There is an ideal arc to the wrestling season, and Point Pleasant Boro is following it to a tee. The closer the state tournament gets, the better the Panthers wrestle.
Key victories by senior Jack Watson at 157 pounds and freshman Greg Parani at 106 pounds highlighted a dominant performance by Point Boro, which won 10 of 14 bouts and surged to an emphatic 44-18 victory over Brick Memorial in a Shore Conference non-divisional match on Friday night in Point Pleasant.
The match carried major power point implications for both teams in their quest to secure the No. 1 seed in their respective NJSIAA Tournament sectional brackets.
Brick Memorial (13-7) entered the day occupying the top spot in Central Jersey, Group 3. The Mustangs won the first two bouts with bonus points, but Point Boro (8-5) won the next six bouts to open a commanding 28-9 lead. The Panthers finished the night with victories in 10 of the final 12 bouts, and their 26-point victory enabled them to earn the maximum of 43 power points. Point Boro entered the day third in the Central Jersey, Group 2 standings.
Aiden Willson (175), Jake Clayton (190) and Jaxin Corino (126) won by fall, while Luke Renna (150) and Talan Ronckovitz (165) delivered technical falls to lead the way for Point Boro. Parani won by major decision and Watson, Jack Scalabrini (215), Michael DeAngelo (113) and Chase Eckert (132) picked up wins by decision.
“Every time we step on the mat, we’re getting better, and you can see that in our results,” Point Boro head coach Pat Brady said. “We won almost every toss-up and close bout. When our kids are believing in themselves and wrestling until the last whistle, good things happen.”
Brick Memorial led 9-0 after freshman Christopher Delaplain won by technical fall at 138 pounds and freshman Lucas Sei won by major decision at 144 pounds. Point Boro answered when Luke Renna won by 17-2 technical fall in 3:45 at 150 pounds.
Watson’s victory at 157 was where the match began to turn in Point Boro’s favor. Facing Brick Memorial junior Jack Marotta, a region qualifier, Watson tied the score 1-1 with an escape early in the third period. He then secured the go-ahead takedown with 56 seconds left and held on for a 4-2 decision that pulled the Panthers within one point.
Marotta defeated Watson by 6-2 decision earlier this season at the Mustang Classic.
“It felt great,” Watson said. “I wrestled him earlier in the season and it didn’t end up in my favor, so to come back and give my team a good showing was huge. This time, I wanted it a lot more. It was that simple.”
“He’s a program kid,” Brady said. “His dad wrestled for the Boro, so he knows what to expect in big-time matches. Tonight was his night to come through.”
The Panthers began to roll from there.
Ronckovitz won by 15-0 technical fall in 4:16 at 165 pounds to give Point Boro a 13-9 lead. Two-time state medalist Jake Clayton weighed in at 175 pounds, up a weight from his usual spot at 165. The return of junior Aiden Willson, who had been out of the lineup since Jan. 14, gave the Panthers flexibility up top. Willson wrestled at 175 pounds and won by fall, and Clayton followed with a pin at 190. Scalabrini held off Brewer Cosgrove with an escape and a takedown in the final 20 seconds for a 10-6 decision at 215 pounds.
Additionally, senior James Bradley (175/190) weighed in for the first time this season after making his way back from a torn ACL suffered in the first game of the football season.
“We’re almost at full strength at the right time,” Brady said. “We’ve been waiting for this and our guys are showing it. They’re excited, they’re confident and they’re ready to compete.”
Brick Memorial stopped Point Boro’s run when Steven Gobraiel won by 10-1 major decision over Nico Cangiano at heavyweight.
The Mustangs had a chance to get back into the match as the lineup turned over, but Parani dumped ice water on a potential rally when he scored a 13-3 major decision over Jack Mulligan at 106 pounds.
Mulligan had the first takedown and was close to turning Parani, but then committed a locking hand violation and led 3-1 after the first period. Parani did the rest of his damage in the second period. He hit a reversal, then got to a tilt that he used to pile up 10 nearfall points. His bonus-point victory put the Panthers ahead 32-13 with four bouts remaining.
“Parani wrestles all year round and he’s been in a ton of matches,” Brady said. “When he keeps his composure and keeps competing, he’s very, very dangerous.”
At 113 pounds, DeAngelo used a takedown in the second period to defeat Paul DiMatteo, 4-1, and extend Point Boro’s lead to 35-13. Brick Memorial senior Michael Napolitano, a three-time district champion and two-time state qualifier, won by technical fall at 120 pounds. Corino beat the buzzer for a first-period pin at 126 pounds.
In the final bout of the match, Eckert defeated Brick Memorial senior Hank Mulligan, a 2024 region qualifier, 9-3, to put the finishing touches on Point Boro’s most impressive win of the season.
“I think, like coach Brady said, we’re peaking at the right time,” Clayton said. “You could tell today that we’re good under pressure.”
“We’re very confident right now,” Watson said. “I feel like every single time we wrestle a match, we just keep going up and up. Once we reach states, we’ll hit our peak.”
