Bishop McCort Triumphs Over Delbarton in National Hall of Fame Duals Classic Thriller

A heavyweight showdown seals the victory as Bishop McCort solidifies its dominance in the fiercely contested National Hall of Fame Duals final

Enter the second period behind on the scoreboard, Bishop McCort's Caleb Rodriguez took control and pinned Delbarton's August Moser, at the 2:44 mark, to clinch a 37-28 team victory for McCort in the championship match at the National Hall of Fame Duals in Oklahoma. / Caleb Rodriguez Instagram

The two teams expected to emerge from their respective pools at the National Hall of Fame Duals Classic at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma this weekend did so, with No. 4 Bishop McCort from Pennsylvania and No. 6 Delbarton, New Jersey earning births into the championship final by going unscathed during pool action.

Rankings for teams early in the season can involve a lot of guesswork as the teams don’t have a lot of mat time established yet. These two squads being tied so closely together in the national rankings suggested a tight affair, and that is what we got in a match that was decided by the heavyweights.

When you are dealing with powerhouses like these two, most of the time, it’s not the stars that decide the outcome, but the depth guys. Those depth guys kept Delbarton in the match as they won all four of the so called “Swing Matches”.  Including two in a row early on when results going the other way would have buried the Green Wave.

No. 14 Keegan Basett did what he was supposed to do at 106lbs and disposed of No. 20 PJ Terranova, 4-2. At 113, Eli Herring, who is just outside the rankings was heavily favored versus Alex Rosciano and delivered with a 17-0 technical fall to start McCort out with an 8-0 edge.

Delbarton claimed two of its swing wins at 120 and 126 to take the lead, 9-8. Tommy Marchetti teched Jack Silfies at 120 and Braden Jones (126) won in surprisingly easy fashion, 15-3, over Austin Carfley.

The Crushers’ Big-Time hammers were up next, and they performed to expectations and took the lead back for Bishop McCort.

No. 1 Jax Forrest worked to a 19-3 tech fall of Honorable Mention Ryan DeGeorge at 132. The 138 lbs match saw No. 7 Sam Herring post a 9-1 major decision over Chase Quenault. No. 1 Bo Bassett decked Nick Schwartz in 1:08 after building a 9-1 lead in their 144 lbs encounter. That run put the favorites back on top 22-9. They would never trail again.

The next four bouts saw each team win two, with them alternating wins. No. 1 Jayden James (150) picked up a fall midway through his match with Jackson Butler, 3:02. No. 7 Devon Magro didn’t allow Delbarton to build momentum with a shutout of Trevor Jones, 4-0.

No. 6 Alessio Perentin added bonus points to the Green Wave’s count at 165 with a 21-5 tech of Josh Spontak. No. 4 Melvin Miller collected bonus points for McCort in his 175 lbs meeting with Jesse Devegri that ended in the first period with a pin at the 1:36 mark. All that back-and-forth mumbo jumbo left the Crushers ahead, 31-20.

Things were beginning to look bleak for Delbarton, but with no real studs in the lineup for either team in the last three matches, uncertainty was in the air.

The Green Wave swept the next two bouts to set the scene for high drama in the heavyweight dance. At 190, CJ Betz won a 13-9 decision with CJ Pensiero. Elberus Majagah electrified Delbarton with an 18-2 technical fall of Matteo Noronha.

When the big boys strolled on the mat, McCort was holding a three-point lead, 31-28. As the match got underway it appeared the Green Wave’s tide was going to keep on flowing in their favor as August Moser built an early lead over Caleb Rodriguez and looked to be the better wrestler.

When the second period began to unfold, Rodriguez put on his big boy pants and took control of the match, changing the narrative of the match and ruining Delbarton’s upset hopes by planting Moser 44 seconds into that second frame, 2:44.

The emotional swing on that last match, and the whole dual was taxing, but rewarding for the victors, who as the favorites had to show heart to fulfill expectations.

To reach the final, McCort took out Joliet Catholic (IL), 67-3, in their pool along with Ponaganset (RI), 56-9, No. 14 Edmond North (OK), 46-17, and No. 22 Massillon Perry (OH), who gave them a good fight, but fell 36-24.

Posting 5-0 records for the champs were Bo Bassett, Forrest, Eli Herring, Sam Herring, Magro, and Miller. The unranked Eli picked up a 7-1 win over HM Lincoln Rohr (Massillon Perry) at 113. The bigger Herring, blanked No. 30 Thomas Verrette (Edmond North), 10-0.

Bassett, who is known more for teching people than pinning them, pinned two highly rated foes in Massillon Perry’s No. 18 Joseph Sanderfer, 1:02, and HM Joseph Joyce (Ponanganset), 1:51. Magro defeated two guys ranked at 150 lbs, No. 6 Joseph Jeter (Edmond North), 12-5, and No. 28 David Perez (Ponaganset), 14-4. The No. 1 157 lber in the land, Kody Routledge (Edmond North), fresh off an Ironman championship, moved up to face Miller at 165 and fell 8-5.

4-1 records were tallied by Keegan Bassett, Butler, and Rodriguez. Keegan Bassett dropped a 9-2 decision to No. 9 Turner Ross (Edmond North) and Rodriguez came up short against HM entry Mike Millin (Massillon Perry), 4-2. Noronha and Pensiero put 3-2 records in the book.  

Delbarton had a close encounter with No. 10 Stillwater (OK), 36-26, in their pool, but blew everyone else out, Green Farms Academy (CT) fell 53-8, No. 19 Sunnyside was dispersed of 49-19, and Arlington Martin (TX) by a 71-3 tally.

Bishop McCort 37, Delbarton 28

106-Keegan Bassett (BM) dec PJ Terranova, 9-2

113-Eli Herring (BM) tech-fall Alex Rosciano, 17-0

120-Tommy Marchetti (Delb) tech-fall Jack Silfies, 17-2

126-Braden Jones maj-dec Austin Carfley, 15-3

132-Jax Forrest (BM) tech-fall Ryan DeGeorge, 19-3

138-Sam Herring (BM) maj-dec Chase Quenault, 9-1

144-Bo Bassett (BM) pinned Nick Schwartz, 1:08

150-Jayden James (Delb) pinned Jackson Butler, 3:02

157-Devon Magro (BM) dec Trevor Jones, 4-0

165-Alessio Perentin (Delb) tech-fall Josh Spontak, 21-5

175-Melvin Miller (BM) pinned Jesse Devegri, 1:36

190-CJ Betz (Delb) dec CJ Pensiero, 13-9

215-Elbrus Majagah (Delb) tech-fall Matteo Nornoha, 18-2

285-Caleb Rodriguez (BM) pinned August Moser, 2:44