Champions Borgia, Neill, Harrison & Fazzino Fuel Pack to Back-to-Back District Crowns

3/1/26

By David Yaskulka

Photos from Jen Sheppard and Sheryl Reed. Special thanks to team statisticians Adriana Georgiev, Alexa Moscotello, Kaylee Viera and Tilly Vazquez.

For the first time in school history, West Morris Central wrestling successfully defended a district championship Saturday Feb. 28. Coach Chris Marold’s squad, WMC’s winningest ever, crowned four individual champions among 10 medalists advancing to compete in regions.

Tommy Borgia won his third straight gold and the District Most Outstanding Wrestler (MOW) award, as juniors Brody Neill and Jacob Harrison became repeat champions, and Rob Fazzino joined them at the top of the NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 District Championship podium.

“This team's very, very impressive, becoming two-time champions for the first time ever” said tri-captain Kurt Beyer. “We really put it on everyone here and we made a great show.”

Deacon Frayne, Michael Borgia and John Garcia were also finalists, taking silver medals. Jonathan Cabarle, Mason Vazquez and Beyer won bronze to advance.

“It felt great,” said senior tri-captain Fazzino, who remains future-focused even after winning his first-ever title. “But it’s what I expected. I’m kind of happy, but ready to go to regions.”

Junior two-time champion Neill’s reflections were similar. “Feels great, but just putting in the work,” he said. “The next goal is to win regions, and go as far as I can at states.”

After a record-setting 21-8 season, the 2025-26 Pack made a statement in its last official appearance as a team, burying the competition by 76 points. WMC scored 225.5 team points, followed by Hackettstown’s strong 149.5 point showing, St. Benedict’s 128.5, Warren Hills’ 113 and home team Randolph fifth at 110.5 in the 10-school competition.

Freshman Ryan Tie and sophomore Lucas Harrison placed fourth, concluding their outstanding seasons.

Injured sophomore 2025 district champion Chris Kowalik and his dad Chris were there cheering on the Pack to another championship.

Long-time Long Valley youth wrestling coach Tom Whittmore was there as well, flying in from Florida to see his former athletes in action.

All That Glitters

Borgia’s individual MOW award, voted on by the NJ Wrestling Coaches Association, was his first. Usually the award goes to a wrestler who defeated the toughest competitor, such as Randolph’s Andrew Zeidman, who defeated Frayne for the title. For example, both wrestlers who defeated Neill for tournament titles this season were so recognized.

But Borgia (285 lb. weight class, 38-1 season record) was recognized for a career of district domination.

It’s hard to even fathom, but Borgia lost only one bout in four years – his freshman year finals against future fellow state medalist Rocco Salerno 3-1 – and pinned his opponent in the first period in every other.

Voters ultimately refused to fault Borgia for his wrestling brilliance, choosing instead to honor a district career where his only 'flaw' was being too dominant for the field to handle.

Saturday, Borgia won the finals over Belvidere senior Pedro Isaque Dos Santos , for Borgia’s third first-period pin of the day – by far the “most pins least time” leader of the tournament.

Neill (138, 32-4) successfully defended last season’s district championship, pinning returning district medalist Adrian Pinto from Hackettstown in the 2026 finals. Neill’s three pins Saturday were second-fastest (to Borgia) out of the 122 D12 participants. Last season no one made it out of the first period against the defending state medalist, with a TF and two pins.

Incredibly, Neill has placed top-3 in all 14 tournaments in which he’s appeared outside of Atlantic City – and even placed seventh there as a freshman. D12 was the junior’s sixth tournament championship. He could face a rematch with Caldwell’s Solomon Soriente at regions.

Jacob Harrison (144, 32-9) immediately followed his classmates’ gold medal with a repeat championship of his own, by fall over Belvidere Colton Colaluce (25-12) at 3:00.

Asked about the highlight-reel move that ended with a championship, Harrison reflected, “I honestly don't know what to call it. Last year I remember one kid doing it to me. So at that position I had nothing else I could do, so I tried it out. And it worked.”

Harrison and his teammates Neill and Borgia were the only wrestlers to pin all three opponents Saturday.

After placing second at the Caldwell and Goles tournaments this season, Harrison followed his County championship with a second district title. At regions, Harrison will be one of five top-30-ranked wrestlers trying to advance to states, his main goal.

“I want to place at regions. It was my goal last year and I fell short. I definitely know I can make it this year.”

Just behind his fellow champions, Fazzino’s (175, 30-10) two pins in a combined 2:30 were the fastest in the tournament. In the finals, Fazzino dominated with a tech fall over Emmanuel Samaniego (22-8) from Randolph.

“I knew the match was going to be relatively tough,” said Fazzino of his finals opponent. “I had wrestled him before. I knew I needed to stay on my leg attacks, and not let him attack my legs since I knew he was good on his offense.”

The 21-6 final score indicated mission accomplished – for now.

“My goal is to win Regions,” Fazzino said. “I know I have a tough region, but I don't think it's a goal that's anything I can't do.”

In fact, RankWrestlers.com shows Fazzino ranked third in Region 3, where the top-four advance to states. The fourth-ranked wrestler in the region is Samaniego, the opponent Fazzino just dominated.

Fazzino has medaled in every tournament this season, but Saturday was his first gold.

That made four championships for the Pack, tying last season’s mark that included freshman phenom Kowalik, winning the 2025 190 lb. title.

The Pack was also the pinfall leader, with the top six "most pins least time" leaders of the entire tournament wearing WMC singlets -- in order, Borgia, Neill, Harrison, Fazzino, Beyer and Cabarle. WMC had 22 pins, almost lapping the field (Randolph was second, with 11).

Sterling Showings

Garcia (157, 22-20) won his first ever silver medal by pinning in quarterfinals, and topping Whippany Park’s Jusuf Daraku (29-12) in a 15-9 semifinals victory, the biggest of his career.

“Last year I didn't place,” reflected Garcia, a junior. “I lost in the quarters. So it felt great going out there and getting second.”

“I've wrestled the kid [Daraku] before, in Counties. So, I knew a lot about him. I knew he was funky, and he’s going to go for a slide-by. So I decided to push the pace and score early.”

Garcia placed sixth at Goles, and fifth at the Caldwell and County tournaments this season, his best-ever placements before D12.

Sophomore Frayne (190, 36-6) won his second district silver, but this year is poised to do even more damage at regions. He pinned in 1:13 to make it to finals, then was upset 7-3 by senior Andrew Ziedman (34-6), who avenged an earlier loss for the championship.

Returning from the bench after a long stint behind Frayne at 215, Michael Borgia (215, 13-3) won his second silver medal of the season, and his second district silver. The senior pinned his way to finals, where he lost a back-and-forth heartbreaker to the defending champion, top seed Tuguldur Bayarkhuu (28-6) of St. Benedict`s Prep.

The Wolfpack faithful are excited for Frayne and Michael Borgia potentially avenging district finals losses at regions.

Bronze Breakouts

Three medalists advancing to regions had losing records last year. That's a testimony to coach Marold’s system, and the effectiveness of coaching team Tom Borgia (whose sons now have six district finals appearances), Tommy Nicoliccia, former parents club president Mark Montuore Sr., and former team captain Mark Montuore Jr.

Vazquez (132, 19-16) was 10-20 last season, but was given a Coach’s Award in recognition of his dedication and potential. That played out this year when the junior placed fourth at county, and now third at D12.

Vazquez pinned in quarterfinals, and then bounced back from a semifinals loss to win bronze by major decision over Whippany Park’s Leonardo Nascimento (22-14).

Sophomore Cabarle (150, 22-10) impressed in the tournament’s most brutal bracket (by far), becoming the three-seed when the district’s two best 157 pounders cut to 150 at the deadline. Cabarle pinned in quarterfinals and again in the medal round to take bronze.

But his most impressive bout may have been a triple-overtime 2-1 loss to senior top-ranked eventual champion Joshua Ortiz (33-2), who had majored Cabarle at counties.

Beyer (165, 24-17)never had a top-five tournament placement as an underclassman, but has a fourth, a second, and now a second bronze this season. But qualifying for regions was key.

“This whole season I’ve tried to be confident in the work that I put in,” said Beyer. “This time— this time I was like, all right, I've got to capitalize on this. So I just went out there and did my best and it paid off.”

After pinning in quarterfinals and losing to the eventual champion in semis, it all came down to the bronze match where Beyer delivered a first period pin over Randolph’s Tyler Davis to advance.

While 150 was the toughest bracket in all measures, 113 and 126 were next toughest. Ironically, hammer Tommy Borgias's bracket was the easiest. Recognizing that, Borgia shook his head, saying “I wish I could have taken at least a little of that burden from my teammates.”

For example, if Frayne and Michael Borgia’s opponents had bumped to heavyweight, Tommy would have had better matches, and WMC likely would have taken gold in all three.

Grit Gallery: Underclassmen Upside

Fittingly, the four WMC wrestlers who did not advance are all underclassmen poised for multiple advancements in seasons to come.

Tie (106, 25-17), despite being brand new to wrestling, had one of the winningest seasons in WMC freshman history with 25. His tournament upward trend saw him placing sixth at Caldwell, 5th in the county, and now 4th in the district. He already avenged one loss this season, and is poised to do so many more times next season.

Lucas Harrison (126, 23-17) had one of the best bouts of the entire tournament, coming back from a 10-2 deficit to ultimately pin in quarterfinals of one of the tournaments toughest and deepest brackets, with state medalist Augie Szamreta dropping him from championship competition.

Harrison was 0-8 last year as a freshman, getting pinned seven times. No doubt the team's most improved wrestler, he's poised for a big run as an upperclassman next season.

Van Muttart (113, 11-14, brother of former Pack wrestler Dean), had a winning record after dropping to 113. Wrestling in one of the most grueling brackets of the tournament, Muttart nailed a headlock and nearly advanced from quarter finals. He will look forward to the prospects of a full season in a starting role as a sophomore.

Jake Reed (120, 6-21) placed at the Goles tournament this year, despite being hampered by injuries and the burden of a two-weight class increase his sophomore season. Reed's dramatic pin in front of an electric home crowd on opening night versus Sparta was a moment to remember. While his postseason ended here, that opening night spark serves as a blueprint for the impact he’s expected to make as an upperclassman.

Dual Meet Rankings

RankWrestlers.com ranked WMC #18 among public schools, and #30 among all NJ schools on dual-meet rank.

Wolfpack District History

Last season, WMC won the 2025 NJSIAA / IBEW Local 102 District 11 wrestling tournament championship behind four champions: two-time champ Tommy Borgia (HWT), and first-timers Brody Neill (120), Jacob Harrison (132) and Chris Kowalik (190). It was only the second time WMC was team district champ. Nine Wolfpack competitors medaled: Mark Montuore (113), Deacon Frayne (175) and Michael Borgia (215) nabbed silver, and Jonathan Cabarle (138) and Robert Fazzino (165) advanced with bronze.

In 2023-24, big men Borgia and AJ Codella won District Championships, as seven advanced. Harrison took silver. WMC topped all public schools. Marold repeated as Coach of the Year. Neill, Montuore, Jacob Fahmi, and Sam Rizzuto advanced.

In 2022-23, , WMC crowned four D11 champs, Brandon Dean, Michael Hare, Michael Campanaro, and Henry Frayne. Coach Marold was named 2022-23 D11 Coach of the Year. Tommy Borgia took silver (losing only to arch nemesis Rocco Salerno). Montuore took district bronze for the second time in his two seasons. Fahmi joined Borgia as freshman district medalists as eight advanced.

In 2022, Campanaro, Dean, Malachi Shepard, and Frayne took gold, Ferrante and Muttart silver, and freshman Montuore bronze. Eight advanced.

In the 2021 Covid year, there were no districts, but freshman Rizzuto was among six WMC wrestlers chosen for “North 2 Regions” including Hare, Campanaro, Michael Ferrante, Malachi Shepard and Frayne.

In 2020, Robert Bohr, Colin Loughney and Eli Shepard defended their District 12 crowns as Malachi Shepard won his first championship. Senior first year wrestler Mike Battaglino was the breakout star, topping all 108 wrestlers in “seed-place difference” (overachievement), winning silver as the 5-seed.

In 2019, Robert Bohr, Eli Shepard, Colin Loughney, Justin LeMay and Luke Stefanelli won championships, 12 advanced, and the Wolfpack its first ever team title. Coach Ken Rossi won Coach of the Year, and LeMay Outstanding Wrestler.

In 2018, WMC nabbed a team-best 12 medals at the District 11 tournament with four champions: Robert Rosen, Stefanelli, Marco Gaita and LeMay -- won championships, tying the school record.

More history:

• 2017: Gaita is champ, eight advance, Ken Rossi coach of year
• 2016: Kade Loughney and Shane Metzler are champs, five advance
• 2015: Metzler and Dylan Luciano are champs, eight advance
• 2014: Jesse Windt is repeat champ, seven advance
• 2013: Cory Fleming and Jesse Windt are champs, nine advance

Here’s our cheat sheet on Rankings.

Next Up: NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 Individual State Championship Playoffs

March 6-7: Region 3 Championship at West Orange for all District medalists.

The top four region placers advance to face the best of the best in Boardwalk Hall.

March 12-14: The NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 State Championship in Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City for the top-32 wrestlers in NJ. Top eight finishers ascend the historic podium climbed by the likes of Jordan Burroughs, Anthony Ashnault, Nick Suriano, and current NCAA hopefuls.

And here’s a cheat sheet on tournament and playoff structure for the season:

Districts? Goles? Sections? AC? Oh My! A Guide to WMC Wrestling's Road to Glory

About David Yaskulka

To avoid concession duty when his sons Noah and Ben joined WMC in 2012, David revived his sportswriter dream, and still covers the Pack. He’s a sustainability advocate and pet industry executive, having served as CEO of Nature’s Logic, SVP of Mid America Pet Food, and Board Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition and Greater Good Charities. He currently advises Love, Nala cat food, Archway Pet Food, and rePurpose Global plastic action platform. He invites all WMC wrestlers and their families to connect with him (and with each other!) on LinkedIn.