The Marauders stormed to their second straight title with five champions and 279 team points.
Nico Gonzalez of Mount Olive gets control over Matt Morrissey of Old Tappan in the 215 pound final of the 2025 Sam Cali Battle for the Belt high school wrestling tournament in Morristown on Sunday. Gonzalez won by 17-2 technical fall.
12/28/2025Hanover Park senior Nick Defrancescantonio experienced the highs of the Morris County Tournament early on. He got to the top of the podium in his freshman year, winning the 2023 title as a 106-pounder.In defeating top-seeded Brody Neill of West Morris, Difrancescantonio won his second Morris County title and garnered Most Outstanding Wrestler on championship Saturday at Mount Olive High School. The host Marauders flexed their muscles yet again, taking home the team title with some 279 team points racked up. Mount Olive had five individual champions, while second-place West Morris – with two champions and two runners-up – finished second with 213.5 points. Hanover Park took third with 181.5 points and three winners, while Morris Hills and Morris Knolls took fourth and fifth, respectively. For the second straight year, Delbarton – which has pivoted into a national schedule after reeling off 15 titles in a row from 2009 through 2023 – did not participate. DiFrancescantonio was in a 1-1 stalemate going into the third, but two opportunities proved all the difference for him. Neill was the defending 120 pound winner from a year ago, while Difrancescantonio fell at 126. “I always want to be aggressive, and I took a few shots but nothing hit. But I had a chance to get one and completed the takedown cleanly,” explained Difrancescantonio. “I appreciate the chance to have won this again after having come up short the last two years.” Mount Olive – now the premier public school program in Morris County – has now gone back-to-back for its second MCT title in program history. “Our vision was to build this into a wrestling town, and I think we are there now,” said Mount Olive coach Sean Smyth. “You see the community support, every kid in our program here until the end. It has really call come together nicely for us.” One of Mount Olive’s top grapplers is 215-pounder Nico Gonzalez. Gonzalez used six takedowns to roll to a 19-just 3 technical fall victory over West Morris’ Decaon Frayne - the Wolfpack’s terrific running back on the gridiron - in just 1:22, to go back-to-back in that weight class. The festivities got underway at 106, where Hanover Park picked up its first county champion of the day in Alex Spagnuolo. The top-seeded Spagnuolo parlayed a takedown in the first and a reversal in the second period to defeat Dom Lombardi of Morris Hills by major decision, 8-0.At 113, state-ranked and top-seeded Parsippany Hills standout Logan Forgatch got his second MCT title with a comfortable 16-4 major victory over second-seeded Luke Manieri of Montville. Four takedowns and two points on the back made it a comfortable match for Forgatch. The county champions got their first individual winner at 120, and it came in dominant fashion. Mount Olive’s Cole Rebels, seeded fourth, took down Frank FIdel by injury default to seal up the team title. Rebels had a 9-0 lead in the second when the match was halted. In a battle of the top two seeds at 126, it was top-seeded Kristian Beres who delivered the Marauders their second county champion. Takedowns in the second and third periods allowed Beres to take a 9-3 decision over David DeFilippis of Madison. Another battle of top seeds went down at 132, this between Morristown’s Collin McDonald and Morris Hills’ Josh Levin. It was all the second-seeded Levin in that one. Levin used three take downs and two on the back – twice – to romp to a 17-2 technical victory in 2:49 to give the Scarlet Knights a county champion. Following Defrancescantonio’s big win at 138, the champions and runners-up squared off directly for the only time in the 144 pound final. And there, West Morris’ Jacob Harrison – the top seed – used a first period takedown and four on the back on offense in the second, riding that momentum all the way to a 11-0 major victory over Mount Olive’s Tommy McDonald. Chalk held in the lower into middle weights, as all matches from 113 through 144 saw No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the finals. The top two seeds went down before the finals at 150, and it was Mount Olive’s Colin Smyth who made the most of it with the first pin of the finals. Leading 10-1 in the second, Smyth was able to deck Michael Frank of Montville in 2:57 to give the Marauders their third county champion of the day. Hanover Park again flexed its hammers’ strength at 157, where top-seeded Joey Monticello had no issue winning his title. Three quick pins got him to the final, and while he was unable to deck Roxbury’s Charlie Bacinsky, Monticello used five takedowns to notch a dominant 19-2 victory by technical fall in 5:36. It was a similar story for Mount Olive’s Justin Bullock at 165. Three fast pins again saw Bullock to the final, and it appeared he was going to tech Morristown’s Evan Curnow in yet another 1 vs. 2 matchup. But Curnow took Bullock down in the third to avoid the tech, as Bullock notched an 18-7 major decision victory to give the champions their fourth individual winner. While 175 was the ninth 1 vs. 2 matchup of the day, it featured some old time Iron Hills Conference – Iron Division flare. The Morris Knolls vs. Roxbury matchup produced the best matchup of the day, and it went the way of the Golden Eagles. Luke Shivas of Knolls and Nolan Monaghan of the Gaels were tied 4-4 going into the third. Shivas chose the defensive position, and after almost two minutes of tough wrestling, escaped with five seconds left to win 5-4. Morris Hills – which has meteorically risen in Morris County wrestling circles in 12 years under the tutelage of Brian Bollette – produced another champion at 190. Frank DiMarzio used three takedowns and four back points to roll past Randolph’s lone finalist, Andrew Zeidman. When all was said and done Di Marzio notched a 16-3 victory. To round out the evening, West Morris heavyweight Tom Borgia won his second county title in a row by edging Jared Martini, 4-1. A first period takedown set Borgia ahead in that one.
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