Bound Brook Wrestling

All three of New Jersey's entrants at The Clash national duals in Rochester, Minnesota earned a spot among the top eight on Saturday.

Bergen Catholic, No. 1 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, is the only New Jersey team alive in the championship bracket after the first of the two-day tournament and is guaranteed at least fourth place while Bound Brook, No. 3, and St. Peter's, No. 4, are both guaranteed eighth. 

As a pool winner, Bergen Catholic advances to a four-man championship round robin on Sunday afternoon. No New Jersey team has ever won a title as the prestigious dual tournament. 

Because Bound Brook and St. Peter's lost in the pool finals, they are sent to the losers bracket round robin and will wrestle for places five through eight. 

The state's top-ranked team won its pool in dominating fashion, outscoring its three opponents by an average score of 48-14.

Picking up falls for the Oradell school in each of its three matches was sophomore Danny DeLorenzi. He pinned his first two opponents in 33 and 27 seconds, respectively, before earning a fall in 2:26 in the pool finals. 

DeLorenzi competed at 182 and 195 pounds after wrestling 138 last season. 

Nick Suriano (113), Joe Grello (152), Jordan Pagano (160), Johnny Sebastian (182) and Christian Jenco (220) all went 3-0 on the day for Bergen Catholic. 

No. 6 in the nation by FloWrestling, Bergen Catholic will take on No. 2 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 4 Apple Valley (Minn.), and Hastings (Minn.) in the championship rounds. 

Bound Brook finished the day 2-1 after losing, 33-26, to Hastings in the pool final. 

The team's coaching staff couldn't have asked for a better weight to start at than 126. That meant that defending state champion Craig De La Cruz would anchor the team's lineup in its final two duals. 

Against Hastings, De La Cruz took the mat as Bound Brook trailed, 30-26, in the dual's final bout. Needing a major decision to force a tie, De La Cruz fell, 7-3. 

The junior faced a similar situation in the semifinals. With his team down, 30-27, De La Cruz recorded three third-period takedowns to earn the major, 13-4, and the victory in the dual's final bout. 

St. Peter's also finished 2-1 and fell, 40-15, to Apple Valley in the pool final. Alec Kelly (106) and Jordan Fox (220) both went 3-0 on the day.