Pinfall machines Bohr, LeMay, Gaita and Rosen lead Pack to 10-3

(Chester, NJ 1/16/17) Robert Rosen, Marco Gaita, Justin LeMay and Robby Bohr led the West Morris Central wrestlers to a 10-3 record this weekend, amassing pinfalls to top Hackettstown, Toms River North and Toms River South.

“Overall, the team has done a great job of pushing through adversity,” said Rosen, referring to illnesses afflicting the team. “We still beat some strong competition” – often by putting them on their backs.

Coach Ken Rossi’s Wolfpack fell to rival Mendham last Tuesday, and to Gateway at Saturday’s Toms River quad.

Rosen (10-6 at 195) wrestled up a weight and dominated with four consecutive first period falls, pushing the pace from the whistle to win eight of his last 10.

Junior captain Gaita (19-1, 170) pinned North regional qualifier Michael DeGennaro. Gaita leads WMC in wins, team points and net team points.

LeMay (15-5, 145) won four in a row with three falls. Only Gateway’s state-ranked Reggie Davis slowed the WMC sophomore.

Freshman Bohr (13-3, 106) brought four consecutive pins, three in 123 seconds combined.

They’ve been pinfall machines, putting opponents on their backs. But they haven’t had to carry their teammates.

Jonathan Vazquez (10-8, 132) won six of his last seven, losing only to a district champ. Colin Loughney (10-7, 106) also won six of seven before getting injured.

“I'm really proud of the team, and of how hard we always work,” said senior captain Christian Trimarchi (13-8, 160), who won four of five this week. “We have work to do, but we're going in the right direction. We'll see Mendham again, and be even more prepared.”

“Rosen and Stef up top are having really great seasons,” noted Trimarchi. Luke Stefanelli (10-10, 182) contributed three big wins.

Kade Loughney (15-5, 152) drew short straw, facing three state-ranked wrestlers -- without surrendering bonus points.

Toms River North

Vazquez, LeMay, Gaita, Stefanelli, Rosen and Bohr all delivered pins and both Loughney brothers won to give WMC a 43-30 victory over Toms River North, highlighted by Gaita’s pinfall over DeGenarro.

Toms River South

Pins by LeMay, Trimarchi, Rosen, Bohr and Mike Caso (13-5, 113) buoyed the Pack to a 48-27 victory over Toms River South.

Gateway

Gateway and its four state-ranked grapplers topped WMC 45-25. Gaita, Rosen and Bohr pinned for the Pack. Vazquez and Trimarchi also won.

Hackettstown

It was Wolves over Tigers Thursday night in Hackettstown. WMC won 45-30 with pins from Bohr, LeMay, Kade Loughney, Trimarchi and Rosen.

After Hackettstown’s Steven Nicotra (8-1) pinned, Chris Parisi (2-6, 120) reversed the momentum with a 10-5 decision for the Pack. Vazquez then won a 9-7 thriller.

Alex Carida (12-2), ranked #20 in NJ, delivered a pin for the Tigers. He won the H/W/S championship Saturday.

Stefanelli, down by five, chipped away and scored twice in the third to tie with 35 seconds remaining. Rossi gambled on his sophomore’s gas tank, sacrificing a point by cutting the Tiger loose. Avoiding a fatal tie-up, Stefanelli scored another “two!” to prevail 10-9 and seal the Wolfpack victory in the final seconds.

Rosen pinned in an exhilarating 25 seconds, saying “I've gained confidence in my offense in the neutral position. Losing my match to Mendham provided the impetus to open up on my feet.”

Mendham

A big Pin Cancer Night crowd last Tuesday saw Mendham dominate WMC 37-17. Minuteman Peter Tringali opened with a pin, and the Pack never recovered, losing eight of 13 bouts and a forfeit.

In bouts featuring Atlantic City hopefuls, Shane Metzler (15-1, 126) dominated Thomas Masucci (9-3, 126) 10-2; Kade Loughney fell 2-0 to state-ranked Troy Navarino (12-0, 160); and Dom DiGena (9-1, 113) fought from his back twice without giving up points to top Caso in overtime, 4-3.

Vazquez, LeMay, Trimarchi and Gaita added W’s for the Pack, as Alex Winant, Michael Servais, Giuseppe Canino, Brent Bartzak, and Tristan Navarino won for Mendham.

Junior Varsity

When Parisi, Billy Apostolico, Jack Lyden, Zach Fuchs and Nick Kaltenhauser weren’t stepping in for varsity, they dominated JV competition. Parisi won JV tournament gold at Randolph and silver at WMC. Apostolico won WMC gold. Lyden, Matt Borgia, Jayden Melicharek also won tournament medals.

Next Up

Senior Night is Wednesday 1/18 vs. division rival Randolph (after print deadlines); Westfield, Kittatinny and Del Val are 1/21, Morris Knolls 1/24, and the Morris County Tournament 1/27-28 at Mt. Olive.

Photos

Credit: JoAnn Vazquez.