Roselle Park’s wrestling teams were recognized at the May 3rd municipal meeting for significant milestones and a winning season.
Head Roselle Park High School Wrestling Coach Ryan Rooney spoke on behalf of the wrestling program at last Thursday night’s meeting. He spoke on the support the team has continuously received from the community. He said, “Because of opportunities like tonight, we get to showcase our wrestlers who are not only doing the right things on the wrestling mat but also in the community, and it’s a pleasure to be here in front of the town council to honor these wrestlers for their accomplishments and to add them to that ever growing Park Wrestling tradition.”
Coach Rooney touched on some highlights of the season including that the Roselle Park Middle School team had a perfect record of 10-0 and the grade school teams finished with a 14-2 record and placed 4th out of 32 teams in the league.
Additionally, the head coach pointed out individual accomplishments of the recreational wrestling programs:
- Johnny Amato, James Doulabani, and Michael Doulabani all placed 5th in the Central Jersey League Tournament
- Julian Colon and Mayson Harms achieved 2nd place in the Grade School League Tournament and were New Jersey State Tournament Qualifiers
- Mike Forstenhausler placed 3rd in the Grade School League Tournament
- Matthew Griffin was a Grade School League Champion and a New Jersey State Tournament Qualifier
- Charles Levine had a first place finish in the Central Jersey tournament and was a New Jersey State Tournament Qualifier
- Angel Mejia had a 2nd place finish at the New Jersey State Tournament and finished 5th in the Grade School League Tournament
- John James Ranieri was a Grade School League Champion
- Anthony Zois placed 6th in the Grade School League Tournament and was a New Jersey State Tournament Qualifier
The RPHS wrestling season included the team’s 1,000th victory, a 24-2 record, and the following achievements:
- Panther Invitational Champions
- Waldwick Duals Champions
- North II Group I State Section Champions
- 2nd place in the District 15 Tournament including four (4) champions and eight (8) Region 4 qualifiers
- #3 Ranked team in all of New Jersey Group 1
- #4 Ranked team in Region 4
- NJ Coaches Poll #22 ranked in the State
Individually, the accomplishments of certain high school wrestlers were mentioned:
- Matthew Armamento was a First Team All-Conference member, a CBA Colt Classic Champion, a Panther Invitational Champion, a Union County Campion, A District Champion, a Region Champion, and a two-time state qualifier with a 40-3 record and a career record of 103-24 (Century Club), was selected for the Team NJ vs. Team PA All-Star Classic, and has also committed to continue wrestling in college at Johnson and Wales University
- Dylan Camilo was an Honorable Mention All-Conference member, a 2017 county 3rd, a 2017 region qualifier with a 20-17 record
- Abel Crespo was a First Team All-Conference member, a two-time district finalist, a two-time region qualifier, finished 3rd place in Union County, and had a 23-15 record
- Elvin Guerrero was a First Team All-Conference member, a Panther Invitational Champion, a Union County Tournament Finalist, a two-time District Finalist, and a two-time Region qualifier with a 32-8 record
- Devin Hilburn was a first team all-conference member, a Union County 3rd Place finisher, a District Champion, a region 4th place finisher, and a state qualifier with a 34-9 record
- Eddie Hummel had a season record of 18-2 and was an NHSCA All-American earning 2nd Place in the Freshman Nationals and a 3rd Place in the New Jersey Steestyle Tournament
- Gabe Leo was a First Team All-Conference member, a two-time region qualifier, a state qualifier, an NHSCA All-American taking 3rd in the Junior Nationals as well as 3rd place in the New Jersey Freestyle State Tournament with a 36-9 season record
- Sean Matthews had a 19-12 record
- Jon Mejia was a First Team All-Conference member, a CBA Colt Classic Champion, a Panther Invitational Champion, a Union County Campion, a District Champion, a region 4th place finisher, and a state qualifier with a 37-6 record and a Career Record of 112-36 (Century Club) who has also committed to continue wrestling in college at Roger Williams University
- Josh Mejia was a First Team All-Conference member, a CBA Colt Classic Runner-Up, a Union County Champion, a twotime District Finalist, and a Region qualifier with a 17-5 record
- Mark Montgomery was a First Team All-Conference member, a Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) Colt Classic Champion, a Panther Invitational Champion, a Union County Tournament Champion, A District Champion, a two-time state qualifier, an NHSCA All-American taking 3rd in the Junior Nationals as well as winning the New Jersey Freestyle State Tournament with a with a 40-4 season record and a career record of 105-12 which had him joining the Century Club
The high school wrestlers recognized included:
- Antonio Antonucci (Freshman)
- Matthew Armamento (Senior)
- Dylan Camilo (Senior)
- Benoit Chestnut (Senior)
- Juan Chirinos (Junior)
- Abel Crespo (Senior)
- Jonathon Estivene (Sophomore)
- Jefferson Garcia (Senior)
- Drew Graves (Junior)
- Elvin Guerrero (Junior)
- Devin Hilburn (Senior)
- Eddie Hummel (Freshman)
- Mike Lauer (Senior)
- Gabe Leo (Junior)
- Danny Luc (Freshman)
- Sean Matthews (Senior)
- Jon Mejia (Senior)
- Josh Mejia (Senior)
- Gonzalo Meza (Freshman)
- Jorge Meza (Senior)
- Mark Montgomery (Junior)
- Javier Pinto (Freshman)
- Sebastian Rodriguez (Junior)
- Chris Thurman (Freshman)
- Ryan Urban (Senior)
Statisticians recognized included:
- Olivia Amato
- Steph Cantrell
- Gabby Hilburn
- Madison Hummel
- Narali Mota
- Emily Peres
- Gianna Peterpaul
- Gia LaTorre
- Dynasia Zayas
Speaking for the program the head coach wanted to thank the following:
- RPMS and RPHS coaching staff: John Ranieri, Kevin Carroll, Craig Frost, Rich Greco, Keith Appello, Connor Gabriel and Mike Goff
- RPHS administration
- RPHS Athletic Department
- Athletic Director James Foy
- Bobby Harms
- Roselle Park Recreation Department
- Volunteers who help run tournaments, concessions, and special events
- Parents of wrestlers who make many sacrifices throughout the long wrestling season
Coach Rooney concluded, “The Park Wrestling staff and I are proud of the team’s results from this season and we look forward to continuing our proud tradition and to close the gap on many more of our goals for next season. We have a busy summer schedule ahead of us, as well, where we look to stay sharp and continue learning. This year we will host our annual Panther Tournament in June, we will also compete in the Madison duals, and the Long Branch Duals.”
Click on each photograph below for a full size image:
