PARK RIDGE – The fate of a wrestling monopoly hung by a thread Thursday night.
Matthew Constante still managed to keep it intact.
The Emerson/Park Ridge senior stepped onto the mat with his team down three points heading into the final bout and Hasbrouck Heights looking to slay the dragon that’s never lost in its conference tournament.
Constante snuffed out the upset bid with a walk-off pin and the Cavos prevailed with a 36-33 victory in the NJIC championship.
Emerson/Park Ridge has now won all seven conference titles since the event was created back in 2017. The finishing touches this time came from an unusual source at 126.
“I haven’t closed a match since sophomore year,” Constante said. “It was super nerve-racking. I started warming up when the heavyweight was up. Even when the 175-pounder was up, I stood up and warmed up.”
Pins made all the difference for the Cavos in a match where bouts were split down the middle. Paul Coombes (150), Jacob Shannon (175) and Cole Hughes (285) all won by fall to send the co-op back on top.
This was the second time the Cavos beat Hasbrouck Heights this season, but much closer than their 18-point affair last month.
“It was very satisfying,” Hughes said. “To be the top team in the NJIC all four years is extremely impressive, even though we didn’t come out and wrestle our best today. I’m very happy with everyone with how we performed.”
What it means
Emerson/Park Ridge has now dispatched four different teams in the title round, including wins over Pompton Lakes (2017, 2018, 2019), Butler (2020, 2022) and New Milford (2023).
Since the conference was formed, the Cavos have won all 113 meets against NJIC opponents. Its dominance on the small-school level can be traced back even longer – to its 11 sectional titles under former coach and state wins leader Stan Woods.
The Cavos will start the chase for No. 12 on Monday as the second seed in their bracket.
“It would mean everything,” Constante said. “We’ve made it to state sectional finals in all my years that I’ve been here. We fell short to Kittatinny every single year. But this team is different. We have guys at every weight.”
Inside the win
For a while, it wasn’t clear if Constante would get the chance to go out with a bang Thursday night.
Hasbrouck Heights swung momentum in its favor in the second bout when Emil Belyayev – competing in only his second varsity match this season – pinned Jackson Shannon while down 5-0 at 138. The belief on the visitors’ sideline only grew after Matthew Quish flipped a bout at 215 and Nicolas Carvajal took the rubber match with Evan Constante at 106.
The Cavos answered with some chess moves of their own as Coombes and Hughes both bumped up a spot and scored six points. After missing last season with a torn labrum, Hughes has made up for lost time with a 28-1 year.
“The bike chains were very rusty (in December),” Hughes said. “But now they’re moving very fast. It’s like we’re going downhill right now. It feels smooth being out of the mat.”
While Hughes is more accustomed to the role of closer, the Lehigh football commit was confident that Matthew Constante had the right demeanor for the job. Hughes still went over to his teammate for a brief pep talk.
“I went out there and told him don’t get riled up,” Hughes said. “Don’t tire yourself out. Stay calm. All he’s going to do is try not to get pinned with your stuff. You’ll be fine.”
Constante backed it up by getting on and off the mat in 36 seconds.
“We had a good feeling that he was going to get six for us,” coach Joe Mazzeo said. “Our motto is go six or get six. It showed.”
