Region champ Dean is Boardwalk bound with Campanaro, Hare and Borgia

Note: most photos from prior to Region
2/26/23
By David Yaskulka

West Morris Central sophomore Brandon Dean was named Most Outstanding Wrestler upon winning the NJSIAA Region 3 Championship, pinning Delbarton senior state medalist Joseph Davi – the tournament’s only pin for gold Saturday Feb. 25 in West Orange.

Seniors Michael Campanaro, winning silver, and Michael Hare, placing fourth, and freshman phenom Tommy Borgia, also fourth, advance with Dean to the NJSIAA State Championship in storied Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

“My goal for Atlantic City remains getting to the top of the podium,” said Dean, whose odds increased after pinning the 2021 fourth place state medalist. Dean also pinned two-time state medalist Ryan Ford last season. It’s Dean’s first time qualifying.

Seniors Henry Frayne and Dean Muttart placed fifth, likely ending their storied WMC wrestling careers, though they are state alternates. District medalists Mark Montuore and Jacob Fahmi also competed at R3 for the Pack.

WMC placed fifth out of 35 teams in the region (though team scores are not official for regions and states), behind Delbarton, Phillipsburg, Warren Hills and Seton Hall Prep, and just ahead of Hanover Park, Livingston, Caldwell and host squad West Orange.

Path to Atlantic City

At 37-2, Dean (144 lb. weight class) has looked unstoppable, with the championship pin his 23rd win in a row. That streak has included Morris County, District 11 and now Region 3 gold medals. He’s the first WMC sophomore to win the crown since Shane Metzler.

Dean, the two seed, pinned Bloomfield’s 30-win senior Michael Marzano in 40 seconds in the quarterfinals, then defeated third seeded Seton Hall Prep’s NJ #12 ranked Nicholas Orejola 3-2 before facing top seeded Davi in the finals.

“My strategy for the match was to keep it decisive to not leave it in the ref's hands,” said Dean. “I knew I had to stay on my offense and keep my attacks definitive. When I shot into a single, I noticed Davi left his arm draping over, so I hooked it and stacked him in a defensive pin.”

"Brandon is very dangerous when he attacks and gets to his offense," shared WMC head coach Chris Marold. "His defense on his feet is so good he sometimes sits back and waits to react to his opponent. He was also able to handle his nerves and went into the finals confident in his ability and his training."

Campanaro (126), the defending Region 3 champion, looked on his way to repeat. He dominated Becton’s Luis Salomon 14-4 in the quarterfinals, and was controlling the semifinals match against the bracket’s only top-20 ranked wrestler, Warren Hills' Josh Lee, when Camp remained on the mat writhing in pain.

After injury delay, Camp finished the match, defeating Lee 5-3 to guarantee his silver medal and trip to AC. But he would not return for the finals, where Delbarton’s Chase Quenalt won gold by injury forfeit. Campanaro is now a four-time state qualifier.

Hare (120) triumphantly punched his first-ever ticket to Atlantic City by pinning Rutherford’s 31-win freshman Joseph Keeler in the WB2 “blood round” (where winners go to Atlantic City, and losers go home), guaranteeing the fourth place finish.

Prior, Hare pinned Bellville’s 35-win Leo Tiankee in quarterfinals, then fell to eventual champ Daniel Jones of Delbarton, a state champion and two-time medalist.

Last season Hare was a Region qualifier, but did not place. The D11 champ is now 31-10, and will join longtime teammate Camp in completing his high school wrestling career where every wrestler dreams of finishing – in Boardwalk Hall.

Borgia (215) joins Campanaro as the only WMC freshmen in recent memory to qualify for State. Borgia teched his first two opponents, both seniors: Madison’s Jesse Pastro 19-4 in round one, and Morristown’s Robert Murphy 18-3 in quarterfinals.

Borgia gave eventual champion Jarett Pontuso of Warren Hills his closest match of the tournament, but fell 3-0 to the senior state medalist, whom Borgia had lost to in overtime in the Goles finals.

But in the blood round, Borgia blanked Phillipsburg’s Logan Kries 7-0 to punch his ticket to Boardwalk Hall and continue an extraordinary rookie year with a 33-7 record heading to State. Seton’s Rocco Salerno won bronze, defeating Borgia as he did in the D11 finals.

Locals to advance from R3 include Rafe Fante of Mendham (4th), Aiden Scheeringa (2nd) and Nicolas Balella (4th) from Hackettstown, and 13 from Delbarton (including eight R3 champions).

Outstanding Seasons and Careers End at R3

Frayne finishes his WMC wrestling career as one of the team’s all-time greats with an 83-49 record (unofficially), placing him top-20 despite a covid-shortened season. He was 34-4 this season, a Goles and two-time D11 champ, with Morris County and X-Calibur bronze. Fittingly, his last high school win was a pin over Bloomfield’s 28-win Gabriel McColloch, who ironically wrestled back to qualify for State.

Asked how he'll think of Frayne years from now, Marold said, "as a great team leader and a pinner. His whole career he has been dangerous and that is why he holds the season and career record for falls at West Morris."

Muttart concludes an outstanding WMC wrestling career, (unofficially) top-45 in all-time wins with a 56-33 record, including 28-9 this season. He’s a two-time Region 3 qualifier, a Goles bronze medalist, and a senior leader on this year’s Conference championship squad. Fittingly, he added a first round pin and gutty WB1 victory to his career record at Region 3 despite having five top-15 ranked wrestlers in his brutal bracket.

"Muttart is a very coachable wrestler that I will really miss," said Marold. "He has tremendous hips and is one of the best I've seen at handling his nerves and seems to step up in big situations. He is willing to do anything for his teammates. Last year he bumped up two weight classes most of the year to help the team."

Montuore concluded one of the best career first halves in WMC wrestling history, ended in another one of the tournament’s most brutal brackets (with three NJ top-10 ranked wrestlers, five top-15 and eight top-32 wrestlers – the statistical threshold for advancing). Montuore’s on pace to join the exclusive 100 win club, and will be one of Marold's hammers next season. This season he was Goles champion, D11 bronze, and X-Calibur and County 4th.

Fahmi ended a very solid 14-win freshman campaign as a District 11 bronze medalist, despite wrestling up a weight. He finished 7th at X-Calibur and seemed to improve as the season went on, a trend Marold will rely on him to continue next season as one of the team’s four returning region qualifiers, with Montuore, Dean and Borgia.

WMC Region History: Champs

According to Jersey Wrestling, WMC entered the tournament tied for 111th in the state with seven region champs this century. Campanaro broke a three year dry spell in 2022. In 2014 Jesse Windt broke an eight year streak without a title, and started a five year streak of crowns that was extended by Shane Metzler in 2015 and 2016, and then Marco Gaita in 2017 and 2018. Dillon Landi’s 2006 gold was this century’s first, and the first since Mike Mulrooney 15 years prior.

WMC’s region champs tend to excel at the State Championship when healthy, unlike Campanaro’s one-armed title quest last season, and Windt’s illness-plagued 2014 campaign. Mulrooney became WMC’s last state champion. Landi took fourth, Metzler third and fifth, and Gaita fifth after winning the region.

WMC Region History: State Qualifiers

Last season Frayne took Region 3 silver and joined champion Campanaro in Atlantic City. In 2021, Campanaro qualified for the State Championship for the second time in two seasons, taking region silver. In 2020, the Pack sent an incredible five competitors to Atlantic City: Eli Shepard, Malachi Shepard, Colin Loughney, Kevin Ramos and the freshman Campanaro. That followed an even more impressive 2019, in which Bohr, Eli Shepard, Loughney, John DeVito and Justin LeMay all punched tickets to AC.

In 2018, Gaita, Michael Caso, LeMay, Bohr and DeVito made it through the region gauntlet to qualify, including Gaita’s second region crown. In 2017, Kade Loughney and LeMay joined first-time region champ Gaita, and two-time defending region champ Metzler, who fell to Nick Raimo for silver. In 2016, Metzler celebrated his birthday with 100 wins (as a junior!), defending his region crown, and gaining the company of now Wolfpack coach Caleb Isemann competing in the state championship.

In 2015, sophomore Metzler won his first region crown, and was joined by seniors David Migliaccio and Dylan Luciano qualifying for states. In 2014, Windt won the region and stood alone representing the Pack at states. In 2013, in this reporter’s first season, Nick Matthews, Brandon Carcuffe and Adam Kratch all advanced.

Next Up

The NJSIAA State Championships are held in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City March 2-4 (seeding is Feb. 28), where the best four placers from each weight at each of eight regions vie to ascend the state’s most coveted podium. The Boardwalk Hall podium has been climbed by future Olympic gold medalists and NCAA champions, recently including Nick Suriano, Shane Griffith, Anthony Cassar (who upset WMC’s Windt in their senior year), Anthony Ashnault (who shared the podium with WMC’s Matthews), Mekhi Lewis, and the incomparable Jordan Burroughs.

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.