acclimating, Toranzo was quick to showcase his talent on the wrestling mat. He pinned his opponent in the first period of his first match for the Raiders. Toranzo said, “My favorite moment so far this year was definitely the Kearny match. It was the home opener for us and everybody was going crazy, it was electric. This brings me to my favorite part of the wrestling team which is honestly just being back home. I just love the atmosphere of it and like I said before going back to those packed home matches.” 

Coupled with his wins, Toranzo has faced some tough opponents, but still has managed to maintain his 15-0 record. Toranzo said, “My toughest match was in the finals of the Belleville tournament. I won 5-2 and it was my closest match this season. It definitely wasn’t my best match I wrestled but I saw lots of things I can improve on.”  

Toranzo built off of his tough match during the finals of the Belleville Tournament at the Rahway Holiday Tournament. Here we won the Outstanding Wrestler Award in both the Rahway Tournament and Kearny Tournament within two weeks. Toranzo was named the New Jersey Athlete of The Week because of these exemplary performances. This recognition was featured on the Observer, which includes the surrounding towns such as Kearny, Harrison, East Newark, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, Belleville, Bloomfield and Nutley. 

Toranzo said, “It feels great to get this award because I have never received it before and I definitely have been working very hard for this, doing a practice after school, then going to a lift, then finally another club practice at night time. It just shows the hard work is paying off.” 

Toranzo continues to strive for more goals and positively impact the team. He is confident that everyone will continue to develop and perform to their full potential. “I think we definitely started slower than we would have liked, but ever since the Belleville match I’ve seen a whole new team develop and we’re starting to look pretty solid. We started off 0-3 and now we’re 3-3,” said Toranzo. 

Toranzo gives credit to his coaches for his success. “Special shoutout to Coach DiPiano, Coach Ritacco, and Coach Coppola for everything they have done for me these past few weeks!”