Hanover Park wrestlers Nick DeFrancescantonio and Joey Monticello have a lot in common – more than you think.
Especially this year.
Both walked away with Morris County Tournament championships Saturday.
Both are likely to do damage at Boardwalk Hall in March.
Both are being watched … in their own wrestling room.
Hornets freshman teammate Alex Spagnuolo won a county title as well. So how is he learning how to compete on the varsity level?
By watching DeFrancescantonio and Monticello every day.
Say this for Spagnuolo: He has great taste in role models.
Both seniors are more than willing to set the tone in the Hanover wrestling room.
DeFrancescantonio won the MCT’s Outstanding Wrestler by virtue of his 7-2 victory over West Morris returning state qualifier and top-seeded Brody Neill. DiFrancescantonio had two pins leading up to the finals, flattening Boonton’s Isa Kupa (1:16) and Morris Hills’ Andrew Mucci (3:38).
“This is all a new thing to me as a senior captain,” DeFrancescantonio said. “Vin (LaValle, last year’s captain) was a good captain and such a good leader. I’d be quiet so I had to take it on this year.”
Monticello, meanwhile, tecked Roxbury’s returning MCT finalist and Atlantic City qualifier Charlie Bacinsky (19-2, 5:36). Monticello, a Don Bosco transfer, pinned Morris Knolls’ Tyler Kot in the semifinals (1:55) after decking West Morris’ John Garcia in the quarters (25 seconds) and Parsippany Hills’ Michael Fox (16 seconds).
“I want to be a role model, 100 percent,” Monticello said. “I like to treat everyone the same, be kind to all. Being kind is free.”
Spagnuolo is getting a wrestling education in his first year as a Hornet.
“I definitely learn from them,” Spagnuolo said. “Nicky deserved OW. Nick wrestled and waited for his shots and took good shots. Joey Mont is like a bull,really strong, and he went at a good pace, with speed and strength.
“They wrestle different styles and I try and use both when I wrestle.”
Whatever Spagnuolo does is working. The 106-pounder was clearly the best at his weight as he
majored Morris Hills’ Dom Lombardi in the MCT final, 8-0. Earlier, Spagnuolo tecked Morristown’s Grayson Rivera in the semifinals, (18-3, 3:28) and tecked Morris Knolls’ Jayden Parrage in the quarters, (18-3, 3:59).
“It was great,” Spagnuolo said. “As a freshman wrestling some older kids this shows where I am right now and where I have come to and the progress I’ve made.”
Spagnuolo has been wrestling for about eight years. His dad, Ernie, was a Hanover standout for legendary coach Ernie Eveland back in the mid 1990s and placed second and third at the MCT back in the day. Ernie Spagnuolo was also a District 9 champion,
“My dad got me into it in the first grade,” the younger Ernie said. “I wasn’t bad. I went to every practice. I started going to club until fifth grade.”
Winning a tournament as prestigious as the MCT made Spagnuolo a believer in himself.
“Definitely,” he said. “I believe I can make it to the states. I’m in a decent district and region but I think most kids are beatable and I have a good shot at making the states.”
DeFrancescantonio is a three-time state qualifier and twice has made it to the blood round. Beating Neill was a nice gauge to see where he stands in the state realm. Both seem to be podium-worthy.
“We wrestled last year and I won by two,” DeFrancescantonio said. “The only issue was he rode me in that match and cut me. He was good with legs. The thing I watched was that I wanted to wrestle my match.”
And what is his match?
“I try to be as annoying as possible,” the kid they call DeFran said. “I don’t want to rush and do anything stupid. A lot of what I do is try and throw people off.
“I rely a lot on my brother Dom (a former Hanover standout), who is my ears and eyes. Him and (former Hanover standout Anthony) Olivieri on staff are awesome. Dom teaches me everything. James (LaValle, a three-time Hanover state champion and current Hornets assistant) and coach Tyler (Branham) … they are all the best. I am confident we have one of the best coaching staffs in the state.”
And he believes he is on his way to placing at Boardwalk Hall.
“You have to believe you can,” DeFrancescantonio said. “If you don’t believe you’re good enough, you may as well not show up. It’s one last ride for me, so I want to give it everything.”
Monticello was one of the dominant wrestlers in the entire tournament.
Like DeFrancescantonio, he believes he is headed for big things at Boardwalk Hall.
“In my eyes, I am 100 percent winning it,” he said. “I don’t see anyone getting in my way.”
If anyone stood in Monticello’s way at the MCT, they didn’t last too long.
“I felt good at the county tournament,” he said. “I was firing on all cylinders, I felt very prepared. Anthony Olivieri has helped me the whole way. He is the best assistant in the state. He is as good as any coach I have ever had and he could be a head coach anywhere in the state. We have such a great coaching staff, guys you can relate to.”
Hanover took third at the MCT behind runaway repeat winner Mount Olive (279) and West Morris (213 ½). The Hornets were third (181 ½) followed by Morris Hills (150) Morris Knolls (115 ½), and Montville (115).
“We had a good overall performance by the team at the MCT, putting 10 in the quarterfinals and eight in the Top 6,” Branham said. “It was nice to see several of our wrestlers finish higher than their seed (Kyle Dunn, Brendan Hamilton, Aeden Hamilton, Lucas Andrade, MCT champion Nick DiFrancescantonio).
“We also had a great final round, going 3 for 3 against some tough opponents, highlighted by DiFran’s win over a state placer in Neill.”
Hornets heavyweight Lucas Andrade won by forfeit over Montville’s Alex Husti to take third. Andrade had majored Mendham’s Christopher Montana in the quarters, 10-0, but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Tom Borgia of West Morris by a fall in 15 seconds.
Hanover saw three wrestlers place fourth in Ethan Kaup (120), Brendan Hamilton (144), and Aeden Hamilton (215).
Kaup reached the semifinals by beating Roxbury’s Giorgi Rekhviashvili in the quarters by major (14-3), but then lost to Jefferson’s Frank Figel in the semis, 10-7.
Brendan Hamilton made the semis by virtue of beating Madison’s Karl Maurer in the quarters (12-6) before he lost to West Morris’ eventual champion Jacob Harrison by fall (1:39).
Aeden Hamilton beat Mendham’s Ralph Langone in the quarters (8-1) before losing by technical fall to Mount Olive’s Nico Gonzalez by technical fall (17-1, 1:04).
Dunn (132) beat Kinnelon’s Xavier Garcia by a fall in 3:12 and was knocked out of the winner’s bracket by Morristown’s Collin McDonald by technical fall (18-1, 5:20) before he wrestled back for fifth. He majored Whippany’s Leonardo Nascimento for fifth (15-6).
“We are hoping that some of our good individual performances translate into confidence and momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season and into the postseason,” Branham said.
SCARLET KNIGHTS FINISH STRONG
Morris Hills, an MCT doormat for many years, had two champions (Frank Dimarzio at 190 and Josh Levin at 132). Coach Brian Bollette’s team finished fourth, one of the school’s best finishes in many years.
The two biggest point scorers this past weekend were Levin and Dimarzio.
Levin had three pins and a technical fall to win his weight. He tecked Morristown’s Colin McDonald in the finals, 17-2 (3:10) after pinning Morris Knolls Nate Gomes in the semis in 3:46 and Whippany Park’s Leonardo Nascimento in the quarters in 51 seconds.
“I was excited,” Levin said. “I wrestled someone from our rival school (Gomes) and I looked forward to that. I was the second seed but I thought I was the best kid in the bracket. I was confident in myself. I didn’t spend time researching other kids. I just focused on myself and I thought I’d win.
“I wrestled really well, the best I ever had wrestled in high school. I felt like I was very explosive, aggressive, and fast. I was putting pressure on everyone. I was never lazy.
“I always had it in my mind that I could do well. Winning this tournament doesn’t change anything. I felt like winning was bound to happen. I was gonna win it in due time, I was working hard and knew it would happen.
I want to see myself placing in the state tournament now.
“Josh was as dominant as one could be this weekend,” Bollette said. “Josh didn’t see the third period all weekend. He has completely bought in, works his tail off on a daily basis, and is hungry to compete. I really believe he just enjoys competing, and that’s why he’s been a captain for two years. He’s a leader by example, and we as coaches are grateful to have the opportunity to work with him every day.”
Dimarzio, meanwhile, was just as overpowering in his run to the county championship as he majored Randolph’s Andrw Zeidman in the finals, 16-3. DiMarzio pinned Morris Knolls’ Anthony Wagner in the quarterfinals in 40 seconds and then won by technical fall over Parsippany Hills Cole SanMartin in the semifinals, 19-4 (4:00).
“I was very happy in the moment,” Dimarzio said. “I was a little disappointed in my performance. I wrestled that kid (Zeidman) before and he made adjustments. I was sick when I tecked him the first time. I felt better and I thought I could put more on him.
“I’m grateful, but I’m also a perfectionist with my craft.”
Dimarzio has stamped himself as one to watch in Atlantic City. He has already beaten two returning state qualifiers this year (Pope John’s David Thomsen and Passaic Valley’s Richie Breitweiser). That has added to his confidence level.
“I’m more confident than in the beginning of the season,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the bigger matches. I’m looking forward to facing (West Essex’s Joe Cutruzzula), the Essex County champion. I feel more confident now. I’m excited to see what I can do in the states. I’m dialing in my technique.”
“Frank is an incredibly talented sophomore who has made a name for himself,” Bollette said. “He’s put a ton of work in and has high aspirations. Like Josh, he loves to compete, and he has taken it up a step from an impressive freshman campaign. We’re grateful to be able to work with Frank on a daily basis.”
Bollette’s team finished fourth overall for the school’s highest team finish since finishing third in 1990.
For many years, the Scarlet Knights were an afterthought in Morris County wrestling. But since Bollette arrived 11 years ago, the program has steadily risen to one of the best in the county.
Last year, the team finished 14th in the MCT and before that the Scarlet Knights were seventh in the team standings in 2024 and 2023, and sixth in 2022.
For many years before that, Morris Hills finished in the bottom third. You have to go all the way back to 1990, when the team finished third overall.
Levin and Dimarzio were the team leaders at the MCT but the Scarlet Knights had several other heroes, including:
1.At 106, Dom Lombardi took second, losing in the final to Hanover Park’s Alex Spagnuolo, 8-0. Lombardi beat Kinnelon’s Dominick Malfitano in the semis, 3-1, and tecked West Morris’ Ryan Tie in the quarters, 15-0 (1:40). Lombardi was 0-1 at the MCT last year.
2. At 144, Ethan Smolinski took third when he beat Hanover Park’s Brendan Hamilton by fall in 1:38. Smolinski was 0-1 at the MCT last year.
3. At 126, Andrew Gonzalez-Carela placed fifth when he scored a 13-9 win over West Morris’ Lucas Harrison. Carela wrestled back after he lost in the quarterfinals to Mount Olive’s eventual champion Kristian Beres. Carela has stepped up this year. When Levin couldn’t compete in the Kittatinny Tournament this year, Carela stepped in and placed fourth. “He has proven to be really talented, very athletic and a hard-nosed competitor,” Bollette said.
4. Tyler DiSanto (175) started off last year 0-10 but has become a contributor, having finished fourth at the districts last year and sixth at the MCT. DiSanto was thrown and pinned by Montville’s Augustin Hofbauer last week but majored him in the rematch in the first round at the counties, 13-4. “Tyler is just a tough kid who competes and leads by example,” Bollette said.
5. Andrew Mucci (138) lost in the quarterfinals to Hanover Park’s eventual champion Nick DiFrancescantonio by fall in 3:38.
6. Travis Dimick (113) and Victor Gallardo (157) wrestled back to place eighth.
“I really like this group and how they have bought into our process and what we do in our room on a daily basis,” Bollette said. “They’re getting significantly better, accepting challenges, and learning how to compete at a high level. We have a really great group of leaders and of course our youth program and youth coaches are doing an incredible job allowing us to build off that at the high school level.”
Levin has been in the program for more than 10 years. Lombardi and Smolinski have been with the program since they were 5-6 years old.
“There’s plenty more in that class who have been in our program since they were 5-6-7 years old, and there’s a big group of incoming eighth graders who have been with us just as long.”
Bollette raved about the coaches in the youth organization.
“Ben Smolinski coached the high school program years ago with Mike Bell,” Bollette said. “Ben and Mike Ross ran the youth before I was the head coach. Both had sons, Ethan, a sophomore, and Derek, an eighth grader. Ben was the head youth coach until two years ago, but we had a coach take an administrative job, so I asked Ben to coach the high school with us (again), and Mike became the youth head coach. Jarrett Zellea currently coaches with Mike, Pedro Bonilla (who has a son in 8th grade) has been the president of our youth organization for years, helping to oversee the entire process.
“We have KOM, future stars, 2 K-8 teams, and a travel team all in our Junior Knights program. We have so many parents giving back to coach and help. It’s really a great situation. And of course we still have families like the Schiele’s (Joey and Pam) who have been so important to our program. Joey works with all levels of our program, and Pam has been part of our administration/boosters for longer than I’ve been here. We all believe in the vision and process of building a strong and healthy wrestling program for our community.”
All told, the program is bursting at the seams, with 100 in the youth program, 50 in the boys high school program, and 30 in the girls high school program. There are also 20 girls in the youth program.
DODGERS, WILDCATS MAKING STRIDES
Madison hasn’t had a Morris County Tournament champion since Patsy Davis in 2010 – but Dodger standouts David DeFilippis and Joshua Ortiz gave it a good run last weekend.
The 126-pound DeFilippis made the finals and then suffered his first loss of the 2025-26 season when he lost a 9-3 decision to Mount Olive’s Kristian Beres in the finals.
DeFilippis (19-1 this year) majored Butler’s William Jones in the semifinals, 14-2, pinned Mendham’s William Fessler in the quarterfinals in 1:01, and won by technical fall over Jefferson’s Jayden San Lucas in the first round, 18-3 (5:38).
DeFilippis became the first Dodger to make the county tournament finals since 2017, when Yiakos Kostidakis made the finals and placed second.
Ortiz (150), meanwhile, had a great run in the tournament as well and placed third after he majored West Morris’ Jonathan Cabarle in the consolations, 10-1.
Ortiz made the semifinals but then was pinned by Mount Olive’s eventual champion Colin Smyth in 5:19.
Ortiz had beaten Mendham’s Bradlley Jedziniak in the quarterfinals by major decision, 16-4, and pinned Morris Knolls’ Vincenzo D’Asti in the first round of the tournament by fall in 46 seconds.
“I think both David and Joshua wrestled great tournaments,” veteran Madison coach Mike Goodwin said. “They were able to keep a pace that many kids can’t match. They were gritty, especially DeFillippis, who really dogged kids and is wrestling terrific.
“Ortiz really is starting to match his style with his skills. He is utilizing his speed and length to really put kids in very uncomfortable positions.”
Dodgers 144-pounder Karl Maurer finished sixth overall. He beat Montville’s Ryan Seltser in the first round by pin in 3:43 but then lost to Hanover Park’s Brendan Hamilton in the quarterfinals, 12-6.
The Dodgers saw two wrestlers finish in the top eight overall.
At 120, Harrison Smith took eighth. After beating Dover’s Roberto Gonzalez in the first round by a pin in 1:26, he ran into Kinnelon’s top-seeded Steven Malfitano and was pinned in 4:23.
Zavier Helmer, Madison’s 190-pounder, placed eighth. Helmer decked Parsippany’s Bryan Mata in 5:41 but then lost to Randolph’s eventual finalist Andrew Zeidman in the quarterfinals. Zeidman pinned Helmer in 2:40.
Madison finished 10th overall for its best finish in the team standings in quite some time. The Dodgers highest previous finish was 13th in 2011. Since that time, they have usually been far down in the county tournament scoring:
2012-15
2013-15
2014-16
2015-24
2016-22
2017-15
2018-23
2019-18
2020-20
2021-(No MCT held)
2022-18
2023-19
2024-19
2025-17
2026-10
Whippany, meanwhile, brought 11 wrestlers to the MCT – but that didn’t stop the Wildcats from having one of their best showings in many years.
Whippany, which finished ninth in the 21-team field, had two semifinalists and brought home five medals.
Coach Devon Engelberger’s Wildcats’ solid finish came on the heels of the program beating Parsippany last week to capture the NJAC-Independence for the school’s first division championship since 2020.
Whippany sent six wrestlers into the MCT quarterfinals, another sign of the small school’s strong showing against some of the big boys from Morris County, one of New Jersey’s deepest and strongest wrestling counties..
The Wildcats had two fourth-place finishers, a fifth-, a sixth, and an eighth.
Charles Palmisano (106) and Sean Dill (190) both made the consolation finals before taking fourth.
Palmisano reached the semifinals before losing to Montville’s eventual second-place finisher Luke Manieri, 19-4 (4:26). Palmisano had defeated Hanover Park’s Matteo Cesaro by technical fall (18-2) and then he majored Morris Knolls’ Dominic Litterio (12-2).
“Even in his losses, CJ wrestled strong and confident, scoring the first takedowns and setting the pace,” Engelberger said. “He seems to be getting comfortable at 113 and can hopefully make a run in the post season.”
Dill, meanwhile, was majored by Randolph’s eventual second-placer Andrew Zeidman in the semis, 18-4, after he pinned Pequannock’s Dylan Roemmele in the quarters in 2:34. In the first round, Dill beat Dover’s Christopher McKenzie by fall in 1:20.
“Dill moved up to 190 after competing most of the year at 175,” Engelberger said. “He started the tournament with back-to-back pins over Dover and Pequannock. Dill is a pinner and someone that we can count on for big points. Him and CJ really have taken big steps forward this year with their approach and how they compete.”
The team is looking for its first county champion since Steve Godine in 2008 and Engelberger in 2003.
“The county tournament is a big tournament, much bigger and more competitive than any holiday tournament we compete in,” Engelberger said. “This is always a goal to place in this tournament as there are top teams such as Mt Olive, Hanover Park and West Morris. We have not had a great deal of success the past few years (only one medal a year each of the past 3 years) so it was great to see so many guys step up and perform well.”
At 144, Amar Munkh-Orgil lost in the quarterfinals (he was tecked by Mount Olive’s Thomas McDonald, 20-3, 5:58) but wrestled his way back to fifth place. Munkh pinned Roxbury’s Trace Roberts in the first round in 3:15.
“He had two pins and a victory in his consolation final (9-7 win over Madison’s Karl Maurer),” Engelberger said. “In the wrestle backs, Amar avenged an early season loss (Boonton’s Qusai Mustafa). Last year Amar was seeded fifth but was upset in the first round. That was disappointing, so it made this year very satisfying. Amar works so hard so it was great to see him punch through. And he did it on his birthday which made it even more special to him.”
At 157, Daraku took sixth after he pinned Morris Hills’ Victor Gallardo. Daraku had tecked Morristown’s Justin Vasquez-Lopez in the first round, 20-4.
“Jusuf has improved so much over the past two years because he has been so dedicated to the sport,” Engelberger said. “He has become one of our most consistent wrestlers.”
Gabe Saliani (165) pinned Butler’s Joe Velasquez in 1:50 and added valuable team points by making the quarterfinals.
Leo Nascimento (132) scored a 15-0 tech fall over Dover’s Matthew Le and pinned Roxbury’s Jaedon Reilly in the wrestlebacks to give the Wildcats additional points .
“Leo had some injuries last year and missed quite a few matches,” Engelberger said. “The past few weeks he has been tightening things up and has become dangerous in many positions.”
Engelberger is enthused about Whippany’s future this year and in future seasons.
“The exciting thing with this group is that five of the six guys competing in medal matches are returning next year,” he said. “This is big for confidence for our younger wrestlers and will set them up nicely in the future when it comes to tournaments. As coaches, we were very proud with the effort we saw with those that competed this weekend.”
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
As much as Mount Olive coach Sean Smyth loved seeing his team win its second straight team title at the MCT, he was just as encouraged by the overall community effort put forth by the town.
Way back in 2002, Mount Olive had the same type of community involvement in football. The Thursday before the sectional final that December, there was a major blizzard in New Jersey and every sectional final in the entire state was postponed at least one day.
Every one, that is, except Mount Olive-Jefferson. It seems like every Mount Olive resident who owned a shovel showed up at the field on the Friday morning of the game and cleared the field.
The Marauders won, 14-13.
That same kind of community spirit runs through the wrestling program
“Running the MCT is a community effort,” Smyth raved. “To host 20-plus teams takes a lot of work behind the scenes. The administrative and coaching staff and everyone else is fully on board. The support is unbelievable. It’s a lot to ask, but in the end, when everyone comes together, especially parents, it becomes a great event.
“That’s the type of people we have in Mount Olive. Everyone is willing to help out. I live here and my kids go to school here. What a great community on so many levels.”
