A massive win for St Joes as they defeated the #1 ranked juggernaut Bergen Catholic. With this win they become the first St Joes team since 1998 to defeat the Crusaders, and they did it in dominant fashion winning 34-21.
Full Dual Results:
106- Nathan Braun (BC) dec Jon McGinty (SJ) 1-0
113- Mike Bautista (SJ) df Chris Nucifora (BC) Injury
120- Brian Melamud (BC) dec Vincent Paino (SJ) 4-2
126- Noah Kochman (BC) dec Jimmy Sloan (SJ) 7-0
132- Donny Almeyda (SJ) MD Riley Halal (BC) 13-5
138- August Hibler (BC) dec Mateo Sgambellone (SJ)
144- Yiannis Charles (SJ) dec Ryan Ford (BC) 6-3
150- Chris Bacchioni (BC) over Forfeit
157- Aidan Wallace (BC) dec Frank DiBella (SJ) 9-3
165- Ryan Burton (SJ) MD Eric Broadie (BC) 9-0
175- Rocco Dellagatta (SJ) dec Justin Onello (BC) 1-0
190- Mike Dellagatta (SJ) TF Leo Varga (BC) 20-5
215- Aiden Schlett (SJ) dec AJ Fricchione (BC) 3-1
285- Jimmy Mullen (SJ) pin Benji Shue (BC) 3:16
Got the chance to talk with a few guys from the St Joes team and here is what they had to say about the victory over #1 ranked Bergen Catholic and the outlook for the rest of their season.
Rocco Dellagatta
After clinching a massive win over Justin Onello who had beaten him twice last year. He says that his main goal heading into the later part of the season is to get his name out there and secure himself a spot on the podium in Atlantic City.
Mike Dellagatta
The current #1 ranked wrestler in the state put on a dominant display against the Crusaders picking up a 20-5 technical fall victory. “The win over Bergen Catholic is something that I didn’t have and I hope this continues.”
“I am ranked number one, and I look to stay number one-what you saw tonight is what you are going to see for the rest of the year, I am bringing it to everybody”
Ryan Burton
“We all wrestled great as a team, we had a slow start but really rallied back in the upper weights” is what Burton had to say as he secured a 9-0 major decision for St Joes at 165 pounds.
“For me, the top of the podium is always the goal, but I want to keep my offense going throughout the postseason and keep scoring. For our team, we need to keep working and use this as momentum for the team sectionals and keep dominating, this is just the beginning.”
Jimmy Mullen
The #1 pound for pound wrestler in the state was nothing short of dominant against Bergen Catholic as he secured a second period fall for his 100th career win. “I just love this team, they all wrestled their hearts out and they did a great job just going out there and wrestling for the team”
When asked about what the win over Bergen Catholic means to him he said that this team will go down in history as one of the best SJR teams ever after ending a 67 win streak in the county and securing their first win over BC in over 20 years.
Mullen will be looking to secure his 3rd state title this season and it will be a sight to watch. You can check out our Interview with Jim Mullen from last years state tournament below.
