St. Joseph (Mont.) Wins Thriller Over Bergen Catholic on Criteria

In a back-and-forth battle between two of New Jersey’s top programs, St. Joseph (Mont.) pulls a close victory against Bergen Catholic 34-33 on Criteria D (most bout wins) after the teams finished deadlocked at 33.

St. Joseph (Mont.) came out firing, winning the first five bouts and building a commanding 22-0 lead. JoJo Burke (106) and Charles Esposito (113) opened with hard-fought decisions, while Johnathon McGinty (120) and Mikey Bautista (126) poured it on with technical falls. The momentum peaked at 132, when Vincent Paino pinned his opponent in just 1:25.

Bergen Catholic stormed back, taking the next five matches—including a crucial forfeit at 138—to flip the scoreboard in their favor. Manny Gusfa (144), Sowzrawca Tsay (150), and Joey Canova (157) all secured pins to put BC in control at 27-22.

With the match hanging in the balance, Ryan Burton (175) delivered a dominant 19-4 tech fall to tie things up at 27. Kaleb Jackson (190) followed with a clutch 4-1 decision to give SJM a 30-27 lead.

At 215, Bergen Catholic’s Che Patrick responded with a second-period pin, putting BC ahead 33-30. That left it up to Cristian Alvarez (285), who delivered under pressure with a 9-2 decision, forcing the 33-33 tie.

With both teams tied in total points, St. Joseph (Mont.) claimed victory based on most bout wins (8-6), securing the crucial extra point on Criteria D.

Box Score

106JoJo Burke (SJM) DEC 6-0 Matthew Mulligan (BC)

113Charles Esposito (SJM) DEC 4-1 Marcos Asan (BC)

120Johnathon McGinty (SJM) TF 17-1 Micah Loudermilk (BC)

126Mikey Bautista (SJM) TF 16-1 Alen Redzepagic (BC)

132Vincent Paino (SJM) PIN 1:25 Elijah Winn (BC)

138Gideon Gonzalez (BC) FORFEIT

144Manny Gusfa (BC) PIN 1:20 Dylan Bonanno (SJM)

150Sowzrawca Tsay (BC) PIN 1:30 Angelo Paino (SJM)

157Joey Canova (BC) PIN 1:00 Henry Pollio (SJM)

165Logan Cantone (BC) DEC 5-2 Brandon Karwoski (SJM)

175Ryan Burton (SJM) TF 19-4 Genti Idrizi (BC)

190Kaleb Jackson (SJM) DEC 4-1 AJ DiGiovanni (BC)

215Che Patrick (BC) PIN 2:30 Daniel DelValle (SJM)

285Cristian Alvarez (SJM) DEC 9-2 Benjamin Shue (BC)

St. Joseph (Mont.) wins on Criteria D: Most bout wins (+1 point).

Final Team Score : 34-33

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