DiPaolo Takes Region Silver as Pack Sweeps Quad for 10th Win

Long Valley NJ

14 February, 2022

12:58 AM

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By David Yaskulka LONG VALLEY, NJ -- 2/13/22 (2/13) West Morris Central Marisa DiPaolo took Region silver Saturday, as nine gnarly grapplers for the West Morris Central Wolfpack led the team to a 3-0 quad match sweep to finish the 2021-22 team competition. In Coach Chris Marold's first season at the helm, West Morris finishes the season 10-14, after going winless last season. Freshmen Mark Montuore (106 lbs., 23-11 record) and Brandon Dean (138, 29-4) were both undefeated this week, along with Michael Campanaro (120, 25-7), Sam Rizzuto (132, 17-3), Malachi Shepard (144, 23-7), and Dean Muttart (wrestling up at 150, 18-10). The group was a combined 21-0 in the final week of team competition. Also outstanding were Michael Ferrante (113, 25-8) and Michael Hare (126, 23-8) who were each 3-1, and Henry Frayne (215, 26-8) who was 2-1. Shepard, Dean and Campanaro had the biggest wins of the week against the toughest competition. DiPaolo Returns to State Championship, Takes Region Silver (2/12) Returning West Morris Central NJSIAA Girls bronze medalist DiPaolo continued her string of wrestling excellence, taking the silver medal at Saturday's Girls North Region championship in Somerset. The WMC senior and girls wrestling pioneer pinned promising Immaculate Conception frosh Ava Filieri in the quarterfinals, and then decked Warren Hills sophomore Olivia Raia in the semi-finals to earn silver. For the second time in a week, #1 ranked North Bergen senior Amanda Pace pinned DiPaolo in the finals for gold. DiPaolo may well have the opportunity to avenge those two losses in an anticipated state final 2/20 in Phillipsburg. Frayne UTB Victory, Montuore and Rizzuto Pins Top Belvidere Frayne outlasted one of Belvidere's best with a gutsy Ultimate Tie Breaker 3-2 overtime win to help assure a 51-30 victory for the Pack. Montuore and Rizzuto delivered pinfalls, and the Pack was the recipient of 36 points from forfeits, while only giving 12 points back. Only six bouts were actually contested. Stellar Wins from Dean and Campanaro Pace Pack to 54-30 Win Over Westfield ( 2/12) Dean decked Westfield's #17 ranked 26-2 Luke Jacobs in the second period to pace the Pack to a big 54-30 win Saturday. Campanaro had an extremely high quality win over one of Westfield's best with a late first period pin. Rizzuto took his turn, decking a 19-7 junior just before Dean delivered the exclamation point. While WMC gave up three forfeits, Westfield more than returned the favor by forfeiting five of its own. So WMC was 4-2 in the bouts wrestled. Shepard Win, Muttart Fall Deliver 37-30 Victory Over Jefferson (2/12) Jefferson, a longtime powerhouse, jumped to an 18-0 lead, including a huge pin from one of their stud heavyweights Peter Delaportis, taking out Frayne in the first. But Montuore's win over a winning-record freshman lit the Wolfpack on fire. Ferrante majored a top-75 wrestler. Campanaro put on a 17-1 clinic for a tech fall. Hare majored a 14-9 senior by 10-0. And after Dean received a forfeit, Shepard delivered a huge 14-10 victory over one of Jefferson's best, Michael VanderMuelen, who was 25-8 and ranked #61. Muttart delivered the match-deciding fall at 4:23. Cranford Tops WMC in Sectional Playoff (2/7) Despite Cranford's excellent season, it looked like WMC's strength might line up in just the right way to face Cranford's weakness for a potential upset. Sadly it didn't go that way, as three WMC forfeits became the exact score differential in WMC's 48-32 first round playoff loss. WMC bolted to a 26-0 lead. Campanaro pinned a 15-8 senior. Hare decked his opponent in one minute flat. Rizzuto majored a 15-9 junior with an 8-0 shutout. Dean pinned an 18-9 junior, and Shepard majored an 18-10 opponent. But the difference was WMC hammer Frayne being out, and Cranford's Michael Tona scoring an upset at 106 – albeit when the match was already out of reach for the Pack, to cap an eight bout 48-0 streak. Ferrante scored a third period pinfall against a 15-8 freshman to conclude the match. Pinfall Parade and Lots of Wins Dean finishes the dual meet season as the team wins leader with 29. He has Campanaro's record 37 freshman wins in his sights as the post-season begins. He's followed by Frayne, Ferrante and Campanaro, with Montuore not too far behind. Frayne (21) and Dean (20) have been dominant pinners, but a slew of teammates have also stepped up to consistently bring home six for the team, including Hare (14), Campanaro and Muttart (12 each) and Rizzuto (eight). Interestingly, eight of WMC's 14 losses on the year were within a single bout of going the other way. NJSIAA District 11 Preview Based on RankWrestlers as of 2/6, here's a preview of the weights at which WMC has a contender likely to place in the top-3 to advance to Regions. Note that rankings are different from seeding, and that some wrestlers may - - and likely will - - change weight classes. At 106, Montuore is solidly ranked third. At 113, Ferrante ranks second, but advancement is clouded by a tough four-man race. Campanaro is the favorite at 120, but that's also a four-man race. Hare is solidly ranked third at 126. Dean is a strong favorite at 132 – and his closest-ranked competition is WMC's own Rizzuto (who could sadly find himself without a weight class). Shepard solidly ranks second at 138. Muttart ranks third at 144, but it's a tightly-matched six-man race. Henry DeFrance is a dark horse at 157 – but after the likely top seed, there are no top-100 wrestlers in the class. Frayne is the solid two-seed at 220. At HWT, Shaun Seabeck ranks seventh, but the weight class – known for upsets – lacks even a single top-100 wrestler. Contributing writer David Yaskulka's day job is Senior VP, Corporate Social Responsibility at Mid America Pet Food in Mt. Pleasant, TX. He's also Board Chair of Greater Good Charities, and Board Vice Chair of the Pet Sustainability Coalition. His sons wrestled for the Pack.