Behind 11 champions, Delbarton wrestling claims 15th straight Morris County title
MOUNT OLIVE – Jack Myers has a much clearer understanding of where he stands as a wrestler compared to last year.
The Morristown senior learned quite lot about himself in the 10 months since finishing third in last season’s state tournament. Besides the obvious physical skill needed to compete at a high level, Myers honed in on the intangible assets necessary to elevate his game.
Myers was able to put it all together on Saturday and the result was his first Morris County Tournament title in front of a packed crowd at Mount Olive High School.
“That third place finish in the state last year proved that I was in there with the best and I deserved to be there. It was the most important thing for me," said Myers, who defeated Delbarton’s Trevor Jones, 7-1 to secure the 144-pound title.
That mental aspect of the match where I had to be there mentally in order to be there physically. It propelled me to get better. My growth has been tremendous. Just learning about every single aspect that can make me the best like diet, speed, nutrition. Not just wrestling hard every day, it’s more about the process.”
More: Final results from 2024 Morris County Tournament wrestling
Myers won four matches over two days en route to the championship. He recorded three falls in his first three matches, including a 16-1 technical fall over Anthony Caponegro of Parsippany Hills in the semifinals. He was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
“I had trouble riding him [Jones] last year and I wasn’t sure if I could get him down,” Myers said. “So, I knew I had to get some on my feet. I stayed smart neutral and got my offense to where I needed it.”
Myers was one of 10 new champions crowned on Saturday. Delbarton's Daniel Jones (120), Alessio Perentin (165), and Louis Cerchio (175) all won their third titles and senior Connor Martin (285) won his second-straight.
Green Wave rolls on
Paced by 11 individual champions, Delbarton stormed to its 15th consecutive team title. The Green Wave lapped the 22-team field, finishing with a team-high 381.5 points, outdistancing second-place Mount Olive (221.5) and third-place Jefferson (147).
Delbarton went 11-of-12 in the championship round as Cameron Sontz (106), Ryan DeGeorge (126), Chase Quenault (132), Jayden James (138), Gabe Logan (150), C.J. Betz (157), and Vincent Lee (215) won titles.
Perentin, who won a state title last March in Atlantic City, noticed a big difference with this year’s team.
“Our team this year is so much more family oriented” said Perentin, a Clark resident. “We’ve been working together for months before the season started, which is something we’ve never done before. We’re a lot closer than what we’ve been in the past.”
Added Jones, “This tournament is a great way to get in matches. Everyone fights tough. I use this as a learning experience. These matches are a great way to correct mistakes and improve on areas in general.”
Mount Olive's home cooking
Tyeler Hagensen wowed the home crowd when he scored a 9-5 win over James McGinty of Parsippany Hills in the 113-pound final.
The victory was extra special for Hagensen. It was his 100th career win and his second MCT title in the last three years.
“I knew I was a lot bigger than a lot of the others as I cut down from 120 pounds. Everyone came here to compete, but my pace has been really good lately and I’ve been working hard in the room,” Hagensen said. “When my mom told me that my 100th win lined up, I was really excited. It never really lines up that perfectly.”
In the main event, Hagensen’s teammate Tyler Bienus won his first county title when he defeated rival and two-time defending champion Vincenzo LaValle of Hanover Park, 3-0 at 190 pounds.
It was the second meeting of the season in as many weeks between Bienus and LaValle, who met in a third-place match at the Escape the Rock Tournament where LaValle earned a 4-3 win.
“The last time we wrestled, the third period was my problem. I was gassed in the third period," Bienus said. "This time in the first period I was able to control myself. I wasn’t going too hard so I could keep gas in my tank for the third period. The day after I lost we were watching film and analyzing everything about the match and what I could do better. We did it. This time I set up on top specifically and worked the first period to save myself.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wrestling: Behind 11 champions, Delbarton wins 15th straight MCT title
