While many wrestlers came into this past weekend’s Morris County Tournament looking for titles, Delbarton came in looking for a workout.

In case you spent the weekend on Saturn, the Green Wave came away with both.

Delbarton rolled to its record 15th straight MCT team title. They also set about prepping for bigger things — like state tournament titles. 

The MCT is a stepping stone to bigger things.  

No one knows this more than Daniel Jones, Alessio Perentin, and Louis Cerchio. All three have been on a state finals mat and are looking to make their way back to the middle of things at Boardwalk Hall Feb. 29-March 2.

With about one month to go, they sure looked primed and ready for the states at Mount Olive.

Jones (120), a 2020 state champion, pinned Hanover Park’s Nick DeFrancescantonio in 5:40. He also flattened Mendham’s Rafe Fonte in 2:34 and tecked Morris Hills’ Josh Levin, 25-10 (2:00).

“The tournament is a great way to get in matches,” Jones said. “Everyone fights tough, I used this as a learning experience. These matches are a great way to correct mistakes and improve on areas in general.”

Perentin (165), a returning state champion, needed just 18 seconds to flatten Morris Knolls Gavin Gomes. He also tecked Hanover Park’s Nando Ott, 19-4 (3:03) and pinned Mountain Lakes’ Michael Mucci in 1:42.

Perentin said afterwards that he was looking to score points at the MCT. Delbarton’s schedule has been so imposing that he wanted to get back into the flow of attacking and scoring points.

Perentin said that this year’s Green Wave team took advantage of a state-of-the-art wrestling room on the Delbarton campus.

“We’d been working together for months before the season started, which is something we’d never done before,” he said. “We’re a lot closer than what we have been in the past. We’re a lot more family oriented.”

The extra work has sure helped Perentin, who suffered an ACL injury after last season.

Cerchio (175), another returning state champ, built a 7-1 lead and then pinned Mount Olive’s Nicolas Gonzalez in 1:26. Cerchio also tecked Madison’s Jack McCaffrey in the semifinals, 21-5 (2:00) and pinned Morris Hills’ Ayden Gomez in 1:36.

“I wanted to use technique,” Cerchio said. “Our room is such a great learning environment. Guys in our room come from all different clubs from around the state and we share what we learn. (Daniel and Trevor) Jones use more technique and I work with them to better my technique. We’re all brothers, doing whatever we can to help one another.

The Green Wave captured 11 weight classes.  Other champions included Cameron Sontz (106), Ryan DeGeorge (126), Chase Quenault (132), Jayden James (138), Gave Logan (150), C.J. Betz (157), Vin Lee (215), and Connor Martin (Hwt.).

5 MCT takeaways

1. How many state championships can Delbarton win? Last year, they tied the modern-day state record with four (Perentin, Cerchio, Simon Ruiz, and Tyler Vazquez) and set a record with five finalists (Daniel Jones). Assistant coach Guy Russo puts up a number in the wrestling room with the team-wide goal for state championships. Back in the days of Mike Grey (the first NJ wrestler to have ever won four state titles) and Antonio Mangione (two state titles), that number would be one. 

This year, that number is 7. 

Jones, Perentin, and Cerchio are three that have the best chances. Cameron Sontz (106), Ryan DeGeorge (126), Chase Quesnault (132), Jayden James (138), Trevor Jones (138), Gabe Logan (150), C.J. Betz, (157), Vincent Lee (215), and Connor Martin (Hwt.) are others who are in the hunt.

2. There was talk that the MCT would move to Morris Knolls last year, but that was just an unfounded rumor. Fake News! Mount Olive has proven itself to be a terrific host.  There was also talk that the MCT would go to a one-day format, but there are simply too many teams (23) to squeeze everything into an all-Saturday event. Besides, is there anything wrong with having it for two days? There is something cool about Friday night at the county tournament (and Friday night at the districts, but that is a story for another time).

3. Gotta be honest here: I personally loved the MCT finals held with matches for third and fifth at 2:30. It was nice to be home for dinner! But the finals seemed to lack any juice. I covered the Union County finals a few times and Union County holds its finals in the same fashion. The powers that be should move the finals back to 6:30 … one mat in the center of the gym.

4. Things are looking up for Mount Olive, which stands an excellent chance of not only winning its section but going all the way and winning Group IV  for the second time in three years. Other Morris County schools to have won a state Group champion include Jefferson (1992-93-94), Randolph (1993), Delbarton (2011), Hanover Park (2015) and Montville (2020).  

5. In case you missed it, West Morris’ Brandon Dean, one of the state’s best at 144, has moved to Colorado.