Boulard’s match-changing pin leads Wall past Ocean and into first sectional final since 2020
OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Wall came to wrestle Monday night, showcasing grit and the necessary gumption it takes to win dual meets in February. Still, the Crimson Knights knew they needed a little extra when facing Ocean in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals.
Michael Boulard took care of that.
In the second bout of the night, the Crimson Knights’ standout freshman delivered a match-changing pin over Ocean senior and two-time region medalist Boomer Volek at 150 pounds, setting the stage for third-seeded Wall to take down the second-seeded Spartans, 32-24, in a thrilling postseason dual between longtime rivals.
Boulard’s stunning pin gave Wall a 6-5 lead and the Crimson Knights never trailed the rest of the way to advance to their first sectional final since 2020. They will face top-seeded and defending Group 2 champion Rumson-Fair Haven in the sectional final at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Rumson defeated Point Boro, 46-22, in the other semifinal.
Trailing 4-0 during the opening minute of the second period, Boulard countered a shot by Volek and pancaked him to his back along the edge of the circle. He was able to keep one foot in bounds – just barely – and finished off the fall 20 seconds later to change the entire complexion of the match.
“I was losing the match and I knew he was going to try to shoot,” Boulard said. “I was keeping my arms down and as soon as he shot, I stuck him.”
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“As soon as that happened I thought we definitely have a shot,” Wall head coach Brian Fischer said. “(Volek) is pretty freaking good. So is Mikey, but he’s a freshman and not a proven kid. Obviously they’re favored in that match and Mikey did a nice job of keeping his foot in. The new college rules (single point of contact) with out of bounds was huge for us there. He literally had one toe in. Getting six there was huge.”
Boulard (25-6) has enjoyed a very good freshman season so far, but Monday’s win is by far his biggest to date.
“I feel like it gave us the spark we needed,” Boulard said.
Wall won eight of the 14 bouts, had an 8-7 advantage in bonus points, and received clutch performance throughout the lineup. With the match tied at 24 with two bouts left, junior Ben Waitzel delivered a technical fall at 132 pounds to give the Crimson Knights a 29-24 lead heading into the final bout. At 138, freshman Mason DiStefano was able to stay out of harm’s way against pin-minded Justin Farina and close out the match with an 11-8 decision. Sophomore Jeremy Marsella won by fall at 165 pounds while sophomore Parker Quinn (157), junior Eric Clauburg (285), sophomore Bryson Jarosz (106), and senior Charles Mahoney (120) each won by decision. In defeat, Christopher Solano (190), Sean Cosme (215), and Omar Carrillo-Solano (113) saved bonus points.
“It was all about saving points where we were losing,” Fischer said. “All these kids saving points allowed us to make some moves, and obviously when Boulard wound up getting that pin it allowed us to sit back and reassess and see what we could do to just win matches. The kids came through on their end.”
Ocean sophomore returning state qualifier Jake Volek started Ocean off with a technical fall at 144 pounds. Boulard’s pin followed to give Wall a 6-5 lead. Quinn, who was also a state qualifier as a freshman last season, extended Wall’s lead to 9-5 with a 7-0 decision over Jake Volek at 157 pounds.
Wall sophomore Parker Quinn won by fall when Wall defeated Raritan, 40-32, in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 quarterfinals and won by decision in a 32-24 win over Ocean in the semifinals. (Bob Badders | rpbphotography.com).
Marsella won by fall at 165 pounds to extend Wall’s lead to 15-4, but it wasn’t without some controversy. He took Pinnock down hard to the mat and Pinnock needed injury time to recover. Ocean head coach Cippy Apicelli argued that it should have been ruled an illegal slam, but the officials did not change their call and docked Ocean a team point for misconduct.
Ocean regrouped to win the next three bouts and tie the match at 15. Josh Calixte outlasted Joe Donofrio for a 5-4 decision at 175 pounds before Nick Allen delivered a technical fall over Solano at 190. At 215, senior returning region medalist Danny Farina won 5-2 over Sean Cosme to pull the Spartans even halfway through the dual.
Ocean appeared as if it was going to take the lead at heavyweight when senior Abi Andre came out fast and took Clauburg down quickly. Clauburg was able to weather the early onslaught from Andre, however, clawing back to tie the match and take the lead on an escape, a stalling point, another escape, and another stalling point in the second period. Another stalling call on Andre put Clauburg up by 6-4 on his way to a key 7-4 decision without scoring an offensive point.
“What I’ll say about Clauburg is that a month ago we’re not winning that match,” Fischer said. “He didn’t have the maturity to understand what he needed to do to win. He would have done something like shoot in and get stuck underneath that kid. Now we have him finally believing in what we’re telling him about winning a match like that. It’s a marathon. Just wear him down and when you get an opportunity to score, you do. And if you’re going to get some calls because you’re shooting guys out of bounds, that’s the rule and he took advantage of it.”
Wall was now up 18-15 heading into 106 pounds where Jarosz used a takedown in the first period, a rideout in the second, and another takedown in the third for a 7-2 win over Michael Apicelli. Justin Penta won for Ocean at 113 with a 3-0 win over Carrillo-Solano but Mahoney answered for Wall with a 6-1 decision over Christopher Tenas at 120 to give the Knights a 24-18 advantage with three bouts left.
Ocean junior Steven Perez, a returning district champion, won by fall in 33 seconds at 126 pounds to tie the match at 24, but Wall was in a good spot with Waitzel and DiStefano ready in the final two bouts.
Wall will now take it’s shot at top-seeded Rumson. The Crimson Knights are a heavy underdog, but the result of that match won’t be nearly as important as what it took to get to a sectional final. With just four seniors in the starting lineup, six freshman or sophomores playing key roles, and talented middle schoolers in the pipeline, Wall is setting the foundation for what it anticipates will be a fruitful future.
“It’s huge,” Fischer said. “It shows the kids down in middle school that we’re going in the right direction and they’re going to be joining us for that. I don’t know how many people thought we’d be here, but we are.”
Box Score
(3) Wall 32, (2) Ocean 24
144: Dominic Volek (O) tf. Joseph Matri, 3:31 (19-4)
150: Michael Boulard (W) p. Boomer Volek, 2:24
157: Parker Quinn (W) d. Jake Volek, 7-0
165: Jeremy Marsella (W) p. Jevante Pinnock, 4:25
175: Josh Calixte (O) d. Joe Donofrio, 5-4
190: Nick Allen (O) tf. Christopher Solano, 5:00 (18-2)
215: Danny Farina (O) d. Sean Cosme, 5-2
Hwt: Eric Clauburg (W) d. Abi Andre, 7-4
106: Bryson Jarosz (W) d. Michael Apicelli, 7-2
113: Justin Penta (O) d. Omar Carrillo-Solano, 3-0
120: Charles Mahoney (W) d. Christopher Tenas, 6-1
126: Steven Perez (O) p. Lucas Silvestri, 0:33
132: Ben Waitzel (W) tf. Alex Falco, 3:32 (19-4)
138: Mason DiStefano (W) d. Justin Farina, 11-8
Record: at Ocean (17-4); Wall (17-4)
