Freshman Brody Neill Electrifies WMC Crowd Against Delbarton Wrestling

1/7/24

By David Yaskulka
Photos by Olivia Montuore and Jennifer Sheppard

Freshman phenom Brody Neill electrified the West Morris Central wrestling home crowd Jan. 5, pinning Delbarton’s #15 ranked Peter Terranova in the night’s ultimate bout. Neill nailed three more opponents’ backs to the mat Saturday as WMC went 1-3 on the week.

“It felt great having the home crowd get on their feet for my win,” said Brody. “But I couldn’t have made it there without my parents, coaches and partners.”

Tommy Borgia and Neill went 3-0 and Mark Montuore 2-1 at the Morris Knolls quad Saturday, where Wolfpack wrestlers won nine of 14 bouts against the home team for a 46-27 victory. The Pack fell to three powerhouse squads on the week, #2 Delbarton Wednesday night, and #12 Delaware Valley and undefeated Kittatinny Jan. 6.

Seeing many take their lumps, co-captain Montuore said “I try to influence the new generation positively after a tough match, offering advice on how to improve, and giving them stories about getting past hardship making you a better wrestler and a better person.”

Pin Parade and Dean’s Clutch Win Lead Pack over Knolls 46-27

Fighting an illness that kept him out of the Delbarton match, Brandon Dean (157 lbs., 13-0 record, ranked #3 in NJ) bumped up to 165 pounds to take on Knolls’ best grappler Gavin Gomes, and prevailed 3-2, before leaving the quad to seek medical attention. Big wins from Michael Borgia (190, 4-10, #179) and AJ Codella (HWT, 9-7, #134) added to the pin parade performed by Neil (106, 12-2, #15), Montuore (120, 10-5, #38), Jacob Harrison (132, 6-10, #97), Sam Rizzuto (144, 9-6, #61), Robert Fazzino (150, 7-8, #106) and Tommy Borgia (215, 12-3, #12) to assure the victory. Harrison came from behind for his huge pin. Morris Knolls came into the quad with a 3-2 team record, good for second place in WMC’s former division.

Kittatinny Stays Undefeated Despite Big Fahmi Pin

In a critical swing bout, Jacob Fahmi (126, 4-9, #156) decked #125 Nikoas Martinez, joining Montuore and Neill in pinning for the Pack in a 40-30 loss to the undefeated Kittatinny squad. Harrison had another big win, as did Vincent Caruso (138, 4-7, #161), who bumped up to 144. A Tommy Borgia tech fall closed out the scoring for the Pack, which might have pulled off the upset if a healthy Dean were available.

Powerhouse Del Val Dominates, Despite Neill, Borgia and Rizzuto

Neill nabbed his third pin of the day (and fourth of the week), Tommy Borgia delivered a major 13-3 victory, and Rizzuto won 8-2 as #12 Delaware Valley majored and pinned its way to a 62-13 shellacking of the Wolfpack.

Montuore reflected the team's spirit when he said the favorite moment of his 3-1 week “was being outperformed in a close match against DelVal” – noting how he plans to leverage his endurance to do better next time they meet.

Neill Decks #15 Terranova But Delbarton Rolls 60-18

NJ #2 ranked Delbarton steamrolled WMC Wednesday Jan. 4, but Neill sent the Wolfpack home crowd to its feet in the night’s ultimate bout. Neill battled back and forth with NJ #15 Peter Terranova, a Sam Cali bronze medalist and War at the Shore and youth state champion, before pinning him at 2:17 to the roar of the Wolfpack faithful.

“I got the bulldog and saw the opening for the cradle,” explained Brody.

The Green Wave had nine pins or forfeits in a row from its All Star team of state medalists. Harrison, Caruso and Fazzino fought especially valiantly for the Pack against state champs and top-10 wrestlers.

Mason Vasquez (113, 4-12, #121) started the night strong for the Pack, but lost his early lead to Andrew Matter and fell 6-5. Montuore followed with a big lead against Rivers Addison before Delby’s Long Valley native succumbed to an arm injury.

Wolfpack / Rutgers Trivia

Hours after Saturday's quad, Rutgers defeated University of Pennsylvania 22-14 in a match dominated by past Atlantic City NJSIAA medalists. Among them was Penn’s Kaya Sement, who defeated Rutgers’ Luke Gayer Saturday. In 2019, Sement was upset by longtime wrestling club partner Eli Shepard who led the Pack to a stunning 45-20 win over #6 Pope John.

Rutgers’ #19 ranked Brian Soldano won his match against Rider Sunday after losing against Penn Saturday. On Jan. 18, 2022 he pinned WMC hammer Henry Frayne in 33 seconds, one of Soldano’s 79 consecutive wins and 99 pinfalls for High Point on his way to three state championships.

Fun From RankWrestlers (as of 1/7/23)

WMC has 14 wrestlers with at least two wins so far, with every one ranked in the top third of all wrestlers in their weight class. These rankings illustrate how tough WMC’s competition has been to date. For example, Lucas Barisonek’s 2-11 record belies that fact that he’s ranked (#222) in the top 25% of the 932 wrestlers in his weight class. Vasquez is 4-12, but is #121 out of 586 wrestlers at 113, top 21%.

Kittatinny’s Reece Smith’s pin against WMC Saturday put him in sole possession of the statewide pinfall lead with 14. Neill’s big week tied him with Dean for the team lead with nine, followed by Codella with five. Dean’s 13 wins and 100% win percentage lead the team, followed by Borgia and Neill with 12 wins. Neill is ranked among the top freshman, Borgia among sophomores, and Dean among juniors (a team best #7) across all weights.

Team rankings, based on predicted individual NJSIAA State Championship placements, have WMC 31st in New Jersey based on Dean’s predicted podium placement.

Next Up

“The hardest part of our schedule is over,” said Montuore. “We're looking to improve our record over the next few weeks.”

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.