Muttart and Seniors Shine as 15-6 Pack Preps for Postseason Wrestling

2/12/23

UPDATED: The District 11 Championships are held at Livingston (not Morristown as previously reported)

By David Yaskulka

On a night celebrating its graduating grapplers, West Morris Central dominated Randolph 54-20 on Feb. 10, with seniors Dean Muttart, Michael Campanaro, Henry Frayne and Michael Hare leading the way. The Pack was 4-1 for the week, topping Randolph, Roxbury in the North 2, Group 3 sectional playoffs, Keansburg and Matawan, while falling to powerhouse Cranford in the section semifinals. The team finishes its dual meet season 15-6, with 14 starters poised for postseason action.

Pack Tops Randolph on Senior Night

Muttart (23-6 record) defeated Randolph junior Connor Wysoki (who was 19-8) by 9-0. Campanaro (29-3) pinned a district finalist, Frayne (29-2) pinned a NJ top-50 wrestler, and Hare (26-8) accepted a forfeit. Mark Montuore (24-7) joined Muttart, Campanaro and Frayne to go 4-0 against Randolph wrestlers they previously defeated at the Morris County Tournament.

Jacob Fahmi (12-17) and Henry DeFrance (4-18) had two of their best wins of the season, Fahmi with a 17-4 major against a strong wrestler, and DeFrance with his second consecutive pin, in 47 seconds. Samuel Rizzuto (23-9) and Brandon Dean (31-2) helped push the Pack pin total to eight.

Connor Daly and Shaun Seabeck were also celebrated on Senior Night.

Eyes Set on Individual Postseason

The D11 Championship is Feb. 18 at Livingston. Last season, four Wolfpack wrestlers moved on from District 11 with gold medals: graduate Malachi Shepard, and this year’s hammers Campanaro, Dean and Frayne. Michael Ferrante took silver, along with Muttart. Montuore and Hare won bronze.

“D11 marks the start to what we've been ultimately training for all year long, a state title in Atlantic City,” said Campanaro. “That's where all the fun is and anything can happen!”

“Most of our guys are going to stay in the weight classes they have been competing in all year,” said head Coach Chris Marold. “Cooper Stetz will be able to make 190 for the first time because of his weight loss descent plan.” If Stetz wrestles off to win 190, then “Michael Borgia, Luke Barisonek and Parkinson-Gee will most likely end up battling it out for 175.”

“I’m looking forward to the showdown between two elite freshmen [Salerno and Borgia] at 215,” said Marold. “Rocco is actually a year older than Tommy because he repeated 8th grade. They’ve wrestled many times in their youth careers and Tommy has often come up short. They have not wrestled in a couple of years and I think that Tommy has improved a ton and am confident he will come out on top this time.”

“The most exciting part of districts,” said Frayne, “is the fact that everything you do, you do for yourself.” Though team scores are kept, it’s no longer the focus. “It gives everyone a chance to see what a wrestler can really do.”

Parkinson-Gee-led Pack Dominates Keansburg

Freshman Blake Parkinson-Gee (2-12) delivered his first varsity win by defeating Keansburg’s Michael Sullivan 6-1 to lead the Pack to a 56-18 victory Feb. 11 in Matawan. Fahmi won by fall over a winning-record grappler, as did teammates Frayne, Montuore, Hare and Muttart. Vincent Caruso (10-16), Rizzuto and Dean added more pinfall action to make it seven pins total, and Tommy Borgia (28-4) won by tech fall over a winning-record foe.

Dominic Terracciano, Keansburg’s highest-ranked wrestler (and a four-time youth NJ state medal winner), shocked Campanaro with a 5-2 victory.

DeFrance, Parkinson-Gee, Dean and Camp Spark WMC Over Matawan

With big wins from DeFrance and Parkinson-Gee, the Wolfpack completed its dual meet season on Feb. 11 with its two largest wins of the season, topped by a 61-17 win over tri-meet host Matawan Regional.

Their wins added to typically dominant performances by Dean, who pinned Colin Palumbo (21-4), and Campanaro who decked Alexander Liss (18-7).

Parkinson-Gee got the Pack on the board with an 8-4 win, then twin-tower pinfalls from Borgia and Frayne and a forfeit provided all the points they’d need.

Caruso’s major gave the Pack a 31-17 lead. But wrestling shoes stayed firmly on the accelerator as the Pack nabbed every available team point in the last five bouts, with additional decking provided by Muttart.

Pack Escapes Gaels Behind Dean and Frayne

West Morris Central wrestling hung on to defeat Roxbury 39-37 on Feb. 7 in the NJSIAA North 2 Group 3 playoffs opening round in Cranford. For the second time this season, Dean pinned Roxbury’s second-highest-ranked wrestler Weston Edelman, and Frayne again pinned talented junior Austin Buczynski to lead the way. Dean’s pin secured the victory in a nailbiter.

Rizzuto also pinned junior Brett Salitsky for the second time, which was crucial for the Pack. Muttart added his second three-point victory over talented freshman Charlie Bacinsky. Fahmi also saved the team bonus points versus one of Roxbury’s best Daniel Visha, who prevailed 5-3.

WMC defeated Roxbury Jan. 18 by 48-30 to win the NWJAC National Conference Championship. Winning the coin toss, Roxbury got much closer this time with strategic forfeits, bumping its lineup, and most impressively, using their #1 ranked undefeated Luke Stanich to defeat WMC hammer Campanaro, who was undefeated this season against anyone not named Stanich.

It was the Wolfpack’s first team championship playoff win since 2020, when it topped Nutley, and fell by criteria to West Essex in the semifinals. In 2017, WMC topped Nutley and Roxbury to advance to the Section finals where it suffered a heartbreaking 29-27 loss to sister school Mendham.

Powerhouse Cranford Prevails Again, Despite Montuore

Down 6-0, the Wolfpack roared back to take a 16-6 lead against Cranford thanks to a Borgia major, a Frayne pin, and an epic Montuore loss-avenging pin of #31 ranked Michael Daly. That put the Pack nine team points ahead of their results in the first Cranford match which WMC lost by eight points.
“Mark stepped up big,” said Marold. “At that point we thought we were in the driver's seat.”

“The coaches and I developed strategies to combat my opponent,” explained Montuore. “Turning the match from a decision loss to a pin was purely about hard work and determination to get back what I lost.”

Cranford senior Michael Tona won his biggest match of the year, avenging his earlier loss against the Wolfpack with a momentum-turning pin over Hare.

Campanaro again defeated #34 ranked freshman Luke Scholz, who is 26-0 in the non-Campanaro division.

“I was very impressed that Camp was able to bounce back and beat a very tough kid,” said Marold.

Muttart won a 6-1 decision, and Dean defeated #24 ranked Connor Hoefling, this time by 9-0.

“Dean once again bumped up a weight and was able to knock off one of Cranfords big guns,” said Marold. “In their previous match Connor took Brandon down three times before Brandon was able to headlock and pin him. This time Brandon controlled the entire match and looked very impressive. He has been starting to peak and I expect a big run out of him in the postseason.”

“Another match that impressed me was Borgia pushing the pace and scoring late in the match to major a very tough senior,” said Marold.

Cranford punched its ticket to the section finals with a 43-26 victory over the Pack.

Bottom line, “I was very happy with the way the boys wrestled in the playoffs,” said Marold.

Pinfall Legacy and Powerful Streaks

Against Randolph, Frayne became WMC’s all-time pins leader, topping Wolfpack legend Dylan Luciano’s record.

Dean was named Garden State H.S. Wrestling’s Wrestler of the Week. He lost on Jan. 14 (to a fellow top-10 wrestler), but not since. That’s 15 straight heading to Districts.

Since MCT, Montuore has won six in a row including his career 50th, all six with maximum team points. Muttart has also won six matches since Counties. Parkinson-Gee won twice on Feb. 11, and DeFrance has won three of the last four. Tommy Borgia’s won seven straight, and like Dean, hasn’t lost outside the NJ top-10. Frayne’s won seven straight with – surprise – six more pins.

D11 Preview: Camp, Dean and Frayne to Defend District 11 Titles

On Feb. 18 at Livingston, the team’s Pack of 14 will have a chance to move on to the Region 3 championship at West Orange, where top-four competitors will advance to the NJSIAA State Championship in Atlantic City .

Predictions here are based on RankWrestlers.com weight classes and ranks as of Feb. 8. Note that wrestlers can and will change weight classes prior to Feb. 16 seeding. So this is a highly speculative early look at best.

106. Montuore looks like a comfortable #2 in a two-man race with Seton Hall’s Pellegrino. No other NJ top-150 wrestlers appear to be in the bracket, making it the easiest bracket from which to advance.

113. Fahmi looks 5th-ranked in a bracket with two top-10 wrestlers. But if NJ #2 Carmody – the highest ranked wrestler in the tournament – is still out (as he has been since Jan. 14), Fahmi becomes #4 and only a slight underdog to advance.

120. Hare looks like a comfortable #2 in a two-man race to the finals versus Seton Hall’s Morero. No other top-180 wrestlers appear to be in the bracket.

126. Campanaro looks like the #1 in the second toughest top-three of any bracket, with Seton’s Vanvolkenburgh and Lyndhurst’s Mcneil looming.

132. Caruso looks like the #3 in a wide-open bracket fairly evenly matched from ranks #1-7. It features the lowest-ranked #1, 2 and 3 of any bracket. But if Morristown’s Myers drops here (as Marold predicts), Caruso will need a tough-but-possible upset to advance.

138. Muttart appears unluckiest of all as the tournament’s highest-ranked #4 in a brutal bracket with three NJ top-12 ranked wrestlers above, although no significant threats loom beneath. But if Morristown’s Myers drops to 132, Muttart becomes a strong favorite to advance.

144. Dean looks like the #1 rank in a very tough four-man bracket that includes Seton’s Orejola. One wrestler who is top-60 in the state won’t advance. It’s the second toughest bracket from which to advance.

150. Rizzuto appears #3 in ostensibly a three-man bracket, but the #4 is still 15-11.

157. Henry DeFrance looks like #7 in a bracket that’s brutal #1-#5 (boasting the highest fifth-ranked wrestler of any bracket). So someone here might bump up to the weaker 165.

165. Brendon McBride appears #7 but it’s a weak bracket with no top-50 and only one top-100 wrestler.

175. Blake Parkinson-Gee, Luke Barisonek or Michael Borgia would be #7 in a bracket featuring six winning-record competitors.

190. Barisonek appears #7 in a bracket with a tough top-three, all in the top-70 in NJ, but Cooper Stetz could wrestle here for the Pack.

215. Borgia appears #2 in a bracket featuring the state’s best freshman 215 pounders, led by NJ #18 ranked Salerno of Seton, vs. Borgia’s #26. Borgia’s already beaten third-ranked Murphy of Morristown in what’s clearly a three-man contest.

HWT. Frayne appears #1 with Seton’s Tierney his top competitor (and Frayne’s already beaten #3 Castro from Morristown) – but strange things happen at HWT!

In the team race, Seton Hall looks like the favorite with predicted gold in seven brackets, with an additional five predicted #2s, and five more #3s (so all 14 wrestlers expected to advance). WMC could be next with highest-ranked wrestlers at three weights, three more expected finalists, and eight total in the top-three. Lyndhurst appears to have two #1s, one #2, and two #3s; West Orange shows one #1, one #2 and three #3s; Morristown one #1, one #2 and three #3s.

D11 Predictions:
Predicting repeat gold for Campanaro, Dean and Frayne, joined by Borgia (in a barn burning finals) at the top of the podium. Silver for Montuore, Hare and Rizzuto. Bronze for Fahmi (if Carmody sits), Caruso and Muttart. Predicting team silver for WMC, improving on last year’s bronze, but falling to Seton Hall.

Next Up

District 11 Championships are Feb. 18 at Livingston (seeding is two days prior). Top three in each weight advance to the Region 3 Championships Feb. 24-25 (seeding is Feb. 21). Top four advance to the NJSIAA State Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City are 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.