No wrestler from Parsippany Hills has ever won a state championship.

A Viking wrestler has never made the finals, either.

Logan Forgatch and Mario Fornini are well aware of this – and are determined to change that.

Both won their weights at the Morris County Tournament at Mount Olive High School over the weekend.

The MCT is a far cry from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, but winning an MCT is not a bad place to start.

“It’s all in the back of our heads, that’s for sure,” Fornini said. “We are looking for someone to go out there and do it. Which one is it gonna be?”

Forgatch was clearly the best in his weight class at 106. He majored Mendham’s Aidan Reilly in the finals, 18-4, after tecking Mount Olive’s Kristian Beres in the semis, 19-3. In the quarters, he pinned Kinnelon’s Dominick Maltifano in 1:46.

“I’m very happy with Logan’s tournament,” coach Chris Wells said. “We have been working on strengthening his offense and defense on his feet and it showed with his dominant effort throughout the tournament. We’re looking forward to his progress for the remainder of the season and we look to see him make some noise down in Atlantic City.

“Going in, I had the kind of mentality of one match at a time,” Forgatch added. “Wrestle each match, work my moves and dominate the match. One match at a time.”

He had just come off beating Reilly in a dual, 12-2. 

“I knew a little bit about him,” Forgatch said. “I just wanted to wrestle my moves and wrestle how I wrestle. I try not to think about what he might do, but what I’m gonna do.”

Forgatch took fourth place at last year’s MCT. He knew he had strides to take after that, attacked his weaknesses, and wound up going 1-2 in Atlantic City last March.

Forgatch hopes to improve on that this time around.

“I need to take it one step at a time,” he said. “I have districts first and then the region. I want to be a three-time district champ. I know one thing, and that is to not place fourth at the regions again.”

Forgatch did that last year and that put him in a difficult spot in AC. 

Fornini sees Forgatch advancing further this time.

“The kid’s gonna be something great,” Fornini said. “You’ll see him later on, that’s for sure. He is one dedicated kid. I have never seen someone as dedicated as Logan. He is never tired. He is never not doing something wrestling wise. He always goes 100 percent and tries to get everyone better. I am 30 pounds heavier than him and we just bang heads and go in practice all the time.”

Fornini, meanwhile, has a shot to make more noise in AC. He decisioned Mount Olive’s Brandon Beres in the MCT finals, 4-1. 

“We are extremely proud of Mario’s tournament,” Wells said. “He has come a long way since his freshman year as a wrestler and a person.”

Last year, Fornini lost to Delbarton’s eventual state runnerup Jayden James in the MCT finals.

“I came up short in the last two years and I really, really wanted it,” Fornini said. “We heard Delbarton was out so we knew we had a good shot. Knowing they were out, I knew I’d have an easier shot in the finals against whoever I was wrestling. Delbarton has all the hammers and everyone knows that. It gave me a better chance for me in the finals. I came out on top and that was my goal.”

Now it is on to a possible return trip to Boardwalk Hall. Fornini ran into James in the first round last year and lost and then lost in the consolation bracket.

“His ability to be dangerous in all areas and positions makes him a threat in any match,” Wells said. “We will continue to fine tune and tweak some things for the remainder of this season to help him find his way to the podium at the end of the season.”