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    Josh Lowe •

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    Suriano achieves perfection, Bergen Catholic has 4 champs

    The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling championships concluded on Sunday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Etching his name clearly into the legend of Garden State wrestling was Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic), who won his fourth state title, finishing off his career with a record of 159-0. Suriano, ranked No. 1 nationally at 126 pounds, upended No. 9 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) 3-1 in the state final; it was a second straight state finals victory for Suriano over 2014 state champion Agaisse.

    Nick Suriano was one of four Bergen Catholic wrestlers to win a state title this past weekend in Atlantic City
    In addition to Suriano, three additional Crusaders repeated as state champions on Sunday. No. 4 Shane Griffith, just a sophomore, rallied to earn a 4-2 overtime victory over No. 18 Michael Van Brill (Clearview) at 138 pounds. In another showdown of ranked wrestlers, No. 6 Kevin Mulligan knocked off No. 16 Dean Drugac (Morris Knolls) 5-1 in the 195 pound final. Also winning his second title was No. 10 Joe Grello at 170 pounds.

    The fifth repeat champion of the tournament was No. 10 Brandon Cray (Steinert), who beat No. 3 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park) 5-2 in the final. It should be noted that Raimo had the much tougher path to the final, having to beat both No. 17 Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial) and returning state champion No. 16 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic) in order to make the final; it was 9-3 in the quarterfinal over Ghione, and 3-1 in the semifinal over Angelo, who had won his title at Hanover Park last year.

    The other wrestler seeking to defend his title was No. 5 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep) at 160 pounds, who was also runner-up at state as both a freshman and sophomore. However, Bierdumpfel was upset 3-2 in the final by Kyle Cochran (Paramus), an opponent he had beaten in both the regular season and in the district final.

    In addition to the trio of champions from Bergen Catholic, and also Brandon Cray, who beat fellow nationally ranked opponents to earn their title, the final at 113 pounds pitted ranked wrestlers against one another. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers Academy) recovered from a third period deficit to pin No. 5 Patrick Glory (Delbarton) at the 5:59 mark in the championship match, which was a rematch of the pre-season Super 32 Challenge final; said result condemned the sophomore Glory to a second straight runner-up finish. Rivera also had to beat No. 10 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) 6-3 in the semifinal round.

    Other nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles at Boardwalk Hall on Sunday were No. 15 Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook) at 145 pounds, No. 9 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) at 152, and No. 3 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross) at 220.

    Capping off an undefeated season to win their state titles were Joe Manchio (Seneca) at 106 pounds and Zack Firestone (Clearview) at 132. Manchio upset No. 2 JoJo Aragona (Pope John) 3-0 in the semifinal round. Rounding out the state champions were Brandon Kui (DePaul Catholic) and Eric Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep), the pair of juniors ascending to the top of the podium at 182 and 285 respectively.
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