The Green Wave wrestling team took Atlantic City by storm this weekend, sending seven wrestlers to the podium and coming back to Morristown with a School record three state individual champions.

At 132 pounds, junior Tyler Vazquez came into the season with high expectations, ready to improve on his third place finishes 2021 and 2020.  This season, Vazquez put forth one of the best seasons in School history, going an undefeated 33-0, winning at Beast of the East, a district championship, region championship and to cap it off, his first state individual championship.  Vazquez won his first two matches by technical fall before defeating #9 seed Jackson Sichelstiel 11-2 major decision in the quarters and scored a pin in the semifinal, 45 seconds into the match!  In the final, Vazquez took on a familiar opponent in Anthony Santaniello of Brick Memorial.  At Beast of the East earlier in the season, Vazquez won 6-5 in the final, but in the state final, points were hard to come by.  Vazquez opened with an early 2-0 lead on a first period takedown, and was able to ride that lead all the way through the final buzzer. "I knew he would try to stop my double," Vazquez said after his championship win. "But it's hard to stop my double. You can tell people to watch the double coming but you're going to have to practice to stop the double.  "I came out there aggressive to show that I could beat him twice in a row and not just one time."

Another wrestler got over the hump this weekend, with Simon Ruiz coming out victorious in the 157lb final.  Ruiz, 32-1, and undefeated against New Jersey opponents this season, took second last year and third in 2020, was ready to take on all competition, taking the #1 seed all the way to the podium at Boardwalk Hall.  "Last year before the final I was kind of all over the place," Ruiz said. "I didn't get to relax at all because of the nerves. This year I was very calm before my match. I just took my time, and I think it helped it out."

Ruiz won his opening round match by pin, then followed with a 10-1 major decision and 5-0 decision in the quarterfinals.  In the semifinal, Ruiz defeated Zander Silva from CBA 7-0, punching his ticket to the 157lb final.  There he would face #2 seed Dakota Morris of Kingsway.  Ruiz would take an early 1-0 lead on an escape, and extend his lead to 3-0 with a late takedown in the second period.  A counter shot in the third period gave Ruiz a 5-0 lead and would finish the match with a 5-1 decision and his first NJ state championship! "It feels great," Ruiz said, after taking the top spot on the podium. "Coming up short all those times were devastating, so it feels great to finally get it done."

Capping off the historic afternoon for Delbarton was Andrew Troczynski at 150 pounds.  Last year in the COVID-altered tournament in Phillipsburg, Troczynski won his first state title.  This year, he looked to repeat, but this time in front of family, friends and fans at Boardwalk Hall.  Andy did just that, taking his #1 ranking all the way to the podium, winning the 150lb bracket for his second straight state title.  A 15-0 opening round tech fall led to a 7-2 win in the pre-quarters.  Troczynski would then go on to win by pin in the quarters and then won by a 10-1 major decision in the semifinal.  In a familiar 1 vs. 2 matchup again for the Green Wave, Troczynski wrestled one of his best matches, defeating Laith Hamdeh of Passaic Tech 5-2 for his second state title, finishing his Delbarton career as a two-time state champion.  "It's freaking awesome here," said Troczynski after his championship match. "It's way better to win in Atlantic City. It feels like the real deal. Coach Stoll can't say I'm a 'COVID gold.' Now he has to say I'm a state champ. That feels good."

With his win, Troczynski joins an elite group of Delbarton alums, Anthony Clark (3x), Pat Glory, Mike Grey (4x) and Antonio Mangione as the only wrestlers to repeat as state champs for Delbarton.

Congrats to Coach Bryan Stoll and the entire program on a historic weekend and another incredible season on the mat.  Thank you to our seniors and we can't wait to see the boys return next winter!