Loughney’s Last WMC Wrestling Move: Climbing Championship Podium

By David Yaskulka

“This match was the most important of my career,” said West Morris Central’s newest state medalist Colin Loughney. He knew a win would put him on the NJSIAA championship podium – his goal since grade school – and a loss would end his career just shy.

St. Joseph’s AJ Fricchione stepped to the mat. The freshman phenom had just shocked the 5-seed with a dominating upset performance.

“I was going to give it all I had to prevail,” said Loughney.

Scoring early and at the end of periods, mostly on the edge of the mat, Loughney prevailed 6-5, securing his place on the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics State Wrestling Individual Championships podium at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

He finished eighth, doing exactly as Coach Ken Rossi asked: “I told him to go out and be aggressive, enjoy the moment, and leave everything you have on the mat.”

Fellow all-time great WMC senior captain Eli Shepard placed top-12 with three big victories. Rossi noted Loughney and Shepard’s character, calling them “tremendous leaders and mentors for our younger wrestlers.”

Michael Campanaro became WMC’s first freshman to win in Atlantic City. Senior Kevin Ramos ended his remarkable career, and Malachi Shepard his outstanding sophomore season in the sport’s most prestigious tournament.

Loughney lifted the Wolfpack onto the podium for the sixth straight year – in part inspired by those who came before him.

“Every day I walked into the practice room I’d look up at the state medalist banner and dream about being up there with some of the best wrestlers to walk into that room,” said Loughney.

Most recently, those names include Justin LeMay, placing seventh last year, Marco Gaita fifth in 2018, and Shane Metzler fourth, fifth and seventh respectively in 2015-17. Prior, Nick Matthews and Dillon Landi were the only medalists in the two-decades since Brian MacGuire’s 1993 podium position.

“I’m happy all the hard work in that room paid off.”

Eli Shepard Ends Stellar Career Top-12 of State

Eli concluded his hall of fame career winning three huge bouts in Atlantic City. The senior Shepard was a monster on top, riding opponents for multiple minutes a bout.

Shepard’s final career bout was lost to friend and sometime training partner Kaya Sement, who went on to place third.

Shepard told his Instagram followers, “A blood round loss with 97 wins was not the ending I envisioned but I have no regrets and would change nothing about my experience. Thanks for everything.”

Shepard reflected that “this sport taught me countless lessons and has shaped my character. I fell one match short of my goal which is heart breaking but I had a great experience in high school wrestling.” He also thanked the Parents Club and fans for giving him “countless hours of support these past four years.”

Unofficially, Shepard ties Loughney for #10 on WMC’s all-time wins list, lofty company including Metzler, Matthews, Gaita, Kade Loughney, Dylan Luciano, Brandon Carcuffe, LeMay, David Migliaccio, and John Sickles.

Shepard is a two-time District champion, three-time X-Calibur medalist; a Goles champion, a three-time County medalist; four-time Regional qualifier including twice as a finalist advancing to Atlantic City.

Shepard led the team to perhaps its biggest upset ever – the headline read “Boom! Pack Shocks No. 6 Pope John with Jolt from Shepard” – by upsetting then No. 6 ranked Sement 4-2 last season. At the time, Shepard said “This match was pretty personal. Kaya and I have trained together at clubs and he has helped me make improvements.”

Campanaro’s Best-Ever Freshman Year

Arguably the finest debut in WMC history culminated in Campanaro’s hand raised in Boardwalk Hall, dominating from start to finish in a 6-0 victory.

In an unexpected twist, No. 3 ranked (RankWrestlers.com) Tyler Vazquez was upset in pre-quarter finals, dropping him to Campanaro’s consolation bracket. The nationally-ranked (No. 14, FloWrestling) Delbarton freshman promptly ended Campanaro’s season, wrestling all the way back to third place.

Campanaro smashed the WMC freshman wins record with 37 (John Sickles and Shane Metzler had 29). He was Goles champion, took District 12 silver, bronze at X-Calibur and Region 3, and was 5th in Morris County. He’s believed to be the Wolfpack’s first-ever freshman state qualifier (and certainly is the first this century).

His takeaway? "That there's only four years of this experience, so just let it fly and don't hold anything back" said Campanaro.

Malachi’s Sophomore Year Among Best Ever

Malachi Shepard concludes one of the best sophomore years in team history, becoming the fourth sophomore State Championship qualifier in recent memory (Robert Bohr, LeMay, Metzler).

Shepard was District 12 Champion, placed 6th atX-Calibur, 3rd at Goles, 3rd at Morris County, 4th at Region 3, and finished his season in Atlantic City.

“I’ve taken a lot from the AC experience,” he said, noting how extraordinarily hard top wrestlers work to achieve their goals, and how much he looks forward to joining Campanaro, and fellow Region qualifiers Michael Ferrante and Henry Frayne next season.

The key to next year’s success?

“We have to work hard.”

Ramos Concludes Remarkable Career

Kevin Ramos wrapped up one of the most remarkable wrestling careers in WMC wrestling, and he did it with his own signature style – epic could-go-either-way matches – in Boardwalk Hall. His Ultimate Tie Breaker triple-overtime near-upset of the 2nd seeded wrestler was the entire tourney’s biggest story of the day.

“When the match first started, I was a little bit intimidated as I knew the guy was predicted to make the finals,” said Ramos. “But after about 30 seconds, I wasn't all that worried and just tried my best to wrestle him.” Ramos lost, but despite being the 31-seed, showed he was virtually even with a wrestler who ultimately took fourth. Other 2-seed vs. 31-seed matches were nearly all pins or tech falls.

Ramos walked on to the team near the end of his sophomore year season, and quickly gained a starting role. His very first victory was a dramatic pin vs. Old Tappan in the sectional quarterfinals– a moment that will endure in Wolfpack faithful memory.

“High school wrestling meant a lot to me. When I first joined I didn't really think it would be for me,” said Ramos. “But that changed when I realized just how tough and rewarding it really was. It taught me to be less afraid in front of others, pushed me to do my very best when my name was called. If there's one thing I can take away from it, it's that I shouldn't back down from a challenge and to keep working hard in order to find success.”

He’s a three-time District medalist and Region qualifier in his first three (ever) seasons wrestling. He’s a Morris County bronze medalist and two-time placer, a Goles silver medalist, and State Qualifier.

More on Loughney

Along the way, Loughney’s won two District and two Goles championships; placed second, third and fourth at County, qualified twice for the State Championship where of course he finished on the podium.

Fittingly, his 97 career wins tie Eli for No. 10 all-time for WMC.

Loughney made it to quarterfinals, where DePaul’s Connor O’Neill showed why he’s ranked No. 6 in the nation, dropping Loughney to consolations. O’Neill then upset the nation’s No. 5 wrestler for gold.

“Stepping off the mat for the last time as a high school wrestler was tough for me. The coaches have been mentors to me -- I would not be where I am without them teaching me what hard work and discipline are.”

Loughney’s advice to young wrestlers aspiring to the podium?

“Trust your coaches and trust the process. You may want to quit or not push yourself to your max, but all the hard word will pay off in the end.”

Credits

Contributing writer David Yaskulka was inspired by his wrestling sons to live out his high school dream of being a sportswriter. He’s also the CEO of Nature’s Logic 100% natural pet food, based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Photos by Laura Ferrante and Susan Hill.