Migliaccio leads Pack over Mendham 35-30 on Pin Cancer night

The WMC Wolfpack wrestlers narrowly defeated rival Mendham 35-30 before a capacity crowd at WMC last night. The night’s festivities included Long Valley Wrestling’s youth program “Wolfpack Night” and the WMC Parent Club’s “Pin Cancer Night.”

Coach Ken Rossi’s wrestling squad did not disappoint the enthusiastic crowd which included WMC principal Steve Ryan, and coaches from many high school and youth teams.

Co-captain David Migliaccio (145, 19-2) led the way with a dramatic pin of Chris Schlegel (17-5).

The rival teams are both much improved over last season. The Wolfpack, now 11-3, boast seven wrestlers with 14 or more wins. So do the Minutemen, now 9-4 as a team. These outstanding wrestlers won each time, except of course for the two times they faced each other -- and Migz’ pin helped give the Wolfpack the edge.

Kade Loughney (113, 15-5) started the night with an 8-3 win for the Pack. WMC would prevail again with a win from Ben Piraneo (120, 1-0); a pin by Dylan Luciano (120, 18-1) wrestling up a weight class; and a major decision from Matt Liberato (132, 12-7).

Caleb Isemann (160, 16-5) and Kevin Sears (182, 16-4) also delivered critical bonus points for the Pack with major decisions.

The match would get close, and each team point counted – even in the losses.

Notably, Mike Oros (138, 14-6) and Noah Yaskulka (152, 6-13) each gave up just four points to Mendham’s two winningest wrestlers, undefeated State medalist Eric Friedman (23-0) and Troy Navarino (19-5) respectively.

Also, freshman Jacob Rutter (170, 4-2) gave up just four points to senior Dan Maresca (16-8). At one point, Rutter reversed Maresca as the home crowd cheered.

Down 30-12 with four bouts to go, Mendham roared back, dominating the upper weights. A forfeit at 195, then pins from regional qualifiers Aaron Flitcroft (17-5) and Tim Byrne (18-1) tied the score for the Minutemen. It was 30-30 with just one bout remaining.

WMC sophomore Shane Metzler (106, 18-0) has been so dominant this season, the home crowd almost celebrated the victory before it arrived. But matches are won on the mat, where Metzler did not disappoint, delivering a dominating 21-4 tech fall to seal the 35-30 Wolfpack win.

Metzler was just named to the state’s top-25 wrestlers regardless of weight class by NJ.com, which ranks him #2 at 106. FloWrestling ranks him #1. Metzler will compete against two other top-7 ranked wrestlers at the Morris County Tournament this weekend.

Pin Cancer Night

Mendham and WMC joined forces to make their match Pin Cancer Night. “The world’s toughest sport is taking on the world’s toughest opponent,” according to the tagline of the nonprofit devoted to supporting cancer research.

Despite not being able to wear Pin Cancer’s trademark singlets due to postal delays, the teams still raised money for cancer research.

“We hold pin cancer night because it is a great cause,” explained Rossi. “We want to use the strength of our team to support the wrestling community. Also, our program has established a relationship with one of Pin Cancer’s founders Dan Tramontozzi and we want to support him.”

Tramontozzi, who also heads New Jersey Wrestling Academy, has coached numerous WMC wrestlers. Tramontozzi’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011, inspiring the coach to take on the disease the best way he knew how – by focusing the energy of wrestlers to defeat an opponent. Pin Cancer (www.pincancer.org) began in Sussex County, NJ, and is now active in 22 states. They have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown Memorial Hospital, and St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Originally scheduled in December, the night’s theme was not lost on Wolfpack wrestlers.

“Our night on the mat is to raise awareness of cancer,” said Wolfpack sophomore Taylor Parkinson-Gee, expressing a view shared by many on the team. “Together we can beat this formidable foe in order that one day, all may live cancer-free.”

Sears said, “I’d like to dedicate the Pin Cancer match to my grandmother who is currently fighting cancer and deserves recognition for her battle.”

“I’d like to dedicate it to my cousin Dougie Rillo who died in 2006 of brain cancer,” said Liberato. “He was an avid wrestler and my dad was his coach in Chatham. Dougie played a very influential part in my wrestling, and I used to go to all his matches when I was younger.”

Mike Windt, father of Wolfpack 2013-14 captain Jesse Windt, helped organize the event for the team.

Virtually all the team wrestlers and coaches have been touched by this disease. That includes Coach Rossi who said, “I would like to dedicate the match to my Mom and Dad. They have supported me throughout my life and taught me how to be strong and determined.”

Next Up

The Morris County Tournament begins Friday afternoon, and continues through Saturday at Mt. Olive High School. Approximately 24 schools compete. Last season, Windt became WMC’s first-ever repeat champion. Loughney (4th), Migliaccio and Metzler (both 5th) are returning place winners.