After 96 consecutive wins over NJSIAA opponents, Bergen Catholic's streak ended Wednesday night, as the Green Wave soundly defeated the Crusaders 45-12 to advance to the Non-Public A North championship.

The gym was rocking thanks to the Green Wave fan zone, aka, the pit, while the Delbarton wrestling team took to the mat and took care of business early and often Wednesday night.  "I think it's huge for the program," Nico Nardone said. "Every year, we'd hear Bergen beat us again. We've been on the come-up with a lot of young guys, but this kind of cements it."

The night opened at 182lb with Kieran Calvetti d. Jack Patti 10-5.  Nick Olivieri then held on for a 4-1 win over John Fiore to give Delbarton an early lead.  Luke Chakonis and PJ Casale gave the Green Wave a big lead with pins at 3:45 and 1:04.  At 106lb, Tyler Vazquez wrestled to a 6-0 win over Aidan Welch before Bergen Catholic got on the board as Joe Cangro defeated Cross Wasilewski 5-2.

The biggest matches of the night were at 120 and 126lbs.  In a big upset, Joe Davi defeated three-time state medalist Nick Kayal 3-2 in overtime.  At 126, Nico Nardone faced state champion Robert Howard, a Cadet world champion and Penn State recruit.  With a 5-4 lead after a last minute takedown, Nardone held off a late fury from Howard to hold on and give Delbarton a commanding lead.  "It was about believing in myself," said Nardone.  "I did that in this match, and it showed. I know he was ranked top in the nation, but if I believe in myself I know I can beat top kids."

Simon Ruiz dropped a close match 8-4 before Anthony Clark won a close 2-1 decision over William Grater.  Andrew Toczynski won by injury over Joseph Zargo and that sealed the victory for Delbarton.  Stephen O'Neil defeated Nate Camiscoli 4-2 and Dante Stefanelli won by injury to wrap up the scoring for Delbarton.  "We can't pretend it's not a big deal for us, but at the end of the day, if we don't come back and wrestle our tails off on Friday, it's all for nothing," coach Bryan Stoll said. "It feels good to be the top dog for 48 hours, but that also means that more teams are going to be gunning for us."

Delbarton will host St. Joseph's Montvale on Friday in the Non-Public A North Final.  The match time is set for 6pm from Delbarton.