UNION, NJ — Pat Gorman knew it would be close. He realized his Cougars were going to be taken to the limit by the likes of the Rahway Indians and the much-improved Union High School Farmers.
The veteran Cranford High School mentor was right.
Rahway High School produced the most wrestlers in the finals with six and had the most champions with three and Union had two champions for the first time with repeat Union County Coach of the Year selection Dino DeBellonia.
Still, for those two solid teams, it wasn’t quite enough for Rahway to win the team title for the first time since 2005 and Union for the first time since 1994.
The Cranford Cougars, behind four-time winners Michael Daly and Luke Scholz and a total of five grapplers reaching the championship round, did just enough to capture a record 11th straight Union County Tournament championship.
The 51st wrestling Union County Tournament was contested Saturday, Jan. 17, at Union High School’s Louis J. Rettino gymnasium, with Cranford winning the team title with 215.5 points. Rahway was second with 206.0 and Union third with 202.0.
To show how dominant those three schools were, fourth-place Johnson’s point total was 105.5, almost 100 points less than third-place Union.
Rahway placed third in 2025, third in 2024 with 2024 Union County Coach of the Year Dan Garay and fifth in 2023. Union was seventh in 2025, fifth in 2024 and ninth in 2023.
Cranford and Roselle Park High School have now won the most titles with 14. Roselle Park was the last team to triumph, winning the 2013 and 2014 crowns, before Cranford’s present dominance began in 2015. Cranford’s first three championships were obtained in the 1980s in 1981, 1984 and 1986.
“It was a smorgasbord of ups and downs for us all day,” Gorman said. “For a team that has seven new varsity wrestlers and three kids that have never wrestled before, we continued to wrestle, as a team, for each other. That was the difference.”
Scholz defeated senior Daniel Gonzalez of Rahway in the 157-pound final, winning by the score of 17-2 and in a time of 2:23. That was the 14th and final championship bout and it was an important win for Cranford, in order for the Cougars to prevail once again.
Winning the UCT 11 years in a row is quite an achievement for a program that, before 2015, had not won it since 1986. The previous record of capturing seven titles in a row was by Roselle Park from 1997 to 2003 and David Brearley–Jonathan Dayton high schools from 2006 to 2012.
“I never thought we would be able to put together a streak like this,” Gorman said. “We try to keep it fresh by continuing to work hard. If we win it, we move on to the next thing. Should we not win it we still move on and hope to be more motivated for what’s next.”
Daly won at 120 to become the 10th wrestler to win four UCT crowns.
“This is always a good stepping-stone for me,” Daly said. “The targets after this become bigger and bigger.”
Before Scholz joined Daly as a four-time winner, becoming only the 11th and just the third from Cranford, this is what Daly said: “Luke and I grew up together, so I’m proud of him. We have a great group of guys and we all push each other.”
Union senior Jaydon Robles followed by winning at 126, capturing his first UCT crown.
“This is unreal, it’s my first bracket,” Robles said. “I worked hard in the room during the week and knew I would have to give 100 percent for six minutes in all of the matches.
“As a team we knew we would be contenders.”
“Hard work, discipline and doing what he has been asked to do served Jaydon well,” DeBellonia said. “He’s smart, good on his feet, knows positioning and is very poised.”
Union’s Ariel Azeredo, as the second seed, pinned Henrique Ribeiro of Governor Livingston High School in 2:43 in last year’s 138 final to capture his first UCT crown. This time, as the top seed, the senior Azeredo defeated Carter Stein of David Bearley, 15-0, in the time of 1:41 in the 138-title bout to become the first of only two of Saturday’s champions to win by technical fall. Scholz later became the other.
Azeredo and Scholz also won their 100th matches Saturday.
“I knew I was the favorite,” Azeredo said. “I was confident and I trust the work I put in.
“We’ve also progressed so much as a team. It starts with hard work and continues with the coaches being awesome. We’re all family.”
Azeredo, who is looking at Springfield College and Arcadia University in his quest to wrestle collegiately, was the first repeat UCT champion DeBellonia has coached.
“He certainly wrestled to his seed,” DeBellonia said. “It’s not easy to beat a good wrestler in the finals by technical fall.
“Two county champions is just great for the program.”
If things really broke right, DeBellonia was confident Union could bring home the team title for the first time in 32 years.
“Overall, we were not too bad,” DeBellonia said. “We were hoping to do a little better. It speaks to the toughness of the tournament.”
Rahway senior Adrian Harris was his team’s third and final champion, capturing his first UCT crown by winning at 144. Fellow senior Andrew Avent won at 190 by defeating Cranford senior Joey Acinapura in the final. Acinapura was the 175 champion in 2025. Then sophomore Phillip Griffin won at 113 to become Rahway’s second champion.
Harris won a dramatic and loud 144 final by pinning Cranford junior Anthony Dispensa in 4:15. Dispensa did well to reach his first UCT championship bout.
“This is amazing,” Harris said. “Last year was not so great, so I worked real hard in the off season. There was training, club, working with coaches and just going hard at it every day.”
Placing second for the Indians were junior Zaire Barron at heavyweight, senior Jaeczar Evans at 126 and Gonzalez at 157. Gonzalez lost to Scholz in the 150 final in 2025. Evans won the 106 crown in 2025.
“I’m very proud of our team, as a captain and teammate,” Harris said. “Coach Garay always helps me clear my head and keeps me calm.”
When Scholz was told he was the 11th wrestler to win four crowns to help Cranford win its 11th straight team title, this is what he said: “The culture here at Cranford is something else. From youth to now with the coaching staffs, it’s something really special.”
Union County Coach of the Year:
Dino DeBellonia, Union
Ralph “Pug” Williams Award:
Frank Signorello of Roselle Park
Outstanding wrestler lower weights (106-144):
Roselle Park freshman Jake Appello, 106 champion
Outstanding wrestler upper weights (150-hwt):
Linden freshman Alvaro Fernandez, 175 champion
UCT repeat champions:
Ariel Azeredo, Union, 138 in 2025 and 138 in 2026
Michael Daly, Cranford, 106 in 2023, 106 in 2024, 113 in 2025 and 120 in 2026
Braeden Valley, New Providence, 144 in 2025 and 150 in 2026
Luke Scholz, Cranford, 126 in 2023, 132 in 2024, 150 in 2025 and 157 in 2026
UCT finalists who were 2025 champions:
Cranford senior Joey Acinapura won at 175 in 2025 and reached 190 final in 2026
Rahway senior Jaeczar Evans won at 106 in 2025 and reached the 126 final in 2026
Arthur L. Johnson junior Matty Ortega won at 120 in 2025 and reached 120 final again in 2026
2027 returning UCT champions:
106: Jake Appello, Roselle Park, freshman
113: Phillip Griffin, Rahway, sophomore
132: Maxwell Griffin, Roselle Park, junior
175: Alvaro Fernandez, Linden, freshman
Union UCT Champions for head coach Dino Debellonia:
2026: Ariel Azeredo, senior, 138
2026: Jaydon Robles, senior, 126
2025: Ariel Azeredo, junior, 138
2024: Dan Collin, senior, 175
2017: Nick Zuena, senior, 152
2026 Union County Tournament
Teams
1-Cranford 215.5. 2-Rahway 206.0. 3-Union 202.0. 4-Arthur L. Johnson 105.5. 5-Elizabeth 98.0. 6-David Brearley 88.0. 7-Governor Livingston 75.0. 8-Linden 74.5. 9-Roselle Park 72.5. 10-Scotch Plains–Fanwood 56.0. 11-Westfield 52.5. 12-Plainfield 43.0. 13-New Providence 33.0. 14-Summit 30.0. 15-Hillside 22.0. 16-Abraham Clark 0.0.
Finals
165: Ryder Vorndran, David Brearley, maj. dec. Ethan Forbes, Elizabeth, 12-1.
175: Alvaro Fernandez, Linden, dec. Owen Woodruff, Cranford, 11-5.
190: Andrew Avent, Rahway, pin Joey Acinapura, Cranford, 1:35.
215: Paul Boyle, Scotch Plains–Fanwood, dec. Nick Bertolotti, Union, 2-1.
HWT: Raymir Brighton, Plainfield, sudden victory, Zaire Barron, Rahway, 4-1.
106: Jake Appello, Roselle Park, dec. Daniel Berardi, Westfield, 7-2.
113: Phillip Griffin, Rahway, pin Lucas Villanueva, Governor Livingston, 1:12.
120: Michael Daly, Cranford, dec. Matty Ortega, Arthur L. Johnson, 7-3.
126: Jaydon Robles, Union, dec. Jaeczar Evans, Rahway, 13-6.
132: Maxwell Griffin, Roselle Park, dec. Eduardo Ribeiro, Governor Livingston, 8-7.
138: Ariel Azeredo, Union, tech. fall Carter Stein, David Brearley, 15-0, 1:41.
144: Adrian Harris, Rahway, pin Anthony Dispensa, Cranford, 4:15.
150: Braeden Valley New Providence, pin Enzo Tammaro, Union, 2:41.
157: Luke Scholz, Cranford, tech. fall, Daniel Gonzalez, Rahway, 17-2, 2:23.
UCT Wrestling Team Champions
1975: Westfield
1976: Westfield
1977: Westfield
1978: Westfield
1979: Westfield
1980: Westfield
1981: Cranford
1982: Roselle Park
1983: Roselle Park
1984: Cranford
1985: Union
1986: Cranford
1987: Union
1988: Roselle Park
1989: Union
1990: Westfield
1991: Roselle Park
1992: Westfield
1993: Roselle Park
1994: Union
1995: Rahway
1996: Rahway
1997: Roselle Park
1998: Roselle Park
1999: Roselle Park
2000: Roselle Park
2001: Roselle Park
2002: Roselle Park
2003: Roselle Park
2004: Scotch Plains–Fanwood
2005: Rahway
2006: David Brearley
2007: David Brearley
2008: David Brearley
2009: David Brearley
2010: David Brearley
2011: David Brearley
2012: David Brearley
2013: Roselle Park
2014: Roselle Park
2015: Cranford
2016: Cranford
2017: Cranford
2018: Cranford
2019: Cranford
2020: Cranford
2021: No tournament because of COVID-19 pandemic
2022: Cranford
2023: Cranford
2024: Cranford
2025: Cranford
2026: Cranford
Championships:
Cranford (14)
Roselle Park (14)
Westfield (8)
David Brearley–Jonathan Dayton (7)
Union (4)
Rahway (3)
Scotch Plains–Fanwood (1)
Photos by JR Parachini
