Lucas Harrison & Kurt Beyer Personify Pack Perfection at Roxbury Wrestling Quad

1/11/26
By David Yaskulka
Photos by Jen Sheppard and Sheryl Reed
Special thanks to team statisticians Adriana Georgiev, Alexa Moscotello and Kaylee Viera.

Kurt Beyer and Lucas Harrison wrestled three times each Saturday Jan. 10, and won all three times. So did the West Morris Central Wolfpack, resulting in a Roxbury wrestling quad perfecta, topping Roxbury 45-29, Holmdel 42-30, and Livingston 59-9 to raise its record to 6-3.

“It felt great seeing the team get three decisive wins yesterday,” said co-captain Beyer. “The coaches, Tommy [co-captain Borgia], and I all said that the team performed very well, and we need to keep the good momentum rolling into our next matches.”

Brody Neill (138, 14-1) got the biggest win of the day, pinning NJ #12 (RankWrestlers.com) state qualifier Dylan Placca in the first period. Jonathan Cabarle (150) made a triumphant return from injury, pinning both wrestlers he faced.

Neill and Tommy Borgia (285, 14-0) extended their winning streaks to 12 and 14 this season respectively, as Ryan Tie (106, 8-8), Mason Vazquez (132), Jacob Harrison (144, 10-6), John Garcia (150, 7-10) and Rob Fazzino (175, 12-6) contributed two wins each in the Wolfpack sweep.

Beyer’s (165, 10-7) wins come after facing four hammers in a row (Del Val’s 12-3 Marcus Gary is weakest of the four). “The key was putting the first part of my season behind me and focusing on maintaining a positive mindset throughout each match,” he reflected.

Lucas Harrison’s (126, 7-6) success brought praise from his brother. “I’m proud of him,” said Jacob. “He’s been putting in a lot of extra work during the off season and now, and it’s paying off. I’m excited for him and what’s ahead.” The older Harrison is the only wrestler to get four wins this week besides Neill and Borgia.

Frayne Tech Leads Pack Over Gaels 45-29

Frayne (215, 13-4) had the day’s toughest strength of schedule, and dominated #43 ranked district finalist Patrick Shivas in the penultimate match against the home team, assuring a Wolfpack win in the quad meet’s opener.

Tie set the tone at the outset with a 59 second pin. After two Roxbury pins, Lucas Harrison wrestled a masterful 16-1 tech fall.

Now down 15-11, WMC roared back with a Neill pin, and another Harrison tech fall, this time from brother Jacob Harrison (144), whose gas tank was decisive.

“I’ve put a lot of work into conditioning and staying aggressive from the first whistle,” said Jacob Harrison. “I think that’s helped me score early and keep the pressure on.”

The Wolfpack faithful cheered the return of sophomore Cabarle, who rewarded them with a takedown clinic before a second period pin.

The Gaels won three of the next four, interrupted by a first period pin from Beyer. But Frayne’s tech and then a 33 second pin from Borgia finished the scoring, with WMC over Roxbury 45-29.

Pins from Neill, Reed, L. Harrison, Garcia, and Fazzino Hammer Holmdel 42-30

After Holmdel jumped to a 6-0 lead, the Wolfpack came roaring with four straight wins from the bottom of the lineup. Jacob Reed (120) started things off with a huge first period pin, and Lucas Harrison followed with another for the 12-6 lead.

Vazquez won 10-3, and Neill followed with his match-altering pin of fellow state qualifier Placca.

Neill, who is up five weights since his state medal freshman year, said “I’m feeling great at 138 as I’m gaining muscle and getting bigger and stronger while getting overall better on the mat. With the match, I just stuck to my technique and worked my moves.”

WMC led 21-14 when Garcia won by pin.

Beyer came from behind to gas out and tie his opponent, forcing overtime, where Beyer dramatically prevailed 8-5, as his disgruntled opponent had words for the ref. Fazzino’s takedown clinic and ultimate pin then gave the Pack a virtually insurmountable lead.

The Hornets won three of the final four, including an impressive tech fall from two-time NJ state medalist Alexander Reyes bumping to 215, but it was not enough as WMC prevailed 42-30.

Harrison Brothers, Fazzino Lead Lancer Leveling 59-10

Greek philosopher Aristotle famously discussed a golden middle – the virtuous mean between extremes. Against Livingston, between losing the first and last bouts, WMC could not have been more golden, winning all 12 bouts in the middle to dominate 59-10.

Lucas Harrison once again was key, starting the streak with a gutty, come-from-behind 11-6 upset of Lancer senior Kai Lutzman, who was 9-6.

After a Vazquez major, a forfeit to Neill, and lots of blood time, junior Jacob Harrison stepped up, dominating #74 ranked Joseph DeCorso (who was 14-3) by tech fall 15-0. It was his second tech of the day, fourth of the week and fifth of the season.

Cabarle calmly confirmed his re-emergence from injury, following his first pin with an ultra-efficient 14 second version.

After a nifty Granby roll, Garcia delivered his second pin of the day. It was another break out performance, with just one competitive loss against Roxbury #7 ranked undefeated state qualifier Charlie Bacinsky.

Hayden Hurst (175, 2-1) and Alex Dymnicki (215, 4-7) both jumped back in for decisive victories, by 7-1 and by pin respectively.

In between, Fazzino bumped to 190 (where he is undefeated) and pinned one Livingston’s best, #81 ranked senior Matthew Steiner. Steiner had Fazzino’s leg high in the air, but it was Fazzino who whirligigged and landed on top to score, a gut punch that set up the pin.

Another forfeit to Borgia and an impressive pin from Tie over an 8-5 fellow freshman completed the 12 bout victory center for the Pack.

Some History

Last season as well, WMC swept the Roxbury quad, topping Roxbury (“After Montuore gave the Wolfpack an early one point lead by pin, Neill scored early and often against Roxbury’s best, #29 ranked 12-2 senior Daniel Visha, before patiently settling in for the third period fall. WMC never looked back against the home squad Gaels, winning 50-26; Michael Borgia decked one of Roxbury’s six top-100 wrestlers”), Livingston (“Harrison, Frayne and Kowalik pinned top Lancer wrestlers who were a combined 26-9 to lead the Pack to a 47-29 win over District 11 foe Livingston”) and St. Benedict’s 58-14.

The Roxbury West Morris Central rivalry has terrific history, with matches virtually every year.
Some of the most memorable include:

• For the 2023 conference championship https://patch.com/new-jersey/longvalley/it-s-campanaro-s-century-pack-crowned-conference-champs
• perhaps the most devastating loss in team history Controversial heartbreaker ends WMC wrestling season at 15-3 | Long Valley, NJ Patch https://share.google/KmcsBZTT6SznhM4Z2
• in the 2017 sectional semifinals: Loughney's 100th, Metzler's mark lead Wolfpack wrestlers to 18-6 | Long Valley, NJ Patch https://share.google/1Ueuo7XyZB1F8NXRU

NJ.com 1/9 group rankings:

• WMC was #10 in Group 2, with only Caldwell (#3) ranked higher in Group 2 Section 2
• WMC #5 in NWJAC

As of 1/11, from RankWrestlers:

• Deacon tied for 20th in the state with 13 pins and tech falls
• Tommy tied for fourth in state with 127 career wins (127-19), 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 127 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 7 above at 75

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

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 (a critical match for section seeding), 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.

The State Section playoffs quarterfinals and semifinals are Feb. 16 for schools that qualify. You can track WMC’s Group 2, Section 2 powerpoints (which determine playoff seeds) here, with updates expected each week.

And here’s a cheat sheet on tournament and playoff structure for the season:
Districts? Goles? Sections? AC? Oh My! A Guide to WMC Wrestling's Road to Glory

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.