DePaul wins 6th straight Passaic County wrestling championship by Kevin Czerwinski special to The Record
WEST MILFORD – While some of the teams in Saturday’s Passaic County Coaches Wrestling Tournament may have felt that this was finally the year that DePaul could be knocked from its perch, the Spartans once again proved otherwise.
Keith Karsen’s team placed six wrestlers in the finals at West Milford High School, came out with six victories in those matches and easily won its sixth consecutive Passaic County team title. DePaul (197 points) outdistanced second-place Wayne Valley (166), which held a 56-52 lead heading into the semifinals and consolation rounds. Passaic Valley (152) finished third.
Michael Esposito (120 pounds), Nicky Cabanillas (126), Luke McFadden (138), Ricky Cabanillas (145), Connor O’Neil (152) and Michael Pillot (182) all won titles for the Spartans. Nicky Cabanillas was a repeat champion, winning last year at 132 pounds, while O’Neil picked up his second-consecutive crown after taking home the 120-pound crown last year.
“This year, people doubted us,” Karsen said. “We haven’t had full rosters for dual meets so we’ve had a couple of losses. We’ve had some guys out. That’s not an excuse. But it gives people hope they can knock us off here. We’re a good tournament team.
“We’ve been forfeiting three or four matches in dual meets but today we filled all but two weights. We had three or four kids wrestle above their seeds today and that’s what you look for. We came in figuring we had six or seven chances [of winning titles]. Everyone wrestled well. If the kids do what they are supposed to do, it will happen.”
Top-seeded Nicky Cabanillas had one of the more interesting bouts in the finals, going against second-seeded Trevor Fleet of West Milford. Fleet was the runner-up last year at 126 pounds and advanced to the State finals in Atlantic City. Yet, Cabanillas was able to wear him down and earn a 10-5 victory.
“He [Fleet] was tougher than my match last year,” Nicky Cabanillas said. “The kid was aggressive. I had to stay on offense. I wanted to get him and I got him.”
The top-seeded O’Neil, meanwhile, injured his left ankle in the semifinals and was clearly hobbled but had little trouble earning a 13-4 victory over No. 2 Reid Colella of Wayne Valley.
“This one was much tougher than last year,” O’Neil said. “Last year I was so much bigger than everybody. This year the competition was harder at 152 and the kid [in the final] was good. I was happy with my shots and my offense today.”
Wayne Valley’s Nick Trani (195), who earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors, and Pompton Lakes’ Drew Flynn (285) each won a second consecutive title. Dan Murphy (170) and Hunter Davis (106) also won titles for Wayne Valley while Thomas Marretta (220), Jeremy Galletta (160) and Jordan Sconciafurno (132) each won titles for Passaic Valley.