2007-2008 News

SBP DEFENDS ITS TEAM TITLE IN PARSIPPANY TOURNAMENT
Hunter, Luvsandorj, Dufresne and Tovuujav all win titles

December 28, 2007

Bagna Tovuujav claimed his third championship in dominating fashion and was among four wrestlers to capture titles when St. Benedict's rallied to successfully defend its team crown last Friday in the 43rd Parsippany Holiday Tournament.

Tovuujav, who became the 18th three-time champion after claiming the 171-pound crown, followed Patrick Hunter (125), Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (152) and Kevin Dufresne (160) atop of the medals podium for St. Benedict's.

The Gray Bees, which trailed Delbarton by 4.5 points entering the finals, overtook the Morris Township squad with its championship-round effort. Coach Michael DiPiano's squad totaled 155.5 points, 11 points better than Delbarton, which failed to crown a single champion.

“The crowd was great. We had a large amount of alumni, family, and friends at the finals,” said DiPiano, who directed the Gray Bees to its eight team title in the history of the tournament. “We were down heading into (the finals), but the guys stepped up, put on a show and brought home the trophy.”

Tovuujav and Luvsandorj really put on a show in the finals. Tovuujav earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award by pinning Alex Anest of Boonton in 83 seconds, while Luvsandorj scored a 15-0 technical fall over Delbarton's Dean Sullivan in six minutes.

St. Benedict's also received second place efforts from Ahmad Ismail (145), Chris Johnson (189) and Olushola Brown (215). Quadeer Porter (135) finished third by winning his consolation bout in overtime.

“Having seven guys in the finals and the energy from all of our supporters made it feel like a home match,” said DiPiano Jr., who won a Parsippany title himself when he was a senior in 1994 while wrestling for his dad, Mike Sr.

— By Ron Jandoli