Dean’s Repeat & Neill Championships Lead Pack to Goles Tourney Bronze

12/31/23

By David Yaskulka. Photos by Olivia Montuore.

Brandon Dean successfully defended his Goles tournament crown Thursday Dec. 28, as freshman Brody Neill announced his arrival on NJSIAA’s elite wrestling scene by winning his second gold medal in as many tournaments. West Morris Central placed third at the 65th running of this storied holiday tournament at Warren Hills High School, thanks to strong contributions up and down the lineup.

“I'm very proud of the team,” said senior co-captain Sam Rizzuto. “The whole team wrestled tough and didn't give up. “

Rizzuto and Tommy Borgia won silver medals, Mark Montuore and Michael Borgia took fourth, as Jacob Fahmi, Jacob Harrison, Robert Fazzino, Henry DeFrance and AJ Codella all placed sixth in the 13 team tournament – an exceptional 11 placewinners for the Wolfpack.

“My teammates showed that they were there to compete,” said Dean. “Even if they didn't win, they tried not to give any bonus points in order to help the team.”

All That Glitters is Gold

Dean (157 lbs., 12-0 record, ranked #2*) has been historically dominant this season, staying undefeated as he comfortably defeated NJ #12 ranked Omar Tarecky of Passaic County Tech with a 10-1 major decision in the finals. The PCTI senior is the first wrestler this season to avoid being pinned by Dean.

Wrestling multiple moves ahead like a chess master, Dean knew he was going to win “in the first period after the first takedown. After reversing him in the second, I knew it was time to put the pressure on.”

Neill (106, 7-2, #20) was the underdog facing NJ #9 ranked Augie Szamreta of Warren Hills in the finals. But the WMC rookie was relentless, delivering a thrilling 10-6 upset that sent Wolfpack fans leaping to their feet. Neill had pinned his way to the championship, including decking the top-seed in the semis. Neill was seeded fourth, the only champion seeded that low.

Last week, Neill, Dean and Tommy Borgia won Morris Knolls Tournament championships.

Sterling Performances

Rizzuto (144, 6-4, #25) and Tommy Borgia (215, 9-2, #12) both improved on last season’s bronze medal performances, ascending to the finals for silver medals.

“It felt great to be in the finals,” said Rizzuto, a three-seed. “I've worked very hard and the results showed,” as he defeated PCTI’s Tyler Whartnaby 13-8 in the semifinals to assure second place, then fell to top seed and #15 ranked Jackson Bush in the finals.

Borgia decked Hopewell junior Jon Trainor, ranked #79, in the semis, but fell to top-seeded Northern Highlands senior Ethan Mendel (#8) in the finals by 5-2.

More Semifinalists

Defending Goles champion Montuore (120, 6-4, #37), visibly fighting some ailment, won 5-0 in the quarters, securing a fourth place finish in a tough bracket (he was the fourth seed despite being a returning champ).

Michael Borgia (190, 3-5, #163) pulled off one of the tournament’s better upsets, decking Hamilton’s Dylan Nordgren in the quarterfinals to lock his fourth place finish. That tied him for 18th among the tournament’s 140 wrestlers in exceeding expectations (seed-place difference).

Contributions Up and Down the Lineup

After decking opponents in the consolation quarters, both Fahmi (126, 3-5, #167) and Harrison (132, 4-7, #96) prevailed in consolation semifinals to secure sixth place medals. Fahmi beat PCTI’s Sultan Mossaddik 6-3, and Harrison Hopewell’s Rex Peters 6-2. Harrison tied for ninth among 140 wrestlers in exceeding expectations.

Fazzino (150, 6-4, #111) secured his sixth place finish by defeating Warren Hills’ Tyler O`Neill 7-1, one of the Wolfpack’s four victories out of six head-to-head bouts against the home team, helping assure the team bronze.

DeFrance (165, 3-5, #221) decked his opponent in the first championship round, and later outlasted Northern Highlands’ Jack Leiman 9-5 for sixth place. His nine team points were seventh best on the team. Codella outlasted Southern’s Anthony Bonacasta in double overtime 4-1 to secure sixth.

Mason Vasquez (113, 4-7, #111) and Vincent Caruso (138, 3-3, #172) delivered two victories each for a combined 10 team points – enough to allow WMC to rebuff a powerhouse Warren Hills squad by a narrow 5.5 point margin for third.

Team Scores

The Wolfpack fended off the home team to secure third place among 13 teams competing. State powerhouse and 12th ranked Delaware Valley dominated with 286.5 team points, followed by PCTI’s 167, WMC with 161, and Warren Hills with 155.5. Southern, the top-ranked public school in the state, placed sixth despite sending many of their wrestlers to the Powerade Tournament in Pennsylvania.

The NJ.com preview made Southern the favorite (prior to learning they’d split their squad), DelVal the top competition, followed by Passaic Tech, Newton and Warren Hills, leaving the Wolfpack out of the conversation.

*Rankings

Rankings are from RankWrestlers.com (as of 12/30), which uses an algorithm based on record, types of wins, and strength of competition. Approximately 550-1000 wrestlers are currently ranked in each NJ weight class, including about 400-600 with 2023-24 records. That means WMC’s lowest-ranked starters (ranked in the 200s) are roughly middle of the pack compared to starters throughout the state, and top-third to top-quarter among all NJ ranked wrestlers.

Team Goles Stats

Neill led the team in pins with two. Caruso had the fastest pin, in 38 seconds. Dean secured the most team points, followed closely by Neill. Rizzuto had the most match points with 13, followed closely by Harrison with 12 and Vasquez with 11. Vasquez had the most total match points with 24. Neill topped the team in largest seed-place difference (three), followed by Harrison (two), and then Rizzuto and Michael Borgia (one).

WMC Goles History

Last season WMC placed third behind Warren Hills and Del Val in a 10-team tourney. Montuore and Dean took gold, along with Michael Campanaro and Henry Frayne. Tommy Borgia's OT loss to state medalist Jaret Pontuso was Goles' best match, taking bronze with Michael Hare, Dean Muttart and Rizzuto. Vincent Caruso, Jacob Fahmi, and Henry DeFrance took fifth/sixth.

In 2021, the team skipped Goles during the epidemic, and in 2020 the entire tournament was canceled for the same reason. In 2019 the team took silver as Colin Loughney became a two-time champ, joined by Eli Shepard, freshman Michael Campanaro and Michael Ferrante with gold medals.

WMC took silver in 2018 behind Luke Stefanelli, John DeVito and Colin Loughney gold medals, while in 2017 Marco Gaita completed a “three peat” with his third championship.

Shane Metzler, Kade Loughney and Marco Gaita became two-time Goles champs in 2016, joined by Mike Caso at the top of the podium, as the team took bronze. The Wolfpack won five golden rings at the 2015 holiday tournament, with Alex Kaltenhauser, Caleb Isemann, Gaita, Metzler and Loughney crowned champions.

Dylan Luciano and Metzler were champs in 2014 as WMC won team silver. The team placed fifth in 2013 with Jesse Windt representing the Pack at the top of the podium. Nick Matthews and John Sickles were 2012 Goles champs, as future coach Isemann made his varsity debut as a freshman, and notably for this writer, freshman Ben Yaskulka took gold at 150 at the Roxbury JV tournament three days later (one of the event’s many champions to later become Wolfpack letter winners).

For terrific history of the Goles tournament, see Donald J. Brower’s 2013 article.

Mt. Olive Dominates 60-21 Despite Neill, Rizzuto, Dean and Codella Wins

Neill started Saturday’s 12/30/23 dual at Mount Olive on the right note for the Pack, majoring Shane Kostakos 12-0, but then the Marauders scored 30 in a row before co-captain Rizzuto stopped the bleeding with a 10-1 major over Stephen Hayek.

Mt. Olive’s #89 ranked Scott Copolo put the dagger in the Wolfpack’s side with a come from behind pin after a controversial stalling call on the Pack sent it to overtime. Dean bumped to 165 to pin Kristian Dobbek, who is a top-100 wrestler (as is Kostakos and Hayek).

Codella finished the match with a pin for the Pack, but it was too little too late as Mt. Olive dominated 60-19. #10 Anthony Piemonte, #9 Tyeler Hagensen, #31 Brandon Beres, #82 Colin Smyth, #27 Tanner Perez, #411 Jared Martini, and #3 Tyler Bienus all delivered pins for the home team.

The match featured two of the state’s top pinning machines who did not disappoint here, Bienus getting his 12th pin (second most in NJ) and Dean with his ninth (tied for 10th).

Next Up

WMC hosts powerhouse Delbarton on 1/4/24, returns to Morris Knolls for a quad on 1/6 including Delaware Valley and Kittatinny. WMC visits Morris Hills on 1/10 and then goes to Roxbury for a quad on 1/13 that includes Livingston and Columbia.

Mark your calendar for the home match 1/16/24 for Wolfpack Night vs. Hackettstown, with youth wrestlers competing on an adjacent mat. On 1/20 the squad returns home for a quad that includes Montville, Caldwell, and a team TBA. The Pack visits Sparta on 1/23, its last prep for the Morris County Tournament 1/26-27 at Mount Olive. January concludes with Senior Night vs. Mendham at home 1/31. The D11 championship is 2/17.

Ranking and records based on RankWrestlers.com’s algorithm, which pulls from TrackWrestling.com data.

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. His day job is Senior Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility for Mid America Pet Food, whose family of brands is led by VICTOR Super Premium Pet Food and Nature’s Logic. He also serves as Board Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, and as Board Director at Greater Good Charities.