Bound Brook Wrestling

Bound Brook, No. 4 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, entered the NJSIAA team tournament as an overwhelming favorite to capture its second straight Group 1 championship.

On Sunday, the Somerset County school delivered on that promise.

Bound Brook defeated unranked Hanover Park for the second straight season in the Group 1 final, posting a 49-12 victory at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River.

"We expected to win this," first-year coach Shaun Cleary said. "We came and did what we were supposed to do. I'm very excited for the kids, for the town, for the program. It's a really good night."

The championship triumph completed what was a very impressive showing for Bound Brook. Earlier in the day, it rolled past Paulsboro, the dean of Group 1 schools with 28 all-time state group championships, in a 53-9 semifinals victory.

Anthony Cefolo of Hanover Park defeats Craig De La Cruz of Bound Brook, 120lbsWrestling at 120lbs in the Team Wrestling State Championships, Anthony Cefolo of Hanover Park beat Craig De La Cruz of Bound Brook 3-2 in the ultimate tie break. Bound Brook defeated Hanover Park to claim the Group 1 Team Championship at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)Watch video

The Somerset County team won 21 of 28 bouts it wrestled on the day and earned bonus points in 16 of them. Bound Brook finished with 11 falls, four major decisions and a technical fall.

The scary part for its Group 1 counterparts: Bound Brook (21-3) will return 11 of its 14 starters next season.

"That's the goal," Cleary said of a potential return back to Groups Sunday in 2014.

Bound Brook jumped out to leads of 18-0 and 25-3 on Hanover Park (13-6), but the Morris County school, which beat No. 10 Kittatinny, 31-30, in the semifinals, did not go down quietly. Hanover Park, seeking its first group championship, won three straight bouts, all by decision and one coming in ultimate tie-breaker, to pull to within 25-12 with four bouts remaining.

But Bound Brook had a second wind. Nick Accetta gutted out an ultimate tie-breaker victory at 138 pounds to get Bound Brook back on track.

Then, the bonus points started flying again.

Emmanuel Soto pinned at 145 pounds, Ryan Doerr pinned at 152, Josh Ugalde got a decision at 160 and Andrew Gombas closed the match with a fall at 170.

"A couple of things didn't go our way," Cleary said. "Hanover Park came to wrestle. Once Nick pulled that overtime win out, that really helped us. I needed that. We needed that. He really came through."