Borgia is 2x Region Wrestling Champion, Advances to States with Neill

3/2/25

By David Yaskulka
Photos from Jen Sheppard, Sheryl Reed

When you are 38-1, having possibly the most dominant season in West Morris Central wrestling history, you focus on that one loss.

WMC junior Tommy Borgia stepped to the mat in the 2025 NJSIAA / IBEW Local 102 Region 3 Wrestling Championship finals Saturday (Mar. 1 at West Orange) to face HWT August Moser, who pinned Borgia when they met at Delbarton.

“I wanted this one back really bad,” Borgia said.

“But at the same time it was just another match. You can’t get emotional out there and let that control how you wrestle. I knew the last time we wrestled was a fluke. So I knew I needed to go out there and just wrestle my match. And if I did that I would win.”

In fact, Borgia dominated, scoring early and often for a 9-1 major victory, successfully defending his R3 crown and advancing to the State Championship.

He’s joined by teammate and state medalist Brody Neill (120) who took bronze with the fastest three-pin performance of the tournament. Borgia and Neill won the same Region medals last season, with Neill ultimately climbing the Atlantic City podium for 7th place.

Freshman Chris Kowalik (190) placed fifth, completing one of the best rookie seasons in school history. Once again, the top-ranked rookie at his weight lost only to seniors.

Senior co-captain Mark Montuore (113) wrestled the final match of his legendary high school career at Regions, notching his WMC-record 68th career pin, but failing to advance to AC. As was the case last season, Montuore competed in an absolutely brutal bracket with five top-30 ranked wrestlers (seven top-40) competing for four slots. State medalist Jake Holly also failed to advance from this bracket.

Borgia called Montuore one of the best leaders the team ever had.

Wolfpack District champion sophomore Jacob Harrison (132), freshmen Jonathan Cabarle (138) and Deacon Frayne (175), and juniors Rob Fazzino (165) and Michael Borgia (215) also qualified for R3 by medaling at District 11 last week. They, along with Kowalik and Montuore, did not advance.

NJ Wrestlers rated the competition at each of NJ’s eight regions, with R3 ranking the single toughest.

Borgia Brandishes Gold Again

Borgia, now 39-1 going into States, dominated the R3 tourney just as he has dominated the season. He added two pins to record-breaking season, now with 31. That’s by far the most in Wolfpack history, and second most in NJ at any weight.

If anything, Borgia’s season has been hampered by a lack of competition, with the finals match against Moser only the second time Borgia’s needed to wrestle into the third period.

At R3, Borgia’s quarterfinals opponent had a 23-6 record, and his semi finals opponent was 34-7. Borgia pinned them in 39 seconds and 61 seconds respectively.

“I feel great going into next week. I know I can compete with anyone in the state, so I’m excited to show everyone what I can do,” he said.

Neill Nabs Bronze Again

After taking bronze at R3 last season, Neill went to Atlantic City to become WMC’s first-ever freshman state medalist.

This season, Neill fell in semifinals to Hanover Park junior Nick DiFrancescantonio (31-8), but pinned everyone else he faced for bronze. In fact, out of all 168 competitors, Neill had the most pins in the least time.

In quarterfinals he bested North Bergen junior David Vazquez (31-8), and Bloomfield freshman Aidan Matias (30-13) in the blood round. Neill faced Vazquez again in the third place match.

Neill is now 35-4 with 21 pins.

“I feel great heading into states,” he says. “I had a great season and am looking forward to training and getting ready for this week.”

Kowalik’s Killer Freshman Year

Kowalik’s fifth place performance makes him R3’s State Championship alternate, if one of the qualifiers drops out. But most likely, his outstanding performance concludes a freshman year where he was the top-ranked 190 pound freshman in the state.

Kowalik’s only losses were to top-ranked seniors, falling to eventual champion (and nationally ranked) state finalist Vincenzo Lavalle (38-3), and then a heart breaker to Morristown Henry Saxon in the blood round, by 8-5.

In WB1, Kowalik pinned Belvidere senior Kyle Blew (32-9), and in the fifth place medal match, pinned Bloomfield senior Alejandro Valencia (27-12), coming from behind 13-8.

Kowalik was the only freshman at R3 with two pins, and had the sixth-most team points of anyone in his class. He was fifth in the entire tournament in seed-place difference (exceeding expectations), placing fifth as the eight-seed.

He was the only freshman in the 190 lb. bracket, with three seniors and one junior advancing. In most years Kowalik could have advanced, but his bracket was unusually tough, featuring two of the three best wrestlers in the state.

Kowalik finishes his freshman year at 33-9 with 24 pins, the fourth-most single season falls in team history. He was the District 11 champion, and placed fourth in Morris County.

He thinks fans will be surprised with what he can achieve next season, saying “I’m already back to work.”

WMC freshmen Kowalik, Frayne and Cabarle had only one other freshman out of the 36 men in their collective R3 brackets (and just three sophomores).

Montuore’s Mt. Rushmore Career

Montuore concludes one of the greatest careers in West Morris Central wrestling history, finishing with the most pins in team history with 68. Perhaps the best measure of his career is his all-time record for team points – helping his teammates win a match – where no one else is even close behind (Montuore passed Shane Metzler’s previous record early this season and then soared past it).

He’s a two-year team captain, and perhaps best embodies the success of Marold’s first four years at the helm.

He also has the fifth most wins in team history with 113, behind only Metzler, Nick Matthews, Marco Gaita, and Michael Campanaro. In his senior year he was 30-10, with 23 pins, taking County bronze and District silver.

With three years of some of the most brutal Region brackets in WMC history, Montuore is easily the best WMC wrestler to never make it to States. A difficult recognition, but most any young wrestler would sign up to become the Dan Marino, Elgin Baylor or Ted Williams of WMC wrestling.

Montuore’s last win? Fittingly, for the all-time pins record holder, Montuore's last win, over Montclair’s Gavin Nobles (17-11) at R3, in 1:09, was by fall.

“Mark is one of the best leaders the team has ever had,” said Tommy, “and he was one of my best friends for the past 13 years. And although he may have fell a little short of his goal (in the toughest bracket in the whole region, maybe out of all 8 regions) that does not discredit his amazing career and everything he has done for this team.”

Even multi-sport super mom-ographer Jen Sheppard needed to weigh in:

“Believe me, I’ve seen many captains in all WMC sports and Mark did something rare, which is treat every member of the team as equal. Nobody is better than anyone. Seniors are not more important than anyone, freshmen are not the low men on the totem pole. The team moves as one.

“I’ve seen it go the other way,” she continued, “and it’s not good. Don’t even get me started, lol. And Shep [her son, sophomore grappler Jack “Shep” Sheppard] has experienced it both ways. I think of Mark as one who unites and equalizes.

“Mark is a gem.”

Not coincidentally, Montoure joined a Wolfpack squad that was 0-11 before he arrived. In Montuore’s four years, the team went 10-14, 15-6, 14-10 and then this season 18-7, tied for the most wins in team history.

“Mark is a great captain,” said Kowalik, “showing leadership and a great work ethic in and out of the wrestling room. I wish he was not graduating because he is a great wrestler and a cool guy to have on the team.”

Sophomore JV killer and varsity spot starter Jack “Shep” Sheppard agreed, saying, “I think Mark is a great captain because he really encouraged everyone on the team. He treated everyone the same whether they were varsity or JV. He worked as hard as everyone else in the room and pushed everyone to be their absolute best.”

Harrison and Frayne Stellar Seasons End on R3 Day 2

In addition to Kowalik and Montuore, Harrison’s and Frayne’s outstanding seasons ended on Saturday morning.

Harrison fell to Caldwell buzzsaw freshman Anthony Barrett (35-6) in a thrilling 8-5 contest where the WMC sophomore nearly won by pin, and then nearly added back points at the buzzer, but neither was granted by the ref.

Harrison ends his sophomore year at 28-13 as a two-time region qualifier, and as John Goles Tournament and District 11 champion, and ranked #61 out of 568 wrestlers at 132 in NJ, which is top 11%. He’s also the 13th ranked sophomore in NJ at 132. He was also a prolific pinner, with 15 on the season.

Frayne had one of the more impressive rookie campaigns in Wolfpack history, also finishing 28-13 with 23 pins, setting the rookie season pin record until broken by Kowalik Saturday. Frayne was the only freshman in his bracket at R3, which featured two NJ state medalists and five top-30 wrestlers.

He finishes the season as the #1 ranked rookie at 175 pounds in New Jersey, and #10 pinner in the entire weight class. He placed in every tournament before R3 including Morris Knolls bronze, Goles fifth, Morris County bronze, and District 11 silver.

R3 Day 1 is Season Finale for Cabarle, Fazzino and M. Borgia

It was a tough first day for the Pack. Three wrestler's extraordinary first-time-Region-qualifying seasons reached their conclusion WMC went 1-3 in pre-quarter finals, and 2-4 in quarters.

Michael Borgia (215) had a breakout junior season, going 19-16, taking MK tourney bronze, sixth in Morris County, and placing 2nd in Districts to qualify for Region 3. He ranked #87, or top 16% of the weight. On multiple occasions, Borgia had coin toss or upset victories over a WMC opponents’ best wrestler. At R3, M. Borgia fell to Cliffside Park senior five-seed Bryann Meijias (9-1) by fall.

Rob Fazzino (165) overcame a debilitating injury to qualify for regions for the first time. The junior was 15-15 on the year, and ranked #78 in New Jersey, top 13% of the weight class. His comeback culminated in a bronze medal performance at District 11. His final bout of the season was a tooth-and-nail 7-4 loss to St. Benedict’s senior Zahier Chiles (30-8).

Jonathan Cabarle (138), with Jake Reed, Frayne, and Kowalik, formed a freshman foursome that provided over 90 wins for the squad. Cabarle was 19-12 with 15 pins, the most of any freshman in NJ at 138. He ranked #10 among all 138 lb. rookies, and #135 out of all wrestlers at the weight, or top 22%. His come-from-behind Mendham pin was memorable, and his district bronze medal battle was one for the ages.

At R3, Cabarle was down 7-0 in the elimination match against Newark Academy senior Michael Cetrulo (27-11), came roaring back to tie the match – nearly sticking Cetrulo for the pin – but ultimately falling short.

Marold’s 2025-26 Riches

A public school wrestling coach turns first to his returning Region qualifiers to lead the team forward. In addition to returning hammers Borgia and Neill, next season Marold will be able to rely on to-be seniors Michael Borgia and Fazzino, rising junior Harrison as well as his rising sophomore region qualifiers Cabarle, Frayne, and Kowalik. That’s eight returning region qualifiers out of 14 starting slots, with Jacob Reed (106), Mason Vazquez (126), Kurt Beyer (150) and John Garcia (157) as returning starters – each with two or more years of eligibility.

Local AC Express

Among local schools, Mendham advanced two wrestlers to the State Championship, Aidan Reilly (106) with bronze, and Rafe Fonte (132) fourth place. Hackettstown’s Joe Rowinski advanced by taking out state medalist Jake Holly in the blood round, placing fourth with both losses to Carmine Sipper. Delbarton advanced all 14 weights with eight region championships.

WMC Region History

A year-by-year look at recent WMC Region history:

• Last season in 2024, Borgia won the R3 championship, and joined Neill advancing to States. Neill would go on to place 7th in AC. 1 champ, 2 advanced.
• Brandon Dean was region champ in 2023, with Campanaro, Michael Hare, and freshman Borgia joining him in Atlantic City. Dean would finish 6th in AC. 1 champ, 4 advanced.
• Campanaro was the 2022 region champ, with Henry Frayne joining him in AC. 1 champ, 2 advanced.
• Sophomore Campanaro took silver in 2021 regions, and was WMC’s lone AC qualifier. 1 advanced.
• Eli Shepard and Colin Loughney took 2020 region silver, and were joined in Atlantic City by freshman Campanaro (WMC’s first-ever rookie qualifier), Malachi Shepard, and Kevin Ramos. 5 advanced.
• WMC had six for states in 2019 with Robby Bohr, Eli Sheppard, Colin Loughney, Justin LeMay, John DeVito and Luke Stephanelli representing the largest team contingency ever. 6 advanced.
• 2018 Regions featured five WMC qualifiers, as Marco Gaita repeated as champion on his way to 6th in states, and was joined by Michael Caso, Bohr, LeMay and DeVito qualifying. 1 champ, 5 advanced.
• Gaita was champion in 2017, as he was joined by Metzler on his way to 7th on the AC podium, Kade Loughney, and LeMay, who became just the second sophomore in memory to qualify. 1 champ, 4 advanced.
• Metzler repeated as region champ in 2016 on his way to the AC podium for the second time, and was joined by future WMC coach Caleb Isemann in AC. 1 champ, 2 advanced.
• Metzler was champ in 2015, Dylan Luciano second, David Migliaccio third to advance. 1 champ, 3 advanced.
• Jesse Windt was region champ, and advanced on his own in 2014. 1 champ, 1 advanced.
• Nick Mathews, on his way to the AC podium, advanced with fellow seniors Adam Kratch and Brandon Carcuffe in 2013. 3 advanced.

Next Up

Top-four finishers from each of the eight Regions, including Borgia and Neill, 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.