Campanaro, Dean, Borgia and Frayne Lift Wolfpack Wrestlers to 4-1

By David Yaskulka

Photos by Olivia Montuore

1/8/23

West Morris Central wrestling rose to 4-1 this week behind senior captains Michael Campanaro (132 lbs., 12-0 record) and Henry Frane (HWT, 10-1), sophomore Brandon Dean (144, 12-1) and freshman Tommy Borgia (215, 10-2) who delivered victories in each of the team’s matches this week. WMC topped Hackettstown Jan. 3, then topped Morris Knolls and Kittatinny before narrowly falling to powerhouse Delaware Valley Jan. 7 in a home quad.

The only two in-state losses for this WMC foursome were Borgia’s versus state medalists (one in overtime). Campanaro is undefeated. Dean and Frayne haven’t lost since the first day of the season in Pennsylvania. Frayne pinned everyone he’s faced since.

“My favorite match was against Del Val,” said Campanaro, highlighting the team’s only (narrow) loss. “No one knew they were ranked 14th in the state. It just shows we don’t care who we wrestle and teams need to watch out for us.”

There are additional stars shining in Coach Chris Marold’s constellation. This week, sophomore Mark Montuore (106, 9-2) was 3-0 and seniors Michael Hare (120, 10-4), Dean Muttart (138, 7-2) and Sam Rizzuto (150, 9-4) 3-1. Jacob Fahmi (113, 4-5), Vincent Caruso (126, 3-6) and Brendan McBride (175) also delivered big wins.

Michael Borgia (165), Blake Parkinson-Gee (190) and Henry DeFrance (157) also brought grit and muscle to the mat for the Pack, facing many of the opponents' top wrestlers this week.

Together, they’re on track to improve significantly on the team’s 10-14 record last season, and 0-11 record the year before.

Fahmi pins; Frayne, Muttart and Dean top District medalists to defeat Knolls

Knolls’ three highest-ranked grapplers staked the Golden Eagles to an 18-0 lead, but the Pack would win nine of the next 10 bouts to defeat their division rivals 40-27.

Tommy Borgia assured he’d rocket up the RankWrestlers.com rankings with a 9-4 victory over 61st ranked Cole Newton. Frayne won by pin over a District medalist, and Montuore by major.

Fahmi electrified the crowd in a back-and-forth coin-toss match against Knolls senior Nicolas D’Asti in which the Pack’s typically measured mathematician Marold argued not one but four calls that went against the Wolfpack freshman. Undaunted, Fahmi pinned D’Asti with seconds on the clock to a standing ovation from the Wolfpack faithful.

Hare gutted out a key 5-3 win, Campanaro and Rizzuto pinned, Muttart topped a District medalist.

Dean bumped up a weight in all three matches Saturday, this time to defeat 38th ranked Dominic DelleMonache 4-2.

How difficult is bumping up?

“It depends on the wrestler,” explained Dean. “The extra six pounds make a difference but the key is good positioning.” Dean wasn’t complacent after taking down three outstanding wrestlers. “I think I did well but there were definitely extra individual and team points that I could have gotten.”

Knolls is a big first win in the NJWAC National Division for the Pack, where Roxbury is the only other team undefeated in intra-division play.

Kittatinny captured by Dean, Borgia and Caruso big wins and five falls for the Pack

Like Knolls, Kittatinny was 24-0 from 157-190, plus WMC forfeited 113. But that wasn’t enough to tame the Wolfpack, which won 38-33.

Borgia won another big match, this time against 36th ranked District finalist Tucker Lockburner, to get WMC on the board.

Frane, Montuore and Hare all pinned. Caruso won a key 9-6 decision. Campanaro won by tech fall 19-3, and Muttart pinned.

That gave WMC a precarious 35-21 lead with Kittatinny's three remaining wrestlers sporting a combined 20-1 record. But Dean, bumping to 150, prevailed over District champion Reece Smith 6-3 to secure the Wolfpack win.

Hare and Dean heroics not enough to overcome powerhouse Delaware Valley

Delaware Valley’s depth up and down the lineup was on display as the Terriers swept the West Morris quad, and came from behind to defeat the Wolfpack 38-33 in the last bout of the day.

Hare avenged a Goles tournament decking from Del Val District champ Jake Taylor with a dramatic 3-1 victory Saturday – garnering a standing ovation from the Wolfpack faithful.

How did he reverse the outcome?

“The coaches and I tweaked my stance, integrating more unpredictable movement,” said Hare. “Most important was my focus. I needed that match back not only for myself but for my team – and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from leaving the mat with a victory.”

Dean was a giant killer once again, bumping up to 150 for the third time Saturday, this time defeating 15th-ranked State qualifier Chris Colasurdo 4-3.

Frayne delivered his third pin of the day (a Goles final rematch with the same result), and Montuore and Rizzuto their second pinfalls.

Del Val scrambled to solve Borgia who delivered his third pin over three different Terrier wrestlers this season.

Campanaro again topped the dangerous Matt Roche 3-0, with a controversial call against the Wolfpack overturned after Marold argued. Camp topped Roche 4-0 at Goles.

Rizzuto’s pin and Dean’s big win gave the Pack hope with a 33-20 lead after 11 bouts, despite forfeiting at 113. But Del Val made their claim for top-20 status with three consecutive pins to secure the narrow victory.

Rizzuto, Fahmi and Caruso Lead Pack Over Hackettstown

In a match marred by five forfeits, the Wolfpack prevailed in six of nine bouts wrestled to escape neighboring Hackettstown with a 51-27 victory Jan. 3. As he did against High Point, Rizzuto delivered six against a region qualifier, pinning Shawn Pawlowski to assure the Wolfpack win.

Fahmi got WMC on the board with a first period pin, and Caruso delivered a 10-8 victory.

Dean and Frayne each added pinfalls to their impressive season starts – the seventh straight for Frayne whose streak is now 10.

McBride upset Zachary Calhoun via injury forfeit.

Early Rankings and Standings

At 2-0, WMC ranked #1 in the first North Jersey, Section 2 Group 3 Power Points report, just above Warren Hills. No WMC wrestlers made NJ.com’s first top-eight individual rankings. Full Circle ranked Campanaro #9, Dean #17, and Frayne #12. FloWrestling has Campanaro #7. RankWrestlers (which includes Blair) has Campanaro #8, Frayne #13, Dean #15, Montuore #19, Hare #33, Rizzuto #49, Muttart #52 and Tommy Borgia #81. NJ.com team rankings had WMC #7 in Group 3, and #4 in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. GardenStateHSWrestling.com has WMC #3 in the Morris County top-10, behind Delbarton and Mt. Olive.

Twin Towers

Could Frayne and Borgia become the team’s most accomplished heavyweight pair ever? They already are the best since 2019-20 when Kevin Ramos (HWT) qualified for states and Jorge Montenegro (220) was a D12 finalist. That squad boasted significant upper weight muscle as Mike Battaglino (195), young Frayne (182) and Colin Loughney (170) were all D12 medalists.

Ramos and Montenegro were gridiron mates before joining the wrestling team as sophomores. Ramos qualified for regions every season, along with 220 pounders Robert Rosen in 2018 and Brian Cherifi in 2019. Rosen and Ramos were the first WMC “twin towers” to reach regions this century (based on NJWrestlers.com records).

Freshman Borgia and senior Frayne will only have one season together, but the team is poised to reload with HWT AJ Cordella outperforming his rookie status on both the JV and varsity tournament levels.

Next Up

The Pack visits Morristown on the 11th and Sparta 13th, then another home quad on the 14th vs. Cranford, Livingston and St. Thomas Aquinas. Rival Roxbury visits the Pack Jan. 18, then on Jan. 21 Montville hosts a quad with Caldwell and a team TBD. WMC visits rival Mt. Olive for a meet on Jan. 24, then for the Morris County Tournament Jan. 27-28. The Randolph match is rescheduled for Jan. 25.

About David Yaskulka

David began living his sportswriter dream to avoid concession duty when his sons Noah and Ben began wrestling for the Wolfpack in 2012. His day job is Senior Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility for Mid America Pet Food, whose family of brands is led by VICTOR Super Premium Pet Food and Nature’s Logic. He also serves as Board Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, and as Board Director at Greater Good Charities.