Four Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School wrestlers claimed individual District 19 championships: Ryan Boyer (165), Shay Addison (175), Hudson Skove (190) and Conor Delaney (215). The Bulldogs took home a total of nine medals from the meet.
Boyer recorded a 9-2 decision over 22-match winner Andrew Bouchard of St Joseph Metuchen in the final to clinch the 165-pound title. He required just 51 seconds to pin Piscataway’s Carlos Baez in the semifinal. His quarterfinal clash with Michael Montemuro of Metuchen was shorter; it was over in 20 seconds.
In the 175 final, Shay Addison pinned Woodbridge’s Gustavo DeOliveira in 38 seconds. The senior reached the championship match by pinning Hany Ghazy of Edison in 40 seconds in the semifinal. Addison was subsequently named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Sophomore Hudson Skove faced a significant challenge in the person of St Joseph’s Brian Christie in the 190 final. Christie entered the match with 31 wins on the season, and his resume included an unbroken streak of 28 consecutive pins. Furthermore, Christie had a score to settle with the Bulldog grappler. Skove defeated him on Dec. 19 at the 29th annual Beast of the East Tournament. This pairing shaped up as a grueling grudge match, and that is how it played out. When time expired, Skove emerged victorious by a narrow 3-1 margin. He ran his record to 34-2 with the win.
As the eighth seed of the 215-pound competition, Conor Delaney was considered unlikely to break into the medals. However, the fledgling freshman found his way to gold in the greatest upset of the tournament. Delaney started his trek through the brackets with a shocking 4-3 decision over the No. 1 seed, 28-bout winner Richard Boateng Baah of Piscataway. The elimination of the top seed put the title up for grabs. The RFH wrestler then defeated Woodbridge’s Mario Carbonaro handily by a 9-5 margin in the semifinal. Seemingly emboldened by his recent successes, Delaney dispatched Anthony Roige of St Joseph via a 5-2 decision in the final to clinch the championship crown.
RFH wrestlers earning silver medals were Julia Duque (120) and Cole Pangborn (126). Bronze went to Walker Skove (106), Evan Ridgway (132) and Nick Costello (157).
The Bulldogs finished second in team scoring with 172.5 points. Perennial powerhouse St Joseph topped the nine-team field at 252.5.
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