Bound Brook captured 11 of 14 bouts en route to a lopsided 49-9 win over previously-unbeaten Kittatinny on Saturday in the annual Patriot Duals at North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown.
Coach John Gill's Cougars (8-1) managed just three tough decisions and lost the takedown battle -- 31-6 -- as the Crusaders (13-1) certainly staked their claim as New Jersey's No. 2 team behind South Plainfield, which rolled to its second straight Boresch Duals title just a few miles down off Route 94 at Newton.
"I'm embarrassed," said Gill, whose 2011-12 club nearly pulled off a shocker in a 34-32 loss to Bound Brook in the Group 1 semifinals. "We wanted to see what we needed to fix [should the teams meet again in Toms River at season's end] but we would need eight different athletes. I didn't see a weakness [in Bound Brook's lineup]. We'd be lucky to squeak out two more decisions. That's why they're the state champs."
Bound Brook was simply too technically sound and too strong physically for a very good Kittatinny lineup. In fact, two of the three wins for the Cougars were narrowly wins for their opponents.
Jeison Arias' 8-5 win over Region 1 qualifier Tom Murphy to open things at 138 and Emmanuel Soto's 3-1 win over District 3 champion Nick Romyns at 145, got Bound Brook off and running to a 16-0 lead through four bouts. Joshua Ugalde -- the tournament's outstanding wrestler -- decked Connor Zandarski at 152 and Ryan Doerr mauled Dave Popek -- using a pair of third-period tilts for six back points -- in a 13-0 major at 160.
Junior Kieran Gerrity stopped the bleeding -- despite being wrapped up to stifle his own bloody nose -- as he got Kittatinny on the board with a 5-1 win over Andrew Gombas at 170. After Isaiah Soto's 16-5 waxing of Dylan Wunder at 182 -- complete with six takedowns -- the Cougars won their second and third bouts at 195 and 220 to make it 20-9.
Junior Garrett Armstrong held on -- literally -- for a 4-3 win over Aaron Saaveda, who nearly had the winning takedown in the final seconds. Senior Jake Brook -- one of the heroes in the Cougars' 35-18 win over High Point -- pulled out a 5-3 win in sudden victory against Ronald Picado in their 220-pound tussle.
Picado converted a takedown with 44 seconds left to go up 3-1, but was called for locked hands with 22 seconds remaining and gave up an escape to tie it with 12 seconds left in the third period. Brook (13-2), a third-place finisher in Region 1, got his only takedown with 21 seconds left in OT to win it.
That was all for Kittatinny, as Bound Brook won the final six bouts going away -- three pins and one technical fall victory. In a good matchup at 113, Robert Murray outlasted Kittatinny junior Christian Silva for an 8-4 win. Murray led, 5-4, after two periods and got his second takedown in the third to ice it.
"We were having some close matches -- and the next thing I knew we were losing four-point decisions," Gill said.
Sophomore Craig De La Cruz, who finished fourth in the state last year at 106, decked Kittatinny freshman Nick Klinger in 17 seconds at 120 and Nicholas Accetta closed things out with an impressive 9-2 win over talented freshman Austin Scrivani. Accetta recorded four takedowns to none in the decision.
"The kids feel it, too. They're hanging their heads," Gill said of the loss. "Today was a humbling experience."
Earlier, Kittatinny posted wins over Morristown (48-18) and West Essex (45-16) to reach the championship match. Host North Warren went 1-2 on the day -- beating Hopatcong, 48-18 in a consolation match that will also count as their NJAC Freedom Division matchup.
Gill said the Cougars were a little flat for their opener against Morristown -- understandable after Friday's big win and the early start on Saturday -- but rebounded with a nice effort against West Essex, last year's North 1, Group 2 runner-up. Gerrity, Armstrong and Brook were the only ones to go 3-0 overall.
"We looked good against West Essex," Gill said. "I thought it was our best match of the day. Hopefully there's a positive lesson from a negative experience."
(Championship)
BOUND BROOK 49, KITTATINNY 9
138 – Jr. Jeison Arias (10-3), BB, d. So. Tom Murphy (12-2), 8-5.
145 – Sr. Emmanuel Soto (12-3), BB, d. Jr. Nick Romyns (11-4), 3-1.
152 – So. Joshua Ugalde (15-2), BB, p. Sr. Connor Zandarski (6-10), :52.
160 – Jr. Ryan Doerr (11-6), BB, md. Sr. Dave Popek (8-6), 13-0.
170 – Jr. Kieran Gerrity (14-1), K, d. So. Andrew Gombas (7-6), 5-1.
182 – Jr. Isaiah Soto (10-5), BB, md. Jr. Dylan Wunder (11-4), 16-5.
195 – Jr. Garrett Armstrong (13-2), K, d. So. Aaron Saavedra (11-5), 4-3.
220 – Sr. Jake Brook (13-2), K, d. Jr. Ronald Picado (6-3), 5-3 SV.
285 – Jr. Stephen Johnson (14-2), BB, p. Jr. Tom Smith (9-3), 3:46.
106 – Jr. Gonazalo Limenza (12-3), BB, tf. Fr. Jake Van Wingerden (8-6), 15-0, 4:57.
113 – Sr. Robert Murray (12-3), BB, d. Jr. Christian Silva (11-3), 8-4.
120 – So. Craig De La Cruz (13-1), BB, p. Fr. Nick Klinger (4-10), :17.
126 – Sr. Zachary Vatalare (12-4), BB, p. Jr. Nick West (5-8), 2:53.
132 – So. Nicholas Accetta (8-6), BB, d. Fr. Austin Scrivani (10-5), 9-2.
Outstanding Wrestler Award -- Joshua Ugalde, Bound Brook.
Records -- Bound Brook 13-1; Kittatinny 8-1.
(Third-place)
West Essex 54, Mendham 11
(Fifth-place)
Morristown 46, North Warren 26
(Seventh place)
Pequannock 43, Hopatcong 25
SEMIFINALS
BOUND BROOK 61, MENDHAM 9
138 – Jeison Arias, BB, p. Devon Maurer, 2:22.
145 – Emmanuel Soto, BB, p. Walter Atencio, 5:19.
152 – Ryan Doerr, BB, p. Philip Schlegel, 3:04.
160 – Joshua Ugalde, BB, d. Sam Button, 4-2.
170 – Tim Byrne, M, p. Andrew Gombas, 5:46.
182 – Isaiah Soto, BB, p. Alec Skaltsis, 1:43.
195 – Aaron Saavedra, BB, forfeit.
220 – Ronald Picado, BB, forfeit.
285 – Stephen Johnson, BB, d. Matt Fox, 5-2.
106 – Gonazalo Limenza, BB, p. Dylan Bluestone, :48.
113 – Robert Murray, BB, p. Chris Schlegel, 1:34.
120 – Craig De La Cruz, BB, d. Vince Pallone, 11-6.
126 – Tyler Awtry, BB, md. Cory Cohn, 9-1.
132 – Eric Friedman, M, d. Zachary Vatalare, 2-0 SV.
Records -- Bound Brook 11-1, Mendham 3-3.
KITTATINNY 45, WEST ESSEX 16
138 – Tom Murphy, K, p. Drew Pappas, 2:49.
145 – Mike Marotti, WE, d. Nick Romyns, 3-1.
152 – Carlo Zazzara, WE, md. Connor Zandarski, 13-0.
160 – Dave Popek, K, d. Joe Velardi, 4-3.
170 – Kieran Gerrity, K, p. Matt Tiritilli, 2:22.
182 – Dylan Wunder, K, d. Roberto LoCascio, 3-2.
195 – Jake Brook, K, p. Marc McDonald, 3:01.
220 – Garrett Armstrong, K, p. Matt Dignazio, :50.
285 – Tom Smith, K, p. Mark Dignazio, 1:01.
106 – Matt Jones, WE, d. Jake Van Wingerden, 12-5.
113 – Christian Silva, K, d. Mike Panzarino, 7-4.
120 – Anthony Scaglia, WE, d. Nick Klinger, 5-2.
126 – Austin Scrivani, K, p. Chris Caputo, 1:53.
132 – Mike Drumm, WE, d. Nick West, 5-3.
Records -- Kittatinny 8-0; West Essex 5-2.
QUARTERFINALS
BOUND BROOK 55, HOPATCONG 10
126 – Tyler Awtry,BB, forfefit.
132 – Nicholas Accetta, BB, d. Victor Cotto, 8-2.
138 – Jeison Arias, BB, forfeit.
145 – Emmanuel Soto, BB, d. A.J. Bongiovanni, 6-5.
152 – Ryan Doerr, BB, p. Eric Hughes, 3:23.
160 – David Fitzpatrick, BB, forfeit.
170 – Andrew Gombas, BB, d. Troy Bongiovanni, 3-1 SV.
182 – Isaiah Soto, BB, p. Tommy Donnelly, 1:11.
195 – Ronald Picado, BB, forfeit.
220 – Ryan Galdamez, BB, d. Christian Burgos, 5-4.
285 – Stephen Johnson, BB, d. Victor Burgos, 7-3.
106 – Joe Aumann, H, forfeit.
113 – Robert Murray, BB, md. Joey Ioffredo, 10-1.
120 – Joey Spaziani, H, md. Shane DeSantis, 10-1.
Records -- Bound Brook 11-1; Hopatcong 2-3.
KITTATINNY 48, MORRISTOWN 18
126 – Frank Crippen, M, d. Austin Scrivani, 6-4.
132 – Nick West, K, forfeit.
138 – David Tranfield, M, d. Kevin Jelinek, 7-4.
145 – Tom Murphy, K, p. Ismael Alvarez, 1:37.
152 – Chris Forte, M, d. Connor Zandarski, 8-7.
160 – Brandon Olsen, K, d. Kico Mataj, 9-6.
170 – Kieran Gerrity, K, p. Myles Mislavsky, 1:10.
182 – Dylan Wunder, K, p. Ben Ruddinsky, :54.
195 – Jake Brook, K, forfeit.
220 – Garrett Armstrong, K, p. Freddy Ruiz, 1:40.
285 – Tom Smith, K, p. Anthony Dembia, 4:47.
106 – Dylan Allison, M, d. Jake Van Wingerden, 6-0.
113 – Derek Campbell, M, p. Travis Wistuba, :38.
120 – Nick Klinger, K, d. Declan Patterson, 6-1.
Records -- Kittatinny 7-0; Morristown 4-3.
MENDHAM 38, NORTH WARREN 34
126 – Cory Cohn, M, p. Devon Lyons, 5:32.
132 – Eric Friedman, M, p. Nico Fluri, 1:31.
138 – Jack Norgard, NW, p. Devon Maurer, 4:23.
145 – Mason Ryzoff, NW, p. Walter Atencio, 1:52.
152 – Philip Schlegel, M, md. Anthony Duardo, 17-6.
160 – Sam Button, NW, md. Johnny Hayes, 12-2.
170 – Tim Byrne, M, p. Vincent Rucereto, 2:52.
182 – Joseph Frumolt, NW, p. Raymond Katz, 5:47.
195 – Greg Galante, NW, md. Alec Skaltsis, 13-4.
220 – Colin Mayer, NW, p. Stephen Sauerman, 3:32.
285 – Matt Fox, M, p. Will O’Connell, 1:24.
106 – Zach Jones, NW, d. Dylan Bluestone, 7-5.
113 – Chris Schlegel, M, p. Gino Fluri, 3:38.
120 – Matt Ritchie, NW, d. Vince Pallone, 10-4.
Records -- Mendham 3-2, North Warren 1-4.
Semifinal
West Essex 44, Pequannock 24
Consolation scores
North Warren 48, Hopatcong 18
Morristown 34, Pequannock 33
That was a painful read for someone who was in Kitt's corner.
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