Wrestling: Soldano pitches freestyle; medal recap

High Point ace Brian Soldano provided sound advice for present and future Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex wrestlers after winning his third state title on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City: If you want to be a champion, embrace freestyle wrestling.

Soldano and the other 13 champs (Cheryl Soldano).

"Being able to score on your feet is the most important in high school, especially in the state finals," said Soldano, who capped a fabulous career by joining Nick Francavilla (2009-11) as the only three-time winners for the Wildcats and earning the area's first Donald Ringler Award as the Outstanding Wrestler since Delaware Valley legend Jamie Wicks won his second title in 1988.

The area's weaknesses in the neutral position and on bottom showed over the grueling three-day event, something that's been an issue in these parts for quite some time. Soldano (38-0) didn't give up an offensive point in five state tournament victories after going 13-0 with all pins in winning four region championships.

Soldano, who won his last 75 high school bouts and logged 33 of his 99 career pins this season, is already planning for next month's Junior National trials in Nevada.

There was a bit of added High Point and state history as Soldano and Noelle Gaffney, who captured the first Sussex County girls title with her win at 165 pounds, became just the second set of male and female state champs from the same school in a season. HWS boasts both as Hunterdon Central's Brett Ungar and Stephanie Andrade were victorious at Boardwalk Hall in 2019, the first year for the girls tournament.

Soldano, who ranks ninth on the school's all-time wins list at 127-5, will be joined at Rutgers by two other state champs in Boonton's Joe Fongaro and Passaic Valley's P.J. Casale, a runner-up at 215 this season after winning a title in 2020. Fongaro, who will be Soldano's roommate at RU, is his school's second champ and first finalist since Francis Dunn won at 140 pounds in 1992. The Bombers are coached by former Kittatinny standout Dave Hughen, who also serves as the athletic director.  

Medal count

North Hunterdon captured three of the area's nine medals overall, including junior Logan Wadle, a 2021 runner-up who was the next-highest placer for HWS after Soldano with a third-place finish at 106. Junior Brendan Raley (eighth at 215) got his first medal and something to build on for next season, while senior Liam Akers, who missed last season after a seventh-place finish in 2020, capped his career with a fourth-place medal -- the 63rd in North's history. In doing so, he became only the second North heavyweight to place twice -- joining two-time runner-up Jack Delia (2010-11).

Wadle (32-7), who is 74-15 overall and will look to become North's first state champion since Ricky Frondorf went back-to-back at 152 in 2002-03, scored a 5-4 win over Mount Olive sophomore Tyeler Hagensen in their bronze medal clash. Wadle's father, Rudy, was a two-time fifth-sixth placer in 1992 and '93, as there were no fifth-place bouts contested in those years.

Raley (38-5), who came up short in the quarters, dropped a 5-0 decision to St. Joseph-Montvale's Aidan Schlett in their seventh-place bout, while Akers (39-3), 93-20 overall, was taken to his back and pinned by Paramus Catholic's Max Acciardi, the No. 2 seed and a third-place finisher in 2021, who scored a 3-2 win in the ultimate tiebreaker in a previous meeting on Dec. 28. His only other loss this season was to St. Joseph-Montvale junior Jim Mullen, who won his second state title on Saturday.

Pope John collected two medals as freshman Carson Walsh (sixth at 113) capped a fine rookie season with what could be the first of many, while senior Jack Stoll (fifth at 215) became a two-time placer after a sixth-place finish in 2021. Lenape Valley senior Daniel Haws (eighth at 126) is the Pats' first medal winner since Nick Palumbo captured the school's only state title in 2017.

Hunterdon Central senior Tanner Peake, who suffered heartbreaking losses in his semifinal and third-place bout, moved two steps higher on the podium after a sixth-place finish in 2021. Peake (40-6), a Davidson College recruit and 123-28 overall, won the rubber match against St. John Vianney's Jasiah Queen, 4-1, in the consolation semifinals. Peake avenged a 3-2 UTB loss to Queen in the District 17 finals with a 4-3 decision in their Region 5 final encounter last weekend.

Warren Hills senior Tyler McCatharn placed sixth at 285 for the second straight season to become the first two-time placer at heavyweight for the Blue Streaks since the great Dan Slack (third in 1976 and first in '77). McCatharn (38-7), who is the ninth member of the school's 100 wins club at 106-34, ran into Akers for a fourth time in their career, going 0-4 against the Lion with a 5-1 loss in the consolation semifinals.

Back points

High Point had a pretty big weekend for sure, but it could have been better. Senior Clayton Utter was seemingly on his way to the Blood Round, where his season ended the previous three seasons, when he was pancaked after building a 6-0 lead against Williamstown's John Hildebrandt in the third round of wrestlebacks at 120 pounds. Hildebrandt then took out Phillipsburg freshman Gavin Hawk with a 13-5 major en route to an eighth-place medal. Utter (23-5), who missed the early portion of the season with an injury, finished with 96 career wins and two district titles. Certainly one of the best 'Cats in recent years without a state medal.

Speaking of Hawk, you have to think he ends the Stateliners' three-year drought without a state medal at some point. That most unkind Blood Round for the locals also included losses for seniors James Day (126), Joey Innamorato (138) and David Pierson (215). Day (37-5), who went 112-32 overall, passed two-time placewinner and former head coach Dave Post (111-22 from 1999-2003) for 10th place on the school's all-time wins list with his win in the second round of consolations.

Soldano with the Donald Ringler Award.

Soldano, who gave High Point its 13th state title overall, is among 34 wrestlers in the 89-year history of the state tournament to win at least three. Francavilla and Soldano are among the seven from Sussex County, along with Pope John legend Mike Frick (1969, '71 and '72) and Newton's Robert McKeeby (1941-43), Harry Lanzi (1946-48), William Dolan (1947-49) and Don Frey (1947-49). Phillipsburg's John Barna (1980-82) is the only other HWS wrestler to win three. Hunterdon County has six two-time winners in Delaware Valley's Wicks and Brent Conly (1992-93), Hunterdon Central's Tom Gibble (1979, '81), North Hunterdon's Dave Gaunt (1970-71) and Ricky Frondorf (2002-03), and Voorhees' Lewis Fernandes (2018-19).

There have been 21 wrestlers from HWS to earn the state tournament's Outstanding Wrestler Award -- 10 from Sussex County, including eight from Newton. That list includes former High Point head coach Jan Michaels, Vernon's only state champion, who won at 148 pounds in 1979. North Hunterdon's James McCormick (1964) and Tom McGourty (1985). along with Wicks and Jeff Seagreaves (1975), Del Val's first state champ, are the four from Hunterdon County, while there have been six from Warren County, including Barna (1981-82), the only two-time recipient from the area. Washington/Warren Hills has four OWs in Mike Fucci (1945), Ron Marinelli (1952), Lee "Corky" Castner (1966) and Brad "Buzz" Castner (1974). 

Michaels, a Division I All-American at North Carolina, most recently served as an assistant coach at Passaic Tech, which produced its first finalist. Laith Hamdeh, who is also the school's first two-time placewinner, dropped a 5-2 decision to Delbarton's Andrew Troczynski in the title bout at 150.

Region 2 collected the most medals with 24, followed by Region 8 with 17 and Region 3 with 14. Next was Region 1, 4 and 7 with 12 each, followed by Region 6 with 11 and Region 5 with 10. Region 1, along with Region 3 and 6, had a tournament-best three champs, while Region 2 had two. Region 4, 5 and 7 each had one, while Region 8 had no winners.