WMC wrestling voted top-25 team, 11 are All-Conference

(Washington Township, NJ 3/12/17) “This was a season for the books,” reflected senior captain Shane Metzler, as the NJ Wrestling Coaches Association voted West Morris Central top-25 among 324 NJSIAA 2016-17 wrestling teams

The Wolfpack celebrated its season at the 3/8 WMC Parents Club team banquet at Oak Hills Golf Club, with president Jeff Hill master of ceremonies.

Seniors lauded coaches Ken Rossi, Chris Marold, Jim Balella and Tom Borgia. Rossi recognized every wrestler, the parents, his family, school officials including Principal Steve Ryan and Athletics Coordinator Kent Schilling, and his fellow coaches. He thanked team statisticians Sidney Manning, Bella Trimarchi, Melanie Brothers, Rachel Hefner, Julia Pirrello, and Micaela Shepard.

Team and All-Conference Awards

Rossi announced senior captain Christian Trimarchi (26-15, 160) won the Blue & Gray Award for “hard-work, character, and selflessness to the team.” Trimarchi concluded an outstanding career, finishing top-eight in Regions, 7th at X-Calibur, 6th in Counties, and 2nd in Districts.

Metzler (39-5, 126) was named Team MVP for arguably the most dominant career in school history and a “3-peat” NJSIAA championship podium ascent. The Rutgers commit is Wolfpack career leader in wins (144), team points, and net team points, and tied for most County championships, Region Championships, and State medals.

Kade Loughney (38-10, 152), completing one of WMC’s most outstanding careers, won the Cholish Family Scholarship for “performance on and off the mat, and as a team leader.” Loughney’s 112 wins are third, behind only Metzler and Nick Matthews (131). Loughney was 21-8 as a freshman, 25-9 as a sophomore, and 28-10 last year. The senior captain is a District and John Goles champion.

Justin LeMay (30-14, 145) is the Coach’s Award winner, becoming the second WMC sophomore in memory to reach States (Metzler). He medaled in every tournament this season.

Robert Rosen (21-14, 195), junior captain Marco Gaita (41-4, 170), LeMay, Loughney and Metzler were named first-team All-Conference. Robby Bohr (21-11, 106), Eli Shepard (14-16, 120), Mike Caso (28-12, 113) and Trimarchi were named second-team; and Luke Stefanelli (18-18, 182) and John DeVito (14-19, 138) third team.

William Apostolico was named the JV Award winner with a dominating 15-3 record, including 10 falls.

One Tough Letter

Colin Loughney (13-7, 106), Chris Parisi (4-8, 120), Zach Fuchs (1-2, 182), Austin Gast, Lou Mautone, Bohr, Shepard and DeVito won their first wrestling varsity letters – possibly the toughest to win of any sport.

Jonathan Vazquez (17-14, 132), Jack Lyden, LeMay, Stefanelli, Caso and Rosen earned their second letters. Gaita won his third, while Trimarchi, Loughney and Metzler earned their fourth.

Next-Gen Pack

In addition to Apostolico, JV standouts included: Parisi (15-3) with two golds and two silvers in tournaments; Lyden (17-3) with a gold and two silvers; AJ Hill (10-0) with a gold at Newton; Matt Borgia (13-9) with two silvers; Nick Kaltenhauser (7-3) with a silver; and Grayson Apgar (2-3) and Jayden Melicharek with bronzes. Add Adrian Hefner’s (9-2) promising season to give the Pack strong candidates to fill at least four slots.

Even Better in 2017-18?

Metzler, Kade Loughney and Trimarchi leave the team with three big voids, in addition to two upper weight slots.

"I'm elated to have broken records this year because it will further drive the youth wrestlers to live up to an even higher expectation of hopefully breaking my records," said Metzler, who also set marks for tech falls, major decisions and – by a country mile -- take downs and net take downs.

The 2017-18 squad won’t boast a returning State medalist like Metzler, nor high-impact freshmen like Bohr, Colin Loughney and Shepard. Can they win 18 matches and the Conference championship again?

Actually, next year’s team could be better.

The 2017-18 squad will return two State qualifiers (Gaita and LeMay), vs. one for 2016-17; five Regional qualifiers (including Caso, Shepard and Rosen) vs. this year’s three; seven District placers (including Vazquez and Stefanelli) vs. three; 10 tournament medalists (including Bohr, Colin Loughney, and DeVito) vs. five. The 2016-17 starters had won 155 bouts last season, while the likely 2017-18 lineup won 224 this season.

Likely high-impact additions include freshman standout Colin Loughney (13-7, 106) as a full-time starter, along with sophomore AJ Hill, who had eight varsity wins in his first (injury-free) season. Returning letter winners Parisi and Lyden are potential starters, along with JV standouts Apostolico, Borgia, Kaltenhauser, Hefner and more – all dependent on who puts in the off-season work.

Photo Credits

Mollissa LeMay and JoAnn Vazquez.