ROSELLE PARK, NJ — One word to describe Lucia Ranieri becoming Roselle Park High School’s first state champion wrestler since the 1950s:
“Unbelievable,” said the 16-year-old standout sophomore grappler.
Ranieri lost to Reagan Roxas of Kingsway 6-3 in the 120-pound semifinals of last year’s girls wrestling New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Ranieri also lost to Roxas in a regular season match prior.
This year, she came back to beat Roxas in the regular season and then faced her again in the NJSIAA Tournament, this time in the 126-pound championship match on Saturday, March 14.
“I was really calm,” Ranieri said. “Calm and excited. It was a different feeling. It was just amazing to be there.”
Confident after finally beating Roxas the third time they wrestled, Ranieri just went out and wrestled the way she knew, the way she was trained.
“Once I got my first takedown, I was in control,” Ranieri said. “At that point I knew I had it.”
After wrestling back to place third in the state at 120 last year, this time there was no wrestling back for Ranieri. This time, Ranieri shut out Roxas, a senior, 7-0 in the 126-pound state championship match to capture what she hopes will be just the first of three possible state championships before she is through at Roselle Park.
“I had no idea how amazing it would be to win,” Ranieri said.
Although, on the boys side at Roselle Park, there have been several close calls through the years of wrestlers by the name of, for example, Swick, Frost and Appello, who have come close to winning a state championship, Ranieri was actually the first Roselle Park wrestler to win a state title since Joe Yeats won at 157 pounds way back in 1953.
“Nothing was going to stop me this time,” Ranieri said. “I was grateful to do it for Roselle Park. My father was a coach here and my brother, John, wrestled here.”
So what did it take for Ranieri to have this kind of success?
“A lot of practice and time in the wrestling room,” Ranieri said. “Getting my head in the right space.”
Leading the way were coaches Ryan Rooney, Craig Frost and Dan Gollin.
“They were there for me every single day and made me into the wrestler I am today,” Ranieri said. “We spent a lot of hours in the wrestling room and they’re all on the same track. They knew how badly I wanted this.”
Frost was fifth in the state at 135 his senior season at Roselle Park in 1999.
Eric Swick, Roselle Park Class of 1998, was second in the state at 152 as a senior and Dan Appello, Roselle Park Class of 2002, was third in the state at 125 as a senior.
“For me, I realized right away that wrestling was a lot of hard work,” Ranieri said. “I felt that, if I stuck to it, that I could be good at it.”
Competing, and winning, on the biggest stage
They both competed on the big stage before and came so close to reaching their ultimate goal.
This time, they were not to be denied.
This time, once again two-plus hours from home, they were going to be smiling when their arms were raised.
That’s because Roselle Park High School sophomore Lucia Ranieri and Elizabeth High School senior Valeria Ramirez proved unbeatable.
In the girls NJSIAA Tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City that concluded Saturday, March 14, standout wrestlers Ranieri and Ramirez became state champions for the first time, both going 4-0 in their weight classes.
The top-seeded Ranieri won her first match by technical fall, her next two by pin and then she shut out Kingsway senior Reagan Roxas, 7-0, to capture the 126-pound field.
Ranieri, last year as a freshman, lost to Roxus by decision twice, including 6-3 in the NJSIAA Tournament 120-pound semifinals. Roxus went on to win the state championship, while Ranieri wrestled back to place third when she defeated Sparta High School junior Paige Weiss, 11-4.
In 2023, as a freshman, Weiss was the state champion at 100 pounds, becoming her school’s and Sussex County’s first girls state champion. Weiss then placed third at 114 pounds as a sophomore in 2024, fourth at 120 as a junior in 2025 and third at 132 as a senior in 2026.
Ranieri, a two-time region champion, a district champ and a two-time county champion, became the first Roselle Park grappler to reach a state final since Eric Swick did so at 152 pounds in 1998.
Ranieri, who will turn 17 on Sept. 8, fashioned a 37-3 record as a freshman and a 44-1 mark this year, her only loss coming to an out-of-state wrestler in the Beast of the East semifinals at the University of Delaware.
Teammate Ava Forstenhausler, a junior, also qualified to compete in the NJSIAA Tournament.
Ranieri and Forstenhausler were coached by Ryan Rooney, Craig Frost and Dan Gollin.
Ranieri, previously a cheerleader and a soccer player, began wrestling in the spring of her fifth-grade school year. After competing against boys in the town’s recreation program and middle school, Ranieri competed against boys and girls last year before making the commitment to wrestle only girls this season.
Last summer in competition in Fargo, North Dakota, Ranieri placed fifth to gain All-America status.
Her father, John, a 1991 Roselle Park graduate and a health and physical education teacher at Roselle Park, succeeded Sam Appello as head wrestling coach and had that position from the 2002-2003 season through the 2015-2016 campaign, leading the Panthers to several Union County Tournament and sectional championships.
Ramirez, the fourth seed at 138, won three of her four matches by pin, with the other victory being a decision in the quarterfinal round. Ramirez defeated second-seeded Mariana Puzycki of Bayonne High School by fall in 1:31 to capture 138 honors.
Ramirez qualified for the NJSIAA Tournament all four years, but did not earn a medal until this year.
Ramirez was also a district champion when Elizabeth won the District 5 championship this season.
Other Elizabeth wrestlers also excelled in the District 5 competition, with Isabella Morales second at 120, Alani Jackson second at 165, Angelina Mejia third at 107 and Maria Garcia third at 114.
It was the first district title for an Elizabeth wrestling team since the boys captured one in 1998.
Elizabeth is guided by head coach Mike Luna and assistant Alcides Aleman.
Union County Girls Wrestlers who earned medals at NJSIAA Tournament
114: Jaliyah Richards, Scotch Plains–Fanwood, junior – 5th
126: Lucia Ranieri, Roselle Park, sophomore – 1st
138: Valeria Ramirez, Elizabeth, senior – 1st
Roselle Park Sophomore Lucia Ranieri the top seed at 126
First round: defeated 16th-seeded Adriane Patino of East Brunswick High School by technical fall in 2:58 (21-6).
Quarterfinals: pinned 9th-seeded Zoe Poznanski of Colonia High School in 3:50.
Semifinals: pinned 5th-seeded Polina Shardakova-Scorzafava of Kinnelon High School in 3:55.
Final: defeated 3rd-seeded Reagan Roxas of Kingsway Regional High School, 7-0.
Elizabeth Senior Valeria Ramirez the 4th seed at 138
First round: pinned 13th-seeded Alyssa Aiello of Jefferson Township High School in 5:31.
Quarterfinals: defeated 12th-seeded Melody Guzik-Upchurch of Vernon Township High School, 8-3.
Semifinals: pinned Mia Spadavecchia of Westwood Regional High School in 5:30.
Final: pinned second-seeded Mariana Puzycki of Bayonne High School in 1:31.
NJSIAA Tournament state champion wrestlers from Roselle Park
Girls
2026: Lucia Ranieri (126)
Boys
1953: Joe Yeats (157)
1952: Jack Heiss (106)
1951: Sal D’Amico (166)
1950: George Fidelis (121)
1950: Frank Capece (134)
1950: Sal D’Amico (166)
1948: Norman Buick (104)
1946: Cal Wacker (134)
1946: Fred Klett (166)
1945: Joe Colicelio (104)
1945: Cal Wacker (128)
1945: Andy Fortunato (134)
1945: Fred Klett (166)
1944: Al Buick (128)
1944: Rick Sassman (139)
1944: George Erb (HWT)
1943: Andy Fortunato (95)
1943: Robert Venturo (104)
1943: Al Buick (113)
1943: Monroe Kahn (146)
1942: Robert Venturo (95)
1941: Jon Peters (95)
1941: Dan Valenti (115)
1940: Robert Newman (HWT)
1939: Herb Farrell (115)
1939: Warren Wacker (175)
1936: Herb Farrell (95)
Photos Courtesy of John Ranieri
