Sports
Wrestlers Vazquez, Loughney, Stefanelli and Shephard lead Pack over Montville 37-30
The wrestling Wolfpack started its 2016-17 dual meet season 1-0 thanks to victories from every high school class.
(12/20/2016, Montville, NJ) The wrestling Wolfpack started its 2016-17 dual meet season on a winning note thanks to victories from every high school class. Freshman Eli Shephard, sophomore Luke Stefanelli, junior Jonathan Vazquez and senior captain Kade Loughney led West Morris Central over Montville 37-30.
Vazquez (2-2), cutting down to 126, started the Montville dual with a big 9-6 win to start the match off on the right foot.
Loughney (5-1), bumping up to 160, topped fellow regional qualifier Joe Daddario 6-1. Full Circle ranks Loughney top-15 in the state.
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Stefanelli (2-2), wrestling up at 195, scored critical bonus points for the team by pitching a 9-0 shutout major victory.
In the evening’s final event, it all came down to the freshman at 120. If Shephard (2-2) ended up on his back, Montville would go home with the victory. But Shephard would not allow it. In fact, he didn’t allow a single point, giving WMC the season’s first win with a dramatic 4-0 victory.
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For Shephard, that’s a heck of a start to his dual meet career.
WMC only lost three bouts on the mat. John DeVito (2-3) impressed at 138, falling by just 4-2 to district champion Ronald Rumsby. Justin LeMay (5-3) looked strong despite losing 6-2 to regional place winner Connor Meytrott, ranked #15 in New Jersey (Full Circle). Colin Loughney (0-3) bumped up a weight class and fell to youth Tri-County league champion Brandon Teresa (2-2).
Paying fans may have asked for half their money back after seeing action in only seven of 14 bouts. Captains Shane Metzler (5-1), Christian Trimarchi (5-2) and Marco Gaita (6-1), along with freshman Robby Bohr (5-2), took forfeits for the Pack. WMC in turn gave three forfeits to Montville, at 152, 220 and 285.
Coach Ken Rossi navigated the sparse battlefield perfectly, shifting weight classes and gifting the 18 forfeit points to three of Montville’s very best grapplers: state qualifier Dominic Fano, district champion Liridon Leka and state qualifier Parker Fox.
The Wolfpack returned to New Jersey after an impressive third place finish in the prestigious 28-team XCalibur Tournament over the weekend. Seven WMC wrestlers medaled.
Metzler’s forfeit win was his 110th career victory for WMC, tying Brandon Carcuffe for the third most all-time. His next win would tie Dylan Luciano for second. Full Circle ranks Metzler #2 in New Jersey at 126.
NEXT UP
WMC travels to High Point 12/22, the John Goles Tournament 12/28 and Voorhees 12/30. Home opener is 1/4/17 vs. North 1 Group 4 champion Roxbury.
PHOTOS
Jonathan Vazquez started the dual meet season on the right note with a 9-6 victory. Credit: Joanne Vazquez
Eli Shephard, Kade Loughney, Luke Stefanelli -- credit, Margaret Stefanelli
