TOMS RIVER -- One really was a lonely number for the Delaware Valley and Kittatinny wrestling teams.
In two of the most exciting matches of the day, both came down to the final bout as Delaware Valley dropped a 29-28 decision to Emerson-Park Ridge in the Group 2 final, while Kittatinny lost a 28-27 heartbreaker to Paulsboro in the Group 1 final on Sunday at Pine Belt Arena.
Kittatinny (18-2), which was seeking its first state title since 2008 and the program's ninth overall, watched a 24-2 lead midway through slip away as Paulsboro (18-1) won six of the last seven and the last four in a row to secure its 30th Group 1 championship.
"We had a great year getting to the finals," said veteran coach John Gill, whose program became just the seventh in New Jersey history to win at least 20 sectional titles on Friday. "We had leads late in matches disappear. We were close. We have to pick up the pieces somehow."
Adding to the disappointment was a controversial call during the final bout at 126 pounds, where Kittatinny sophomore Calvin Brook dropped a 4-3 decision to Rick Eli. Brook was awarded a takedown with 43 seconds left in the first period, but Eli got a reversal late to tie the score at 2. But officials Doug Hesse and Ron Fazio conferred and took Brook's points off the board. Needless to say, the decision to remove the points as well as the explanation from the officials did not sit well with Gill or the Kittatinny fans.
"[Hesse] said his partner took it away," said Gill, whose team was looking to avenge a 37-25 loss to Paulsboro in the 2011 Group 1 final. "I'm not a big fan of the two-referee system. This hurts so bad to make it to Feb. 14 and come up short."
Paulsboro, which had dropped its last two finals appearances in 2014 and '15, was on the ropes when Dylan Minter (152) and Taylor Molfetto (160) came through with key decisions, followed by Josh Klimek's 9-7 win in sudden victory at 170. Freshman Zach Mafaro's quick pin at 182 gave the Cougars a 22-point lead through seven bouts.
At 160, Paulsboro lost a team point when Anthony Morina shoved Molfetto in the center of the mat after a 7-4 loss. The penalty occurred since the shove came after the conclusion of the bout. Yet, rules interpreter Roy Dragon had to sprint over to the table to make sure the point was deducted off the scoreboard. Apparently, Hesse and Fazio were unclear. Yet another embarrassing scene.
Things started to go south for Kittatinny when senior Luke DeGroat was pinned with just 47 seconds left at 195, while Nick Simpson also gave up six in a wild first period with Josh Bailey at 220. That bout was tied at 3 early on. Senior Griffin Waldron righted the ship with a 5-3 win over Frank Mooney at 285, meaning the Cougars needed just one more win in the final four bouts to secure the championship.
But it wasn't to be.
Delaware Valley (20-5), which was seeking its eight Group 2 championship and first since 1999, saw its fortunes turn when sophomore Kyle Lightner dropped an 8-5 decision at 182 in the fourth bout against Emerson-Park Ridge (23-2), which became the first public school in Bergen County to win a state title. Longtime coach Stan Woods, who recently went over the 700-win mark, finally got over the hump after two previous losses in the 1984 and '86 Group 1 finals.
Down 15-0, the Terriers got on the board with Kyle Schlittler's pin at 195. Del Val won three of the next four, including a key 4-3 decision by Ethan Kendzulak at 285. A forfeit to AJ DeRosa tied the score at 18 with five bouts left.
But the Cavos pulled ahead 25-18 with a 6-1 win by talented freshman Luke Mazzeo at 120 and an 8-0 major by state qualifier Paco Robles at 126. Del Val, which topped Collingswood, 33-24 in the semifinals, stayed in the hunt with Matt Kolonia's somewhat surprising pin at 132, before state placewinner Sam Schneider's 20-10 major decision over Connor Mills gave Emerson-Park Ridge a 29-24 lead with one to go.
In the final bout at 145, with Phillipsburg cheering on Del Val from the adjacent mat after winning the Group 4 title, junior Rhys Zigich brought the crowd to its feet for a fleeting moment when he started to turn Josh Lewis with a power half. But Zigich settled for an 11-2 win and Emerson-Park Ridge, which reached the finals with a 41-25 win over Lenape Valley, began its championship celebration. Del Val is now 0-5 in the finals -- also losing to Kittatinny in 2001, '02, '05 and '06 -- since winning its last title in '99.
GROUP 1 FINAL
PAULSBORO 28, KITTATINNY 27
132 -- Sr. Nick Klinger (28-2), K, d. Jr. Joey Perez (11-6), 8-6.
138 -- Sr. Austin Scrivani (28-1), K, p. Jr. Sam Giordano (22-9), 2:58.
145 -- Fr. George Worthy (17-7), P, d. Sr. Jake Vanwingerden (18-10), 7-3.
152 -- Jr. Dylan Minter (17-10), K, d. Fr. Santino Morina (25-5), 3-2.
160 -- Sr. Taylor Molfetto (20-6), K, d. Fr. Anthony Morina (22-6), 7-4.
170 -- Jr. Josh Klimek (24-5), K, d. Sr. Brian Richards (14-9), 9-7 SV.
182 -- Fr. Zach Mafaro (22-6), K, p. Fr. George Taylor (3-9), :44.
195 -- Sr. Zach Richard (18-5), P, p. Sr. Luke DeGroat (13-15), 5:13.
220 -- Jr. Josh Bailey (16-10), P, p. Sr. Nick Simpson (12-13), 1:33.
285 -- Sr. Griffin Waldron (7-9), K, d. Jr. Frank Mooney (15-10), 5-3.
106 -- Fr. Geno Duca (16-8), P, tf. Fr. Derek Molfetto (10-17), 26-10, 5:45.
113 -- Sr, Nick Duca (26-4), P, d. Jr. Mark DiGeronimo (21-6), 10-7.
120 -- Jr. Anthony Duca (26-4), P, d. So. Perry Maio (19-10), 9-2.
126 -- So. Rick Eli (14-10), P, d. So. Calvin Brook (18-10), 4-3.
Records -- Kittatinny 18-2; Paulsboro 18-1.
SEMIFINALS
KITTATINNY 42, POINT PLEASANT BEACH 21
126 -- So. Calvin Brook (18-9), K, p. So. Jared Hoeler (13-14), 4:15.
132 -- Sr. Nick Klinger (27-2), K, md. Jr. Rodman Rupp (18-8), 18-4.
138 -- So. Mike Callahan (1-0), K, p. So. Danny Savage (7-9), 1:28.
145 -- Sr. Austin Scrivani (27-1), K, md. Sr. John Finnerty (27-2), 18-7.
152 -- Sr. Giancarlo Crivelli (29-1), PP, d. Jr. Dylan Minter (16-10), 5-3.
160 -- Sr. Taylor Molfetto (19-6), K, p. So. Jimmy Sherlock (18-11), 4:20.
170 -- Jr. Josh Klimek (23-5), K, d. Sr. Ryan Franzoni (9-12), 6-0.
182 -- Jr. Jack Baker (12-3), PP, p. Fr. Zach Mafaro (21-6), :44.
195 -- Sr. Luke DeGroat (13-14), K, d. Jr. Cody Liguori (12-12), 6-5.
220 -- Jr. Cade Watkins (14-5), PP, p. Sr. Nick Simpson (12-12), 1:29.
285 -- Sr. Forrest Gardner (24-2), PP, d. Sr. Griffin Waldron (6-9), 7-2.
106 -- So. Will Jarvis (19-9), PP, d. Fr. Derek Molfetto (10-16), 6-2.
113 -- Jr. Mark DiGeronimo (21-5), K, p. Jr. Dominick Waldman (5-14), :11.
120 -- So. Perry Maio (19-9), K, md. So. Jude Lovegren (15-11), 8-0.
Records -- Kittatinny 18-1; Point Pleasant Beach 18-5.
GROUP 2 FINAL
EMERSON-PARK RIDGE 29, DELAWARE VALLEY 28
152 -- Sr. Michael DiBella (25-7), EPR, d. Jr. Chase Bauberger (19-11), 9-6.
160 -- Fr. Jonah Schechtman (23-11), EPR, d. Jr. Sean Lessig (14-12), 7-2.
170 -- Sr. Jordan Giacomelli (29-5), EPR, p. Fr. Shawne Ramsby (7-12), :23.
182 -- Jr. Josh Lewis (22-3), EPR, d. So. Kyle Lightner (18-4), 8-5.
195 -- Sr. Kyle Schlittler (29-3), DV, p. Sr. John Inglese (6-12), 2:50.
220 -- So. Shane Carcich (17-10), EPR, d. So. Joe Pandy (7-4), 11-4.
285 -- Sr. Ethan Kendzulak (10-10), DV, d. So. Dominick Petillo (15-13), 4-3.
106 -- Jr. Dylan Uderman (12-5), DV, d. Fr. Caiden Brouwer (13-15), 6-0.
113 -- Fr. AJ DeRosa (26-8), DV, forfeit.
120 -- Fr. Luke Mazzeo (31-3), EPR, d. Sr. Vito Intili (21-13), 6-1.
126 -- Sr. Paco Robles (32-1), EPR, md. Sr. Kyle Refalvy (20-11), 8-0.
132 -- Jr. Matt Kolonia (29-4), DV, p. So. Gabe Robles (23-11), 5:03.
138 -- Sr. Sam Schneider (32-0), EPR, md. Jr. Connor Mills (16-9), 20-10.
145 -- Jr. Rhys Zigich (25-9), DV, md. Fr. Zach Lewis (24-10), 11-2.
Records -- Delaware Valley 20-5; Emerson-Park Ridge 23-2.
SEMIFINALS
DELAWARE VALLEY 33, COLLINGSWOOD 24
145 -- Sr. Christian Dolan (25-6), C, d. Jr. Connor Mills (16-8), 3-2.
152 -- Jr. Rhys Zigich (24-9), DV, md. So. Billy Plianthos (5-10), 8-0.
160 -- Sr. Colin Lex (25-7), C, d. Jr. Chase Bauberger (19-10), 8-7.
170 -- Jr. Sean Lessig (14-11), DV, d. Sr. Micah Roth (15-11), 3-2.
182 -- Jr. Nick Barnes (25-7), C, d. Fr. Shawne Ramsby (7-11), 3-1.
195 -- Jr. Michael Taulane (24-8), C, p. So. Kyle Lightner (18-3), 3:00.
220 -- Sr. Kyle Schlittler (28-3), DV, d. Sr. Dashon Burdette (25-7), 3-0.
285 -- Sr. Ryan Harper (26-4), C, p. Sr. Zach LaDuca (4-11), 1:47.
106 -- Jr. Dylan Uderman (11-5), DV, p. Fr. Avion Blount (10-11), :36.
113 -- Fr. AJ DeRosa (25-8), DV, p. Sr. Dan Havens (9-17), 5:05.
120 -- Sr. Vito Intili (21-12), DV, d. So. Joe Downing (19-10), 5-4.
126 -- Jr. Will West (15-14), C, d. Sr. Kyle Refalvy (20-10), 4-2.
132 -- Sr. Jake Moore (23-6), DV, md. So. Aaron Carter (7-12), 11-0.
138 -- Jr. Matt Kolonia (28-4), DV, md. So. Riley Onorato (17-14), 12-4.
Records -- Delaware Valley 20-4; Collingswood 20-6.
EMERSON-PARK RIDGE 41, LENAPE VALLEY 25
145 -- Fr, Zach Lewis (24-9), EPR, md. Jr. Anthony Smaha (3-2), 10-2.
152 -- Jr. Nick Palumbo (27-5), LV, md. Sr. Michael DiBella (24-7), 8-0.
160 -- Fr, Jonah Schechtman (22-11), EPR, p. Jr. Anthony DeOliveira (13-18), 3:08.
170 -- Sr. Jordan Giacomelli (28-5), EPR, md. Sr. Michael Katz (13-14), 13-4.
182 -- Jr. Josh Lewis (21-3), EPR, p. Sr. Kyle Dellosso (4-8), 1:32.
195 -- So, Shane Carcich (16-10), EPR, d. Sr. Scott Prior (10-16), 10-6.
220 -- Sr. Sam Palumbo (29-5), LV, forfeit.
285 -- Sr. Ralph Hall (23-10), LV, p. So. Dominick Petillo (15-12), 3:45.
106 -- Fr. Justin Haws (13-18), LV, d. Fr. Caiden Brouwer (13-14), 8-2.
113 -- Fr. Dominic Falleni (3-4), LV, forfeit.
120 -- Fr. Luke Mazzeo (30-3), EPR, md. Jr. Jacob Falleni (17-9), 15-3.
132 -- Sr. Paco Robles (31-1), EPR, p. Sr. Zach Merkey (14-14), :36.
138 -- Sr. Sam Schneider (31-0), EPR, tf. Sr. Aaron Arzon (14-17), 17-2, 3:40.
Records -- Lenape Valley 14-10; Emerson-Park Ridge 22-2.
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