Pack of Eight Wins County Public Bronze for WMC Wrestling

By David Yaskulka

Eight members of West Morris Central wrestling Wolfpack placed in this weekend’s Morris County Tournament Championship at Mt. Olive, leading the team to third place among public high schools. Captains Eli Shepard (145) and Colin Loughney (170) won silver medals. Malachi Shepard (126) and Kevin Ramos (HWT) took home bronze, Robert Bohr (132) placed fourth, Michael Campanaro (106) fifth, and both Matt Borgia (152) and Jorge Montenegro (220) placed sixth.

State powerhouse Delbarton dominated the 23-team tournament with six champions, finishing 135 team points above Montville, which won the public school title. Mount Olive was next, followed by WMC, and then Mendham. The strong showing by Montville and Mount Olive landed them in the NJ.com top-20 for the first time.

Delbarton, whose stellar lineup includes wrestlers recruited from outside Morris County, won its 12th consecutive MCT title, and remained ranked No. 2 in New Jersey behind Bergen Catholic.

Delbarton’s P.J. Casale topped No. 1 seed Gage Armijo of Mendham at 220, giving him a reasonable claim to the Outstanding Wrestler award. But another deserving champion, Anthony Clark, took the honor along with his fourth MCT crown at 138.

The fourth place overall finish equaled WMC’s performance from last season, when Eli Shepard also won silver. He placed fourth in 2018. Loughney improved on last season’s fourth place finish. Ramos improved from last year’s sixth place finish. Malachi and Borgia placed for the first time.

Campanaro’s 106 lb. weight class was stacked with four NJ top-20 wrestlers (rankwrestlers.com), including two in the top-10. Based on rankings, Campanaro got the least favorable seed on the team.

Bohr pinned Morristown's No. 23 ranked Giovanni Rivera, possibly his best win of the season.

While Borgia received a favorable seed, he had to perform on the mat. His weight class had nine wrestlers ranked above him, and was the hardest in which to place overall (based on the rank of the sixth-highest-ranked wrestler).

Michael Ferrante (113) had a favorable No. 3 seed, but his bracket featured eight wrestlers in the state’s top-70.

Malachi’s only loss was to eventual champ Nick Nardone from Delbarton. Full Circle ranks him No. 2 in NJ.

Eli Shepard took down No. 10 ranked Jason Smith in the semifinals. Shepard’s finals loss was to Delbarton’s Andrew Troczynski, ranked No. 5.

Loughney lost to No. 6 Noah Fox of Montville in the finals, but topped Mendham's No. 34 ranked Andrew Bryan along the way.

Borgia topped Pequannock’s 21-win Alex Gallipoli in consolations, where Montenegro bested the No. 58 ranked 18-win Justin Lockwood from Kinnelon.

Malachi is Magnificent, But Pack Falls to Mendham 36-25 on Pin Cancer Night

In his most impressive bout of the season, Malachi Shepard outlasted Mendham’s No. 18 ranked Jack Bertha (19-4) by 4-1. Bohr followed with another outstanding win for the Pack, 4-2 over Luke Colannino (18-6). Michael Hare stepped in at 106 and was also impressive, decking a fellow freshman in 18 frenzied seconds, and for a moment, making it look like Rossi’s strategy to bump up the lineup would pay off (as it usually does for the District Coach of the Year. But Chris Tringali (14-7) and Tristan Navarino (10-4) delivered impressive wins for Mendham to gain control of the match.

Loughney and Eli Shepard delivered tech falls, and Kevin Ramos a solid 7-3 win, but that was all the scoring for the Pack.

Mendham’s Andrew Bryan (17-7), Justin Hyde (19-6) and Cameron Vazquez (9-5) pinned, as Luke Fehnel (11-6), and William Schlegel (19-6) also brought home impressive victories for the visitors.

In a perplexing bout pitting the most decorated wrestler in the room vs. the least experienced, NJSIAA returning bronze medalist Gage Armijo delivered a flamboyant lift and slam, which was decried by the home crowd and ignored by the referee. Seconds later, on a different move (this time ruled potentially dangerous) the Mendham senior hammer defeated sophomore Brian Ramos by injury default. The first-year wrestler departed for treatment.

But most importantly, wrestlers from the rival schools banded together to raise money for a great cause, through the Pin Cancer organization. Money was raised for cancer research at St. Jude’s Hospital.

Eight is Not Enough as Kittatinny Prevails 36-35

WMC won eight of 14 bouts, including big wins by Ramos, Bohr and Eli over top-75 ranked wrestlers. Loughney’s quick pin put the Wolfpack up 35-18 with only three bouts to go. But three of the Courgars’ best – no. 35 Brycen Mafaro, no. 32 Robert Bruce, and No. 12 Jackson Crawn decked their opponents, and the Wolfpack, in dramatic fashion. Their three consecutive first period pins gave Kittatinny the 36-35 win.

Campanaro and Malachi delivered pins for the Pack as Bohr and Borgia also nailed bonus points with majors. But perhaps the difference was the three Kittatinny wrestlers ranked outside the top-100 delivering pins for the Cougars.

Next Up

The Wolfpack visits No. 3 North Hunterdon 2/4, and Sparta 2/5. If the Pack qualifies, the team Sectional playoffs will be 2/10-14. District 12 Championships are 2/22 @ Becton; Region 3 Championships are 2/26, 2/28-29 at West Orange; and the NJSIAA State Championships in Atlantic City are 3/5-7.

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 ofNature’s Logic 100% natural pet food, based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Photos by Susan Hill and Laura Ferrante.