Back from injury, Orozco clinches win for Gov. Livingston

Monday night's NJSIAA North 2 Group II wrestling quarterfinal between Governor Livingston and Voorhees was destined to come down to the grinders -- the kids who wrestle in the shadows of their better-known teammates.

Enter Governor Livingston sophomore 140-pounder Victor Orozco.

Orozco, who was just cleared at about 1:30 p.m. after recovering from a concussion he suffered Jan. 30 during a dual meet against Brearley, scored a meet-clinching 6-2 decision in the last bout of the night to give Governor Livingston a 35-30 win. The fifth-seeded Highlanders (15-2) won the right to meet No. 1 seed Hanover Park on Wednesday in the sectional semifinals.

Orozco (7-13) scored a three-point near fall with time running out to put the bout and match away for the Highlanders, who last won a sectional title in 1981. The teams split the 14 bouts.

"I've been out for a week with a concussion," Orozco said. "I was kind of tired at the end, but I'm glad I was able to put him on his back. It gave me a little bit of a break."

Baker let Orozco go with about 45 seconds left.

"Once he gave me the side headlock I just threw him on his back and hoped for the best," he said. "I thought it was a pretty even match. Those guys are strong kids."

Voorhees senior 135-pounder Vin Peoni edged Joey Hoy 8-7 to close the deficit to 32-30 and set it up for Orozco or Baker to bring home the winning points.

"He hasn't practiced since Brearley," Governor Livingston coach Rick Iacono said. "The doctor had to clear him. He gets cleared to wrestle at 1:30 this afternoon, and he comes in and gives us that kind of performance."

Govenror Livingston lost the toss, which meant that Iacono really didn't have much room to move kids. He went with Orozco.

"We had to go straight at them, I went straight at them, we didn't make one move all night," Iacono said. "That was a dual meet and a half. That was a good dual meet."

Voorhees' 152-pounder Jadaen Bernstein and 285-pounder Brian Guevara scored big wins by decision at weights the Highlanders figured they could steal.

Mike Busch (119) and Chris Davis (125) scored a fall and technical fall, respectively, to give Voorhees its last lead. Union County Tournament champ Mike Stepien then put Governor Livinsgton up for good with a fall at 130.

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