Sophomore Sabino Portella became RBC's first state finalist since Tom Seitz in 1974. Seitz is a NJ state wrestling champion and 2016 RBC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. Mr. Seitz actually reached out to Sabino last week to chat and catch up most everything but wrestling. Coach Joe Gallagher spoke with Tom a little more than a year ago and mentioned that there were a few young kids in the program that could make things very interesting in the near future and Sabino certainly played his part.
An adjusted tournament structure gave kids an opportunity to compete and that was what schools, programs, athletes and coaches wanted.
One of the major changes was the move from eight regions to four which required regions to combine essentially making New Jersey's tournament even more difficult to reach and compete in. New Jersey is one of the only states to produce only one champion at each weight.
Portella's run to the finals began last week in the 5/6 Super Region at Hunterdon Central where he had to win four matches in four hours and the last two opponents he faced were returning state medalists who finished higher than him a year ago. There were a few other Casey wrestlers, Davin Brewton (freshman), Michael Palmieri (sophomore), Jake Louro (senior) and junior alternate Daniel Conroy who each accomplished enough this season to be selected to the first Super Region 5/6 championship.
Portella defeated Norman Cella, the state's eighth place wrestler at 160 in 2020, in quadruple OT, then had to face off with Rumson's Shay Addison in the finals. Addison was 5th in NJ last season and one of the few wrestlers to defeat the young Casey wrestler in 2020. Portella managed to take Addison down in the last 10 seconds to secure the Super Region title.
The win put him in a solid position in the state seeding but the 170 weight class was regarded as one of the most difficult in the tournament as 7 of the 16 wrestlers were returning state medalists spanning a few different weight classes and 10 were returning state qualifiers.
Portella managed to start off with a pin over Brett Miller of Bound Brook before facing off with Addison again in the highly anticipated rematch quarter final. Whoever won the match would secure at least a medal and a spot in the semis. This would be their third high school bout, each one being a high stakes showdown and Portella came away with an extremely hard fought 2-0 victory where he showed poise, patience and excellent conditioning.
The win placed him in the semi finals against Justin Onello from Bergen Catholic who was coming off of a pin of Colin Calvetti (Delbarton) and an 8-7 decision of #2 Michael Dellagatta (St. Joseph's Regional, Montvale). Both were returning medalists from a few of NJ's dominant programs and both have been in the state's top 5 all season. Onello was regarded as the strongest and one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the bracket. This proved true as Onello gave Portella all he could handle forcing overtime. The match went into overtime with the score 1-1 and since Onello scored the first match point he would have the choice as to whether he would choose to attempt escape or to hold Portella down for the win if it was to go to a fourth OT so it was in Portella's best interest to take a big chance and he certainly did.
Onello's strength and explosiveness allowed him to get right to his feet but Portella positioned himself perfectly, lifted and put Onello to his back for a 3 point near fall. Onello had no choice but to allow Portella to his feet and attempt a big throw in the next 30 second period. The Casey played it smart and stayed out of trouble to secure RBC's first final appearance since 1974.
Portella faced off with nationally ranked senior and Columbia University commit Aaron Ayzerov in the finals. Ayzerov has been the number 1 wrestler in NJ since he was a finalist a year ago and has dominated national and local tournaments along the way. Ayzerov defeated Portella 8-2 and proved to be one of the best pound for pound wrestlers in the state. Even in defeat Portella showed his competitive nature. Down 8-0 Ayzerov only had to hold his opponent down for the remaining 20 seconds when Portella quickly got to his feet and managed to hip toss Aaron to his back eliciting a roar from the crowd as it appeared for a few seconds that Portella may have pulled off the impossible but Ayzerov managed to get to his belly and only give up 2 points, which happened to be the ONLY offensive points any opponent managed to score on Ayzerov since the beginning of the tournament last week.
He was simply the best wrestler this night.
Sabino Portella added to RBC history this season. He and his teammates made the most of a situation that will not soon be forgotten for all the adjustments, limitations and precautions put in place to provide NJ high school programs with a season. RBC's dedicated athletic director worked very hard to find the best, safest and most productive situation and facilities which helped the growing wrestling program take another big step forward.
Portella made the program, the school and the Casey faithful proud, but he is not satisfied. He almost seemed more excited when speaking about the call he received from Seitz last week than winning matches. "As he learns more about the history of the school, the wrestling and football programs of which he is a large part, he seems to get more focused" said Head Coach Joe Gallagher. "We have a tremendous attitude in our practice room, in our program and among the students in general. I am so fortunate to have outstanding people, not just great coaches, truly great people who want the best for these kids. I believe these kids feel it feed off of it. We are largely a young group with energy and character. The few upperclassmen we have, guys like Jake Louro, Daniel Brewton, J.J. Lodato, Anthony Donnelly, Dave Thomas, Michael Nappo are guys who enjoy the successes of others even more than their own. Louro, Brewton and J.J are committed to outstanding programs to play football but still came out here to help their friends.
Congrats to all of the wrestlers and coaching staff on an excellent season!
RBC WRESTLERS CAP A SUCCESSFUL SEASON AT THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
