Ramos, Campanaro and Frayne Wrestle Pack to Eastern Sweep

By David Yaskulka

West Morris Central wrestling swept Saturday’s Eastern tri-meet, besting the 7-4 Eastern Vikings and the 8-5 Donovan Catholic Griffins, rebounding from losses to state powerhouses earlier in the week. The Pack is now 6-7. Every loss (except the criteria-decided Del Val match) was to a state-ranked team.

“After losses against High Point [NJWA No. 11] and then Pope John [No. 13], it was nice to see the team bounce back and pick up victories,” said Kevin Ramos (HWT, 15-5), who was 4-0 with some big wins on the week. “Our coaches always said that we can either break or improve from our losses, and yesterday, we definitely saw lots of improvements.”

Freshman hammer Michael Campanaro (106, 19-3) was dominating. He majored a 13-win opponent and pinned a 10-win wrestler Saturday. Against High Point and Pope John earlier in the week, he bested top-50 ranked opponents (rankwrestlers.com). Campanaro’s won five straight, and is the Wolfpack wins-leader.

Fellow freshman Henry Frayne (182, 8-11) had an outstanding Saturday, decking both of his opponents. Competing mostly against upperclassmen all season, Frayne has only one loss to a wrestler his own age, and only four losses to wrestlers outside the top-50.

Coach Ken Rossi said “Challenging ourselves [against top teams] paid off in our performance Saturday. We were able to score points late in matches, get bonus points through pins, and save bonus points.”

“It felt good to drive two hours away and win both matches against tough teams,” said Colin Loughney (170, 15-5).

WMC 42, Eastern 26 Behind Ramos, Montenegro, Ferrante and more

Frayne’s pin, majors from Ramos, Campanaro, Michael Ferrante (113, 9-10); important wins from Jorge Montenegro (220, 11-9) and Malachi Shepard (132, 10-13); and three forfeits lifted the Pack Saturday.

In 2020, 11 of Malachi’s 13 bouts have been against outstanding wrestlers, the lowest ranked of which has won 15 of his last 16.

Battaglino, Hare, Bohr , Frayne and Campanaro Pin Pack to 42-24 Win Over Donovan Catholic

Pins from Frayne, Mike Battaglino (195, 9-11), Michael Hare (113, 9-5), Campanaro and Robert Bohr (138, 12-4) led the team over Donovan Catholic. Ramos beat a top-70 wrestler, and Matt Borgia contributed a strong win over a 13-win senior.

Frayne has won four of his last six, and Ramos eight of nine.

“Ramos has been solid all season,” said Rossi. He has a great pace and is in excellent condition. He wears his opponents down and scores at opportune times. He has been staying after practice to pick up extra technique and it has paid off for him the last two weeks.”

Loughney, Campanaro and Bohr Strong in 45-28 Pope John Loss

Loughney wrestled up to challenge No. 28 Jack Stoll at 182, and delivered a dominating 9-0 performance Jan. 23. Campanaro topped his second top-50 wrestler of the week, besting No. 42 Zachary Hentschel. Bohr also delivered a top-75 win with style, by fall. Nick Kaltenhauser and Hare decked their opponent, and Ramos won to round out Wolfpack scoring. Loughney’s won eight straight. Pope John bonus point winners Kaya Sement, Shane Perceley and Eddie Ventresca could all top the podium this year.

High Point 48, WMC 21 Despite Campanaro and Montenegro

After losing the first bout to one of High Point’s dozen top-100 wrestlers, the Wolfpack reeled off three impressive wins in a row on Jan. 21. Montenegro topped No. 83 Justin Klass, Ramos won, then hopes were raised as Campanaro bested No. 24 Roman Citro to give the Pack the lead. But then it was all Wildcats, except for a pin for Loughney and a forfeit for Ricardo Guerrero. Eli Shepard was able to hang tough vs. No. 1 Billy Talmadge, falling 5-1.

Band of Brothers

Sometimes wrestling seems like a genetic trait. Brothers Malachi and Eli Shepard start now. Kevin’s younger brother Brian Ramos has three starts. Loughney and Kaltenhauser followed their older brothers Kade and Alex respectively into battle.

“We have had a variety of brothers come through and the dynamic is always a little different,” said Rossi. “Some brothers have similar technique and body types and others are completely different from each other. It is always fun to have the opportunity to compete on the same team as a sibling.”

The Loughneys wrestled together in the starting lineup in 2017, as did Noah and Ben Yaskulka in 2014.

Cory and Mark Fleming combined for 179 wins for the Pack; John and Mike Sickes had 177; Brandon and CJ Carcuffe 170; Caleb and John Isemann 118; Dave and Chris Cholish 118, Luke and Frank Stefanelli 117.

“Kade and I only had one year of high school wrestling together,” said Colin Loughney, “but he taught me a lot throughout the years. I could not turn down the excellent academics and wrestling at NYU, along with the chance to wrestle with Kade for two years. It was the full package.” Kade is currently 17-9 with 10 falls as an NYU sophomore.

Ramos said “I love to tease my brother and pick on him since he's my little brother. But at the same time, I love the kid. It feels like I'm teaching a little me, since we both started sophomore year and were both confused about the sport. I try my best to give him advice and guide him in the right direction (he doesn't always listen though, but I try), in hopes that he can become a better wrestler than I am in the future. He has potential to be great, and I want him to reach that potential.”

Rossi suggested that Borgia’s cousins, twin brothers Tommy and Michael Borgia could be the next brothers coming in. “Both have great technique and experience wrestling and should be strong competitors for the Wolfpack.”

Next Up

Calendars are marked for Mendham @ WMC 1/28, Pin Cancer Night. The Morris County Tournament is 1/31 and 2/1 at Mt. Olive. 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 Championships are 2/22; Regions 2/26, 2/28-29, 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 of Nature’s Logic 100% natural pet food, based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Photos by Margaret Stefanelli and Laura Ferrante.