Borgia 100, Montuore Pins, Marold 18 Make WMC Wrestling History

2/16/25

By David Yaskulka
Photos from Jen Sheppard, Sheryl Reed

West Morris Central wrestlers made team history again and again this weekend, with Tommy Borgia becoming the fastest to reach 100 wins, Mark Montuore breaking the all time pinfall record, and Coach Chris Marold’s young squad equaling the best record in school history, 18-7.

In a grueling final week of the regular season, WMC went 5-1. After besting Elmwood Park in Sectional (team) quarterfinals and falling to Governor Livingston in semifinals (Feb. 10), the team topped Hackettstown (Feb. 14), and swept Randolph, Becton and Hillsborough in Saturday’s quad (Feb. 15).

Borgia joined the Century Club as a junior, even faster than Shane Metzler who reached 100 at Regions his junior year. They’re the only two juniors in the club.

Montuore surpassed Henry Frayne’s all-time Wolfpack pin record of 63, and now has 65 after the quad. Earlier this season, Montuore passed Metzler’s all-time record for dual meet points.

“Nothing makes me happier than to celebrate with the family, friends and teammates that got me here,” said Montuore. “This team is something unlike teams I've been on in the past. It’s full of young talent and that makes me excited for the future for these guys.”

Borgia is right behind his co-captain Montuore and Frayne with 61 pins, having just tied Frayne and teammate Brody Neill for the single-season pin record with 26. Borgia’s current 15-bout streak of providing six points for the team break’s his own Wolfpack record set earlier this year. And there’s more to come for both Borgia and Montuore.

“Having family, friends, and teammates to support you along the journey is something truly special,” agreed Borgia. “If it was not for them we would have never made it to this point.”

The team equals the 2016-17 squad’s 18-7 record for the most wins in team history, the year Metzler took 7th at states, with both Kade Loughney and future medalist Marco Gaita falling in the blood round. That squad also boasted future state medalists Justin LeMay and Colin Loughney; and future state qualifiers Mike Caso, Luke Stefanelli, Robby Bohr, John DeVito and Eli Shepard.

A Special Final Week of Dual Meets for the Team

Fittingly, contributions came from up and down the lineup, with wins from every single starter – including an incredible 21 wins from the freshman foursome of Jake Reed, Jonathan Cabarle, Deacon Frayne and Chris Kowalik.

“As a freshman it has felt amazing to be able to help our team tie a school record,” said Frayne, who pinned all six opponents this week. “As a team everyone looks out for everyone. In the [practice] room we always try to help eachother out. It really creates not just a team but a family.”

In addition to Borgia (HWT, 33-1 record, RankWrestlers.com NJ rank #12 out of approx. 650) who had five pins and a forfeit , also going 6-0 this week were Neill (120, 29-3, #21), Frayne (175,26-10, #52), Kowalik (190, 28-7, #35). The two big freshmen had all pins or forfeits – and that’s 10 in a row for Kowalik.

Montuore (113, 27-7, #36), Jacob Harrison (132, 25-11, #59), Cabarle (138, 17-10, #155), John Garcia (157, 11-17, #213) and Kurt Beyer (150, 15-20, #134) all went 5-1 on the week.

Reed (106, 13-16, #179) went 4-2. Contributing three wins each were Mason Vazquez (126, 9-19, #181), Rob Fazzino (165, 13-13, #72), and Michael Borgia (215, 17-14, #72). Erin Villanueva (144, 4-11, #277) added two pins.

Inheriting a team that was 0-11 in 2021, Coach Marold was 10-14 in year one, then 15-6 in 2022-23, 14-10 last season, and 18-7 this year with 63% of individual wins coming from underclassmen, and only 12% from seniors – so the future sure looks bright.

Montuore, Neill, and Harrison Lead Pack Over Hillsborough For Record 18th Win

With 10 top-100 grapplers, Hillsborough was WMC’s biggest challenge in the way of reaching the 18-win season milestone. But on the mat, it wasn’t close as WMC rolled 52-19 to make history.

In the ultimate dual meet of his WMC career, Montuore – the most dominant dual meet performer in school history – topped 24-win 26th-ranked Ryan Spinelli 8-3.

Neill started things off by collecting his 15th consecutive win, teching a 23-win Raider region qualifier.

Harrison topped his even-higher-ranked (#46) brother 7-3. Frayne pinned an 18-win senior.

Villanueva pinned and Garcia teched. More pins came from Cabarle, Kowalik, Tommy Borgia and Reed – completing the morning’s second four-pin bout from the Pack’s freshman foursome.

Young sophomore Jack Sheppard looked strong while falling to one of Hillsborough’s best, 25-4 District champ Nicholas Duarte.

In what looked like a coin-toss match, WMC dominated with 10 wins, showing its 18-win season would not be denied.

Michael Borgia, Vazquez and the Freshman Four Lead WMC Over Becton 68-10

After lightning-quick 15 second pins from Montuore (adding to his school record) and Neill, Vazquez nabbed a pin in a swing bout to give the Pack an 18-0 lead. Becton would only win twice as the Pack rolled 68-10.

Michael Borgia had the biggest win, topping 24-5 Everett Bell 13-9. WMC’s freshman phenoms Reed, Cabarle, Frayne and Kowalik all pinned in the first period, with Frayne decking a 23-win senior in 23 seconds, and Kowalik besting a 20-win wrestler.

A Harrison pin, Beyer tech and another Tommy Borgia pin rounded out the scoring.

Pack Overwhelms Randolph 70-12 Behind Frayne, Vazquez, Villanueva, Garcia and Reed

WMC overwhelmed a short-handed Randolph squad 70-12 in the first leg of its quad sweep. Wrestling without three of its top four wrestlers, the Rams won only two of 14 bouts.

Frayne had the strongest win of the match, pinning 15-win junior Tyler Davis. Vazquez upset Aaron Sammy 14-6; and Villanueva, Garcia and Reed won by pin to provide the highlights, as additional pins from Montuore, Neill, Harrison, Beyer, Kowalik and Tommy Borgia rounded out the dominant Wolfpack performance.

Neill, M. Borgia and Garcia Lead Pack Over Hackettstown 51-21

WMC neighbor Hackettstown jumped to 11-0, 15-4 and 19-13 leads behind a Steven Vidal tech, an impressive Joe Rowinski pin, a Bryan Dougherty major, and another pin from Adrian Pinto.

Neill majored 23-6 Giovanni Gutierrez by 11-0, and Cabarle won 7-2 to keep the Pack in the match.

But the second half was all Wolfpack.

Beyer won a 15-5 major, and Garcia followed suit with one of his best wins, 14-5 despite being the underdog to Ryan Cheref.

Fazzino and Frayne pinned, and Kowalik won by injury default.

The Borgia brothers delivered twin 32 second pinfalls to complete the scoring, with Michael’s coming against District placer Zach Calhoun. WMC scored the last 38 points in a row for the 51-21 win.

Michael Borgia, Cabarle and Beyer Lead Pack to 63-4 Playoff Win

Two-seed WMC dominated NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 State Wrestling Team Tournament
Group 2 / Section 2 seven-seed Elmwood Park (EP) in the quarterfinals Monday night (Feb. 10) 63-4, winning 12 of 13 bouts wrestled.

Michael Borgia’s win was the most impressive, upsetting EP’s top wrestler, 23-6 senior district medalist Joseph Alejo 10-6.

Jonathan Cabarle (by pin) and Kurtis Beyer (by 17-14) topped winning-record foes, and Jacob Reed downed an 11-win grappler 12-5.

It was complete domination, with pins from Robert Fazzino, Deacon Frayne, Chris Kowalik, Tommy Borgia, Mark Montuore, Mason Vazquez and Jacob Harrison.

Borgia’s pin was in a remarkable five seconds (even more so since it took the ref a few seconds to get in position and make the call).

Frayne and Montuore Pins Not Enough as Pack Falls to Gov. Livingston 46-36 in Semifinals

Governor Livingston (GL), a public school featuring premier programs for deaf, hard of hearing and cognitively-impaired students, topped WMC 46-36 in the NJSIAA/IBEW Local 102 State Wrestling Team Tournament Group 2 / Section 2 semifinals Monday (Feb. 10) at West Morris.

GL podium-bound hammers Christian Gioia, a state medalist, and Nathan Faxon, both ranked #4 in their weights, traded sixes with Deacon Frayne (winning by pin) and Chris Kowalik (forfeit). A forfeit to Tommy Borgia and Mark Montuore’s 63rd career pin (tying him for the most in school history) gave WMC a 24-17 lead.

But it was all GL from there with five dominant wins in a row, forfeiting two bouts after their victory was assured. Both squads wrestled without one of its hammers, with Brody Neill out ill for the Pack.

GL fell to Caldwell in the section finals.

GL coach Matt Liberato was a WMC freshman, going 22-14 and winning District bronze for Coach Ken Rossi. As a Hanover Park senior in 2018 he was a state qualifier, getting teched by eventual NCAA champion Shane Griffith in quarterfinals, and falling in the blood round.

District 11 Preview

More than half the starting squad might be favorites to advance from Districts, and fewer than that from Regions. But Borgia suggested we not count out the others.

“I think some kids that might surprise some people include Mikey Borgia, and John Garcia. Both of those dudes are very scrappy and hardworking, with some big time wins over quality opponents. I can definitely see them making a deep run into the Region tournament.”

Districts, the first round of the individual postseason competition, are Feb 22, with WMC in District 11 at Nutley, also facing Belleville, Glen Ridge, Governor Livingston, Kearny, Livingston, Montclair, Verona and West Orange.

Current data would indicate Mark, Brody, Deacon, Chris and Tommy as likely favorites. Jacob and Michael look like favorites to make the finals. Robert is favored to place third and advance to Regions.

The 138, 150 and 106 lb. weight classes look the toughest, with three or more highly ranked wrestlers. On the other hand, 175, 215 and 126 seem the most forgiving from which to advance.

To win, 165, 215, 138 and HWT seem the hardest, boasting a top-ranked wrestler at the top (in the case of HWT, it’s Tommy). To make the podium, 165 and 113 look hardest with two hammers each in the way, and 175 and 126 easiest. To place fourth, the lightweights 106, 113, and 120 are the most stacked in the top-four.

DISCLAIMER: Wrestlers can (and some very likely will) change weight classes, miss weight, drop out or otherwise change the picture. Further, seeding is different from RW ranks.

Here’s the data for anyone interested:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b9bD-j5zFnF5UPN1QP_-0wzswWSPh6E1zeZUStmcSPQ/edit?usp=sharing

Athlete of the Month

According to WMC Wrestling on Instagram, team senior captain Mark Montuore was named the West Morris Central Student Athlete of the Month.

WMC’s Colorado State Champion

WMC NJ state medal winner Brandon Dean, after moving to Colorado last season, became the Colorado State Champion Saturday at 157 in 4A. No opponent went the distance or scored an offensive point against Brandon in his dominant final high school tournament before joining North Dakota State University.

Next Up

Districts 2/22 at Nutley
Regions 2/28-3/1 at West Orange
States 3/6-8 in Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall

Districts, the first round of the individual postseason competition, are Feb 22, with WMC in District 11 at Nutley.

D11 medalists (top-3) will compete in the Region 3 Championship Feb 28- Mar 1 at West Orange.

Top-four finishers from each of the eight regions advance to the NJSIAA State Championship in Atlantic City Mar. 6-8 where Wolfpack legends including (this century) Brandon Dean, Marisa Di Paolo (Girls States, twice), Colin Loughney, Justin LeMay, Marco Gaita, Shane Metzler (thrice), Nick Matthews, Dillon Landi and most recently Brody Neill climbed the podium in hallowed Boardwalk Hall.

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. He is a passionate sustainability advocate and pet industry executive, serves as Board Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, Board Director at Greater Good Charities; and Board Advisor at Arch 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.