With 5 individual champs, Passaic Tech wrestling defends Passaic County title
WEST MILFORD – Veteran coach Luis Colon and senior Laith Hamdeh took a moment to soak it all in.
The Passaic Tech duo share a common bond and for one final time they’re going out as champions.
The Bulldogs maintained their stranglehold on Passaic County wrestling to repeat as county champions Saturday at West Milford High School.
The Wayne school scored 187 points and five wrestlers claimed individual titles as the Bulldogs outdistanced second-place Lakeland (145) by 42 points.
“This win means a lot because it’s my last year. I’ve been coaching here 29 years and 14 as head coach. We all knew coming in that we had a chance to do this again,” Colon said. “I love the sport of wrestling. I’ve been doing it a long time, but it’s time. This is emotional for me. I bleed blue. I’m a graduate of Passaic Tech and I wrestled for the school. I’m proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished. It’s great to win this tournament one last time.”
Hamdeh also made his final county tournament a memorable one. In a battle of returning champions, the senior defeated Jack Oseback of Wayne Hills, 6-0 at 150 pounds to claim his third championship, earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler honor.
“The county tournament is always important to me as well as the team. I would have loved to be a four-time champion, but COVID prevented that from happening. It feels good and it always feels good. It’s never an easy tournament,” said Hamdeh, who recorded his 100th career victory in the semifinals. “We’re now a Passaic County powerhouse. This year was way more dominant than our previous win. It just shows how much progress we’ve made in the last few years.”
Passaic Tech junior Ricardo Balanzategui (138) won for the second straight time and freshman James Conklin (144), senior Abraham Tareky (165) and senior Luke Tully (175) all won for the first time.
Other standout performances
Lakeland freshman Ryan Langenmayr (126) made a splash in his tournament debut. The No. 4 seed claimed his first county title when he stunned two-time champion and top-seeded Alex Vertedor of Passaic Tech, 10-2, in the semifinals and West Milford No. 2 seed sophomore Colin Menier in the finals.
“I felt great coming in and I really believed I could win it all,” Langenmayr said. “I’m proud of our team and how we performed. A win like this sets me up for the rest of the season and it gives me the confidence I need as we head down the stretch.”
Passaic Valley senior P.J. Casale (215 pounds) added a Passaic County title to his resume. The state champion was competing in the tournament for the first time after recently transferring from Delbarton. A Morris County champion and Rutgers commit, Casale pinned all three of opponents in under a minute.
Casale’s teammate, Connor Kerwin, won his first title with a seven-second pin at 120 pounds.
DePaul freshman Ryan Burton (157) and senior Jacob Gerish (190) grabbed titles, joining other first-time winners Ben Marchetto (106) of West Milford, Brandon Massey (113) of Hawthorne, Attila Valy (132) of Wayne Valley and Joseph Abill (285) of Clifton.
Nick Gantaifis is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: gantaifis@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ngantaifis1
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: PCTI NJ wrestling repeats as Passaic County champion
