Hare, Camp, Dean and Frayne Crowned Wrestling District Champions

By David Yaskulka
photos by Lisa Montuore and Jen Sheppard

2/19/23

West Morris Central’s Michael Hare won his first District championship, as his fellow senior co-captains Michael Campanaro and Henry Frayne, as well as sophomore Brandon Dean, successfully defended their NJSIAA D11 titles Saturday Feb. 18 in Livingston.

“It feels great to be District champ,” said Hare, summarizing what all four are surely experiencing.

WMC’s Chris Marold was named D11 Coach of the Year, as his team placed second to Seton Hall Prep (SHP), improving on last season’s team bronze.

“Marold's best quality is the discipline and work ethic he instills in us every day,” said Hare. “We know we are working harder than any other team and it shows on the mat.”

The four gold medalists advance to the NJSIAA Region 3 Championship along with freshmen Tommy Borgia and Jacob Fahmi, sophomore Mark Montuore and senior Dean Muttart who placed second, third, third and third respectively. The top four Region placers advance to the State Championship in Atlantic City, where they compete against the top placers from all eight regions.

All I See Is Gold – Hare, Camp, Dean & Frayne Make it 4-for-5 in the finals

Hare’s 120 pound bracket was blown up when SHP’s top seed bowed out, but understudy freshman Sean Brown stormed his way to the finals. Top-program back ups can be lethal, as we’ve seen Delbarton backups win County titles, and Penn State back ups win the NCAAs.

But Hare turned Brown’s Cinderella story into a Wolfpack happy ending as Hare pinned him at 2:19, trading up from last year’s bronze medal. Hare won both his bouts Saturday by pinfall.

Dean retained his D11 champion status by injury default, as second-seeded SHP 144 lb. hammer Nicholas Orejola, ranked #11 in NJ (tied with Dean) called it a day after advancing to Regions in semifinals. It’s the second straight time a top wrestler bowed out mid-tournament to heal, rather than face Dean in the finals.

Now Dean has two District titles in his first two high school years.

Campanaro dramatically deployed his “Yale Street Cut Back” to pin SHP’s Carlo VanVolkenburgh for gold. “I've been doing that move since I learned it at my club and I find much success with it. Down 1-0 [in the third period of D11 finals], I saw the opening and hit it.”

Frayne said Camp’s pin was his favorite move of the tourney, calling it “an important moment in an important match that made the entire crowd get excited.”

HWT Frayne in turn was called out by Campanaro, saying, “Frayne's shrug was my favorite move. He's gotten so good at it that it's just so smooth whenever he hits it.”

Which is exactly what Frayne did in his rematch with Morristown’s Jayson Castro in the finals, on his way to a 7-0 shutout for gold. In Morristown, Frayne won 1-0.

Frayne agreed that was his biggest move. “There's always a thought that any heavyweight match can go to ultimate ride out [overtime] so knowing that I got that first takedown really let me do what I wanted.”

As freshmen in 2020, Campanaro won D12 silver and Frayne bronze before winning gold last year. There were no district championships held in 2021.

Region 3 Bound

Borgia faced fellow freshman and familiar 215 lb. foe Rocco Salerno in the finals, falling 3-1 for silver. It’s Borgia’s fifth loss of the season, all to top-ranked wrestlers, and all but one within two points. Possible rematches available in Regions include Salerno, Jarett Pantuso (who beat Borgia in overtime) and Henry Forte (who won 5-4). Few would be surprised if these four advanced to states.

Montuore nabbed district bronze for the second time in two seasons, pinning Evan McNeill (who was 25-10). Montuore was predicted to win silver until NJ state medalist Aiden Carmody, the highest ranked wrestler in the tournament, dropped to 106. Carmody pinned his way to the championship, including decking previously-undefeated Anthony Pellegrino (who had just topped Montuore 9-2).

Muttart took silver last year, but this time faced two NJ top-10 wrestlers at 138. Muttart fell 7-2 to one, SHP’s Brandon Bauer, but wrestled back to bronze by pinning Morristown’s Sean Curnow.

Fahmi joins Borgia in qualifying for Regions his first year, an especially impressive feat. Fahmi defeated Livingston’s Christian Belcuore to enter semifinals, and pinned Lyndhurst’s Chase Paglio in the first minute of the bronze medal match.

According to Jersey Wrestling (on Rokfin.com), Region 3 was the second toughest region in the state from which to advance last year, with 13 eventual state medalists, including three state champions from Delbarton.

TrackWrestling auto-seeds for the tournament’s 12-man brackets (which can and likely will change) are: Montuore 9-seed, Fahmi 12, Hare 4, reigning Region 3 champion Campanaro 1, Muttart 7, Dean 1, Borgia 3, and Frayne 2. Marold suggested an early seeding review indicated Dean may be the 2 seed.

Marold Coach of the Year

In just his second season since taking over for Ken Rossi as head coach, Marold was voted NJSIAA District 11 Coach of the Year.

"It is a nice honor to win," Marold said. "But really, it indicates how well the boys wrestled this season."

The squad Marold inherited was 0-11 in 2020-21, boasting state-level talent, but too many empty slots in the lineup. Last year, bolstered by all-time freshman talent Dean and Montuore, the team was 10-14.

With outstanding coaches Tom Borgia, Tommy Nicolicchia and Caleb Isemann in his corner, Marold was 15-6 and the NWJAC National champion this season.

"Marold is an amazing coach," said Frayne. "His greatest quality is how he drives us to be the best we can be. He prepares us for anything we go up against."

"Marold wrestled with me every day sophomore season," continued Frayne. "That's what helped me make a big jump to how I wrestled last year, and wrestle now."

"Marold's best quality as a coach is consistency," said Campanaro. "Every aspect of our room, team, and training is consistent. The way we approach competition, and come together for one another is consistent. That's what Coach Marold provides."

Season Ends for Seven, Including Rizzuto

Sam Rizzuto’s outstanding junior season came to an early end at D11, placing fourth in the tournament’s single most grueling bracket from which to advance. Rizzuto dominated the tournament’s highest-ranked five-seed Sean Harrington, before dropping two to end the year 24-11. Rizzuto placed 4th at X-Calibur, and 3rd at Goles. Most importantly, he nabbed numerous huge dual meet wins, including against High Point, Morris Knolls, Mt. Olive, Mendham and Roxbury – twice. He’ll be a returning hammer for Coach Marold in 2023-24.

Vincent Caruso’s solid sophomore campaign ended with 10 huge wins for the Pack, including wins over Kittatinny, Cranford, Matawan and Hackettstown.

Starters Henry DeFrance, Lucas Barisonek, Patrick Stetz, Michael Borgia and Blake Parkinson-Gee all return next season to give Coach Marold solid mid-to-upper weight grapplers.

District Destination: Shoulders to the Mat

WMC topped the tournament in pins with 12. Muttart, Montuore, Hare and Campanaro tied for second in the tournament with two each. WMC single-season and career pin champ Frayne only had one. Dean had one in his only bout. Fahmi and Borgia added one each.

Frayne had the second fastest D11 pin at 24 seconds, Muttart fourth (0:31), Borgia ninth (0:40), Montuore 12th, Campanaro 13th and Fahmi 14th.

Next Up

The Region 3 Championships are Feb. 24-25 (seeding is Feb. 21). From there, the top four placers in each weight advance to the NJSIAA State Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City March 2-4 (seeding is Feb. 28), where the best face the best in New Jersey.

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.