WMC Wrestling Wins Two at Del Val, Borgia Now 13-0

1/5/25

By David Yaskulka
Photos from Jen Sheppard, Sheryl Reed

Coach Chris Marold’s West Morris Central wrestlers won two of three matches at the Delaware Valley quad Saturday, topping Kittatinny and Morris Knolls, while falling to the home team Jan. 4. The squad is now 4-3.

“The team is getting stronger,” said sophomore state medalist Brody Neill, who was 4-0 on the week at 120 lbs. “I can't wait for sectionals to see how the team can do,” he said, referring to the team playoffs February 10-16.

Freshman phenom 190 pounder Chris Kowalik, also 4-0 this week, echoed Neill’s sentiment. “The team is always putting in the effort during practice. I also can't wait for the playoffs.”

Junior captain Tommy Borgia, now 13-0, has still not had an opponent who could last into the third period, despite already facing wrestlers ranked #35, #51, #65 and #81 (out of 1,021, RankWrestlers.com). The heavyweight added four more early pins on the week.

Friday night Jan. 3 , state #19 Caldwell topped the Pack in Chester.

Senior captain Mark Montuore, dropping to 113 lbs. after wrestling up at 126, provided three dominant wins this week, losing only to #5 ranked Carmine Sipper.

Michael Borgia (215) also went 3-1 with two pins. Freshman Jonathan Cabarle (144) finished strong with two consecutive pins.

Neill and Frayne Lead Pack Over Knolls 45-23, with Key Wins from Cabarle and Beyer

Morris Knolls brought five top-100 wrestlers to the dual, but Neill pinned the best of them, junior Nate Gomes, and freshman Deacon Frayne (175) topped another, sophomore Kaden Montoya by 10-3 to lead the way for the Pack, defeating the Golden Eagles 45-23.

Once again Kowalik and the Borgia boys provided wins up top, staking WMC to a 15-0 lead.

After freshman Jacob Reed (106) lost a minor to another Knolls top grappler, the Pack streaked again behind pins from Montuore and Neill, and a powerful Mason Vazquez (126) 11-7 decision over top-150 junior Sam Allen.

Montuore’s pin came after he “hit a high crotch to turk which is something we drill all the time, so it was good seeing it in action,” he said.

Cabarle delivered a statement pinfall over senior Ryan Perno, who came in with a 6-3 record. He was soon followed by Kurtis Beyer (150) providing six of his own for the Pack.

Frayne ended the match with a headlock. “That move definitely runs in the family,” Michael Borgia said, referring to Frayne’s brother and all-time WMC pins leader Henry Frayne.

Montuore and Harrison Lead WMC Over Kittatinny 54-22 as Reed, Hurst and Fazzino Impress

Montuore pinned #47 ranked freshman phenom Kyle White, and Jacob Harrison (132) put on a clinic to tech #60 ranked junior Nikolas Martinez, as WMC won 10 of 14 bouts to dominate Kittatinny 54-22.

Reed, Hayden Hurst (144) and Robert Fazzino (165) all took down strong (top-180) wrestlers , Reed by pin and Fazzino by tech. Cabarle added an impressive 43 second pin for the Pack.

The Borgia boys and Kowalik remained dominant up top, delivering the maximum 18 points in their three weight classes, while Neill delivered a first period tech fall.

Montuore loved “Mikey’s lat drop, saying Borgia’s “hit it a few times and it gets me really pumped up everytime.” The lateral drop is a takedown move where a wrestler uses their upper body control to leverage their opponent's weight, pulling them off balance and dropping them to the mat behind them.

WMC won 10 of 14 bouts.

Montuore, Neill and Borgia Have Strong Wins in 46-23 Loss to Del Val

Michael Borgia led off with a nail biting 10-9 win over a top-150 grappler, using a Merkle (an arm lock reaching around the opponent’s near arm, gaining control by applying pressure). “It was one of my dad's (now my coach) favorite moves throughout his career, which made it cool to do with him in my corner,” said Borgia, referring to coach Tom Borgia.

Montuore, Tommy Borgia and Neill bested top-100 ranked Del Val wrestlers, the Wolfpack jumped to a 20-4 lead over the hometeam Terriers.

But Del Val’s powerful middleweights put together eight consecutive victories, led by #1 ranked undefeated state medalist and Puerto Rican U17 World Team competitor Jaden Perez at 132. Terrier wins included an upset and wins in every swing-bout, prevailing 46-23 on their way to a quad sweep Jan. 4.

Just as he did the previous night against Caldwell, Kowalik finished the match on a high note for the Wolfpack faithful, prevailing 15-13 in a barn burner.

#19 Caldwell Conquers Pack 48-20 Despite Big Wins From Garcia, Kowalik, and Neill

Tommy Borgia’s 3:30 pinfall in the second bout tied the score, but it was mostly Caldwell after that, as the powerhouse Chiefs prevailed 48-20 in front of a large Wolfpack home crowd Jan. 3.

Neill had the most impressive win of the night, pinning #24 ranked senior District finalist Dom Holler.

Sophomore John Garcia (157) was dominant, putting on a clinic against a Caldwell senior for a 20-5 tech fall. And Kowalik sent the Wolfpack crowd home cheering with an impressive 4-3 gut-check victory over #84-ranked junior District finalist Nick Mignone for the final Pack points.

Caldwell’s lineup is dangerous top-to-bottom, with more than half their starters (who all won, except Holler) ranked in the top 50. Frayne came within a blink of an eye of topping their third-best grappler, #17 senior Jake Simone, as the rookie’s frantic shot attempts before the buzzer fell just short, losing 9-8.

Wolfpack underdogs also had valiant efforts going the distance, including Vazquez, Harrison, and Cabarle.

Last season, Caldwell topped WMC 45-27 despite big wins from Tommy Borgia, Montuore, Harrison, Fazzino and AJ Codella.

Randolph JV Tournament

Alex Dymnicki and Antonio Montella earned bronze medals, placing third at the Randolph JV Tournament on Sunday. Randolph tournament medals are often a harbinger of Wolfpack varsity success to come.

Borgia’s Dominance

Tommy Borgia’s current streak of 12 consecutive max-points bouts (11 pins, one forfeit) may be the longest in team history. For context, NCAA and four-time NJ state champion Anthony Ashnault, who was 170-0 in his dominant NJ career, never had more than 10 max-points bouts in a row. Jesse Windt delivered at least 11 in a row for the Pack.

A wrestler can win a maximum of six points for his team, accomplished by pin or by accepting a forfeit. If a coach is short of wrestlers, he’ll try to forfeit to the other team’s best wrestlers.

"The team is coming together well," said Borgia. "Work ethic on the room is on the come up and we are all working hard to get to where we want to be. Goals are set and the plan is in motion. We are all very excited."

W and Ls

Marold’s squad is one of the deepest in WMC history, with 18 different grapplers getting their arms raised already this season. Fourteen have three or more victories.

Tommy Borgia leads the team at 13-0, followed by Neill (10-2), Kowalik (10-3), Frayne (10-5), Jacob Harrison (9-5), Montuore (8-4), and Michael Borgia (7-3).

Seniors have contributed only eight victories, all from Montuore.

Juniors have 28 wins, behind both Borgias, Fazzino (4-8), Hayden Hurst (3-5) and two-time region qualifier Jacob Fahmi (1-2).

Sophmores have provided 34 wins behind Neill, Harrison, Beyer (5-9), Garcia (4-9), Vazquez (4-10) and Jack Sheppard (2-2).

Freshmen Reed (5-8) , Cabarle (4-4), Frayne and Kowalik have combined for 29.

That’s 63 wins from underclassmen, and 36 from upperclassmen!

Rankings Update

FullCircle on 12/30 ranked Neill #8, and Borgia #10. NJWrestle.com on 1/1 has both “on the bubble" (around 12th).

FloWrestling likes to keep Neill at 113 and Borgia at 215, where they are 5th and 10th in NJ respectively.

RankWrestlers com has Neill #11 and Borgia #5. Big movers since Goles include Jacob Harrison rising to #38, Frayne to #64, Kowalik #91, and Michael Borgia entering the top 100 at #94 (roughly top 20%). Hayden Hurst jumped to 176, Garcia to 240, Beyer to 259, and Wagner to 279. This week’s matches are not included in these rankings.

Next Up

WMC visits NJ #1 Delbarton Jan. 7, is home facing Morris Hills Jan. 9, and visits Roxbury Jan. 11. for a quad also facing Livingston and St. Benedicts. The team then travels to Mt. Olive Jan. 15, Passaic Valley Jan 18, and Sparta Jan 21, before the much-anticipated Morris County Tournament at Mt. Olive Jan. 24-25, where perennial parochial champion Delbarton will not be competing. Delbarton’s dominance has long been controversial since they bring many wrestlers from outside the county to become our county champs.

WMC returns home to face High Point Jan 28, and Immaculata Feb. 1.

Sectional (team) playoffs are February 10-16 for schools that qualify.

All schools’ starting wrestlers compete in the district individual championships Feb 22, with WMC in District 11 at Nutley, also facing Belleville, Glen Ridge, Governor Livingston, Kearny, Livingston, Montclair, Verona and West Orange.

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

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.