CRANFORD, NJ — The Cranford Cougars made the 50th annual wrestling Union County Tournament that was contested at Union High School’s gym on Saturday, Jan. 18, a special one for the program by capturing the team title for a record 10th consecutive time.
Cranford High School’s magnificent run, which began with the 2015 tournament when the Cougars won the team title that year for the first time since 1986, this time included a tournament-best five champions and seven grapplers total reaching the finals.
Behind three-time champions Jordan Chapman, Michael Daly and Luke Scholz; first-time winners Joey Acinapura and Dylan Jones, and Ryder Connors and Eoghan O’Hara placing second, Cranford produced 243 points for its 13th team title. The Cougars began the finals with a lead of about 40 points and, again, finished ahead of second-place Governor Livingston High School, which finished with 173.5 points.
Governor Livingston, which has never won the team title, placed second for the fourth straight tournament.
Next year, Cranford will go for an 11th straight championship and a 14th title, which would tie them with Roselle Park High School for the most team championships won.
“I think the culture was created 10 or so years ago and the path that was paved by the wrestlers who came before this team has held my boys to a certain standard,” said Cranford head coach Pat Gorman.
Gorman has guided Cranford to 219 wins in 14 seasons, including a berth in last year’s Group 3 final.
“That certain standard is being the best team in Union County each and every year,” Gorman said. “This is always on our set of team goals and it’s nice to see that the boys work so hard to make it happen year in and year out.”
Also in 2026, Daly and Scholz will have the opportunity to become only the second and third Cranford wrestlers to win four titles. The only Cranford wrestler and one of just nine overall to have won four championships was 2017 graduate Thomas DiGiovanni.
Champions by team breakdown
5: Cranford
3: Governor Livingston
1: Summit-Chatham
1: Rahway
1: Arthur L. Johnson
1: Westfield
1: Union
1: New Providence
2025 Union County Tournament
Teams:
1-Cranford 243. 2-Governor Livingston 173.5. 3-Rahway 170. 4-Westfield 167. 5-Elizabeth 96.5. 6- Scotch Plains–Fanwood 88. 7-Union 86. 8-New Providence 78. 9-David Brearley–Jonathan Dayton 71. 10-Arthur L. Johnson 58. 11-Summit–Chatham 34. 12-Plainfield 32.
Finals:
165: Cristian Gioia, Governor Livingston pin Alan Walczak, David Brearley–Jonathan Dayton, 4:52.
Gioia was the top seed.
175: Joey Acinapura, Cranford, pin Gabriel Salazar, Elizabeth, :52
Acinapura was the top seed
190: Jordan Chapman, Cranford, pin Jake Zemsky, Westfield, :59.
Chapman, a senior, was the top seed, reached the finals for the fourth time and won for the third straight time.
215: Nathan Faxon, Governor Livingston, pin Timothy Smith Jr., Elizabeth, :38.
Faxon was the top seed.
HWT: Samuel Henry, Summit–Chatham, dec. Jonathan Martinez, Rahway, 3-1.
Henry, who attends Summit and is also a football standout, was the top seed.
106: Jaeczar Evans, Rahway, dec. Daniel Berardi, Westfield, 7-5.
Evans was the first non-top seed; he was the second seed, to win.
Berardi was the top seed.
113: Michael Daly, Cranford, pin Phillip Griffin, Rahway, 3:09.
Daly, a junior, was the top seed and won for the third time.
Arthur L. Johnson returning champ Zachary Belverio was originally the top seed, but did not wrestle.
120: Matty Ortega, Arthur L. Johnson, dec. Eduardo Ribeiro, Governor Livingston 9-8.
Ortega was the top seed.
126: Brandon Rayack, Governor Livingston, tech. fall 16-0, Ryder Connors, Cranford, 6:00.
Connors was the top seed.
132: Dylan Sontz, Westfield, ultimate tie-breaker, Keegan Parkhill, Arthur L. Johnson, 2-1.
Sontz was the top seed.
138: Ariel Azeredo, Union, pin Henrique Ribeiro, Governor Livingston, 2:43.
Azeredo was the second seed. Azeredo was second at 138 last year, falling to Braeden Valley 7-5 in the final.
Top-seeded Yehia Abdelrahman of Westfield lost in the semifinals.
144: Braeden Valley, New Providence, maj. dec. Eoghan O’Hara, Cranford, 10-0.
Valley was the top seed. Valley won at 138 last year.
150: Luke Scholz, Cranford, pin Daniel Gonzalez, Rahway, 1:48.
Scholz was the top seed and won for the third time.
157: Dylan Jones, Cranford, pin Jake Kreisberg, Governor Livingston, 4:00.
Jones was the second seed and Kreisberg the top seed.
Ten top seeds won. The only weight classes where the top seed did not win were 106, 126, 138 and 157.
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: David 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
2022: Cranford
2023: Cranford
2024: Cranford
2025: Cranford
Championships
Roselle Park (14)
Cranford (13)
Westfield (8)
David Brearley–Jonathan Dayton (7)
Union (4)
Rahway (3)
Scotch Plains–Fanwood (1)
2026 returning UCT champions
Cranford sophomore Joey Acinapura, 175 champ
Rahway junior Jaeczar Evans, 106 champ
Cranford junior Michael Daly, 113 champ
Arthur L. Johnson sophomore Matty Ortega, 120 champ
Union junior Ariel Azeredo, 138 champ
New Providence junior Braeden Valley, 144 champ
Cranford junior Luke Scholz, 150 champ
Seniors that won
Cristian Gioia, Governor Livingston, 165
Jordan Chapman, Cranford, 190
Nathan Faxon, Governor Livingston, 215
Sam Henry, Summit–Chatham, HWT
Brandon Rayak, Governor Livingston, 126
Dylan Sontz, Westfield, 132
Dylan Jones, Cranford, 157
Wrestlers who won after losing in finals last year
Cristian Gioia, Governor Livingston: lost in 165 final in 2024
Joey Acinapura, Cranford: lost in 175 final in 2024
Matty Ortega, Arthur L. Johnson: lost in 106 final in 2024
Ariel Azeredo, Union: lost in 138 final in 2024
Wrestlers who lost again in the finals, placing second once more
Timothy Smith, Elizabeth, lost in 215 final in 2024
Henrique Ribeiro, Governor Livingston, lost in 126 final in 2024
Repeat champions
Jordan Chapman, Cranford: third straight
Nathan Faxon, Governor Livingston: second straight
Sam Henry, Summit–Chatham: second straight
Michael Daly, Cranford: third straight
Braeden Valley, New Providence: second straight
Luke Scholz, Cranford: third straight
Brandon Rayack, Governor Livingston: second in three years
Rayack won the 113 title his sophomore season in 2023.
Photo Courtesy of Pat Gorman