Richie Grungo of Saint Augustine Preparatory School defeated Saint Joseph-Montvale’s Yannis Charles in overtime of the NJSIAA state wrestling tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday, March 4, to become just the third state champion from his school.
Grungo won the 144-pound bracket in thrilling fashion, by defeating Charles, 5-1, in overtime with a takedown and back points with less than 20 seconds remaining in the sudden victory extra session.
Grungo went 5-0 at the state tournament, including two pins, a tech fall and pair of decision and finished his season with a 30-2 record.
The Hermits junior had placed fifth in the state during his freshman year and fourth last season. He was the four-seed in this year’s tournament and defeated the No. 1 seed Julian George of Christian Brothers Academy in the semifinal before besting the No. 2 seed Charles in the final.
Grungo follows the footsteps of Bobby Malatesta (1985) and Jack Clark (2014) to win gold as a state champion at Saint Augustine.
Grungo was one of four Hermits to reach the podium, including Brady Conlin, who was runner-up in the 150-pound bracket after suffering a 3-1 loss to Matt Henrich of Southern in the final.
Kaden Naame took fourth place at 113 pounds, and Jake Slotnick finished sixth at 165. The Hermits impressively went a combined 26-12 by their seven wrestlers who qualified to compete in Atlantic City over the weekend.
Holy Spirit’s Max Elton fell just shy of becoming Holy Spirit High School’s third state champ, as the senior finished fourth at 120 pounds. Elton won his first three matches before falling in the semifinal.
Camden Catholic had three wrestlers reach the podium, continuing a streak of 30 years with at least one finalist. Jackson Young (126 pounds) and Austin Craft (157) both took seventh place in their respective brackets, while Wayne Rold, an 11-seed, finished 8th at 138.
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