Bound Brook's Craig De La Cruz stormed off the mat after losing on Feb. 17 to former state champion Anthony Cefolo of Hanover Park, the only in-state wrestler to beat him this season, for the second time in as many years at the group team championships.
He was frustrated in an ultimate tiebreaker loss, and it showed how badly he hated losing.
The junior never lost a single match since, winning 10 straight bouts en route to the daunting 120-pound state championship on Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The road was long, and nearly every match tough, but De La Cruz proved to be the best wrestler out of one of the most talented state tournament fields ever.
After losing to Cefolo, who later fell to Christian Innarella of Delbarton three times and missed the state tournament entirely, De La Cruz pinned his way through districts to set up his outstanding Region 5 tournament.
He knocked off returning medalists Ryan Pomrinca of North Hunterdon in ultimate tiebreaker in th quarterfinals, Kyle Brady of Bishop Ahr by domination in the semifinals, and defeated Monroe's Sal Profaci in overtime of the finals.
All of the sudden, De La Cruz was the region Outstanding Wrestler and considered one of the favorites at the NJSIAA state tournament.
The challenge Innarella posed in the state semifinals was the greatest De La Cruz would overcome all year.
When Innarella scored a late takedown with about 13 seconds left to take a 3-1 lead, the Bound Brook star was in trouble.
Then with seven seconds remaining in the match, De La Cruz unfazed, was able to re-focus and hit a Granby roll off the restart to escape, before pouncing on top of Innarella and recording the match-winning takedown.
Innarella's late roll-through was almost enough to fend off the takedown in the eyes of the referee, but after a lengthy discussion that must've given De La Cruz a heart-attack, the two-point score was awarded.
The referee couldn't possible have seen the clock and the wrestlers' positions at the same time, so he determined that De La Cruz did have control.
The rest is history, as Bound Brook's 19th state champion scores a takedown over two-time state champion Brenden Calas of Seton Hall Prep to finish his run appropriately - in overtime against one of most talented wrestlers in New Jersey.
It was one of the greatest post-season runs this state has ever seen.
And after the debilitating loss to Cefolo that must've have at least created some doubt about whether he was the best wrestler in the state, De La Cruz had the last laugh, and is the new state champion.
It's hard not to feel bad for Cefolo though, after missing the state tournament because of a loaded region. He'll always have the claim that he beat the state champ in 2013.