Big Wins from Borgia and Fazzino, Two Techs from J. Harrison Not Enough as WMC Falls to 3-3

1/9/26
By David Yaskulka
Photos by Jen Sheppard and Sheryl Reed
Special thanks to team statisticians Adriana Georgiev, Alexa Moscotello and Kaylee Viera.

Tommy Borgia dominated one of the state’s best at Mt. Olive, Robert Fazzino upset a state alternate at High Point, and Jacob Harrison scored tech falls in both matches. But it was not enough as West Morris Central evened its record at 3-3, falling 56-13 at Mt. Olive Tuesday, and 37-26 at High Point Wednesday Jan. 7. The Wolfpack’s two state medalists, Brody Neill and Borgia, have each won 11 straight.

The team received the devastating news that 190 lb. hammer Chris Kowalik is out for the season, while its two state medalists, Borgia and Brody Neill, have each now won 11 in a row.

Despite Fazzino Big Win, High Point Prevails 37-26

Fazzino (175) bumped to 190 to nail down one of the biggest wins of his career, outlasting High Point senior #28 (RankWrestlers.com) state alternate Jack Kithcart 4-2 Wednesday night (Jan 7).
Prior, Jacob Harrison (144), bumping to 150, got WMC on the board with a 22-5 tech fall. Deacon Frayne (215) followed Fazzino with second period pin of #84 ranked Kaleb DeFalco.
Wrestling fans in the standing-room-only gym were asking for their $5 back after being denied a potential Atlantic City heavyweight podium preview. For the second year in a row, the Wildcats did not put out its heavyweight Gavin Mericle (currently #6 in NJ, Full Circle) to face #3 Tommy Borgia. Mericle pinned opponents in both prior High Point matches, but like last year, remained on the bench versus Borgia.

WMC would not score again until Neill received a forfeit to close the match, with High Point prevailing 37-26.

Aside from Fazzino’s dramatic win, some of WMC’s best wrestling was in losing efforts. Julian Healy (144) saved three points for the team in an 8-3 loss to #105 ranked wrestler. John Garcia nearly held on for the victory, but fell 14-11 to #137 Gerard Empirio, who pinned Garcia last year.

Antonio Montella (175) and Lucas Harrison (126) each saved a point for the team versus two of High Point’s best, losing respectively by tech fall to #13 state alternate Jayden Ruplall, and #17 state qualifier Carter Drouin. Harrison wowed the crowd by nearly holding on for the major decision, but Drouin ended it with six seconds on the clock.

One of the night’s highlights was Jake Reed’s roaring recovery that fell just short, losing 16-14 against #88 Brady Conklin. Reed was on the verge of being teched, but came back with a vengeance, and nearly prevailed. Conklin upset Mark Montuore by pin last year.

Last year, WMC fell by 52-18 to the North 1 Group 2 state champion High Point squad.

Borgia Manhandles Martini 13-1, but Marauders Mash

In the night’s feature match, #3 (NJ.com, Full Circle and RW) Borgia got his first chance to face podium-possible competition, and did not disappoint. While #6 (NJ.com) Jared Martini narrowed the gap since Borgia pinned him in 48 seconds at County, the gap remains wide as Borgia dominated 13-1.

But mostly it was Mt. Olive’s night, with only Jacob Harrison (tech fall) and Neill (major) adding points for the Pack in the humbling 56-13 defeat in front of a large and loud Mt. Olive crowd.
Alex Dymnicki (190) and Mason Vazquez (132) were standouts in defeat, going the distance against district finalist Stephen Hayek and state qualifier Anthony Piemonte respectively.

Former Long Valley Youth Wrestling coach Tom Whittmore, who watched the match on Garden state HS Wrestling, wrote in from Florida to say he was impressed with Ryan Tie and Dymnicki.
“For inexperienced wrestlers, Ryan and Alex were not intimidated, and showed especially well against strong and very experienced opponents,” he said.

“After the first period I feel like Ryan outwrestled Jack Rawa, who has been wrestling for a long time. I see Ryan taking big steps and showing confidence. It would not surprise me if he could qualify for Regions.”

For the Marauders, pins from Thomas McDonald, Justin Bullock, Michael Koroski, Cole Rebels and Jack Bacigalupo; techs from Colin Smyth, Scott Coppolo, and Nico Gonzalez (an incredibly impressive tech fall for his 100th victory); a major from Rawa and a gutty effort from Nahki Gonzalez led the way.

Last season Mt. Olive steamrolled the Pack 52-18 despite big wins from Borgia (over Gonzalez) and Frayne (over Hayek).

Kowalik KOed by Injury

It didn’t look like too many wrestlers would be able to defeat WMC super-sophomore Chris Kowalik this season. He looked Atlantic City bound as the #2 ranked 190 pounder in Region 3. He even had podium potential.

But in a sad turn, Kowalik experienced a season-ending injury in his second bout at Beast of the East (he had won his first).

Kowalik was a district champion and state alternate his freshman year. His 24 pins were the fourth-most in WMC history, and the most ever for a freshman. Classmate Frayne was right behind him at 23, but no one else was ever close.

While this could be the most impactful injury loss in WMC history (injuries to Cory Fleming and David Migliaccio come to mind), the silver lining is opportunity for others. First up was Alex Dymnicki, who shined placing fourth in his first ever tournament. Fazzino has now bumped up twice to give Coach Marold big victories at 190, with Ashton Babinec and Antonio Montella getting opportunities at 175 as the next man up.

And if Frayne is able to descend to 190 next month, district and Knolls tournament finalist Michael Borgia may have another chance to step up at 215.

Fun Stats

As of 1/7, from RankWrestlers:

• Deacon tied for 12th in the state with 11 pins and tech falls
• Tommy 5th in state with 123 career wins (123-19), just behind Jayden James
• Brody Neill and Tommy tied for 59th with 11 wins in a row

As of 1/7, WMC leader boards:

• Tommy 124 wins ties Gaita for 3rd most ever. Matthews 131, Metzler 144
• He was tied with Montuore 68 for most pins at end of year, so now is 6 above at 74

NJ.com’s Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference wrestler of the week Dec. 23-Jan. 3 is Brody Neill (along with Nico Gonzalez) .
Daily Record’s first Morris/Sussex top 10 of the year has WMC #6, behind (in order) Delbarton, Pope John, Mt. Olive, Hanover Park, and High Point.

Here’s our cheat sheet on rankings.

Next Up

(Schedule based on Garden State HS Wrestling calendar). The Jan. 10 Roxbury quad includes Livingston and Holmdel. Jan. 17 competition is TBA. Mark calendars for WMC hosting Mendham Jan. 20, and the Morris County Tournament at Mt. Olive the 24th. WMC visits Hackettstown the 26th, then hosts Pope John the 28th, before heading to the Pascack Valley quad with Raritan and Jackson on the 31st. February starts at Morris Hills Feb. 4, and then a tri at Governor Livingston Feb. 7. Senior night is home versus Jefferson Feb. 11, then home again Feb. 13 against Morristown.

That takes us (hopefully) to the State Section playoffs, with quarterfinals and semifinals on Feb. 16.

About David Yaskulka

To avoid concession duty when his sons Noah and Ben joined WMC in 2012, David revived his sportswriter dream, and still covers the Pack. He’s a sustainability advocate and pet industry executive, having served as CEO of Nature’s Logic, SVP of Mid America Pet Food, and Board Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition and Greater Good Charities. He currently advises Love, Nala cat food, Archway Pet Food, rePurpose Global plastic action platform, and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise. He invites all WMC wrestlers and their families to connect with him (and with each other!) on LinkedIn.