King Rocco: St. John Vianney’s Dellagatta repeats as NJSIAA heavyweight state champion

ATLANTIC CITY — When you’re the heavyweight champion, the target on your back is the biggest of them all. Thirty-two opponents tried to get the better of Rocco Dellagatta this season, but nobody came close to dethroning the two-time heavyweight king.

In his first and only season at St. John Vianney, Dellagatta completed a perfect senior season with a 7-1 decision over St. Joseph Regional’s Cristian Alvarez to repeat as NJSIAA heavyweight state champion on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.

“Everyone was gunning for me, but no one could take it,” Dellagatta said. “32-0”.

Dellagatta entered the season as a consensus top-5 high school heavyweight in the country and the overwhelming favorite to repeat as state champion. From start to finish, he was unstoppable, winning by bonus points in 29 of his 32 bouts with 18 pins, four technical falls, and seven forfeits. His three victories by decision came to Alvarez in the state final, 6-2 over Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra (who finished third) in the semifinals, and 4-2 over Bergen Catholic’s Benji Shue during the Non-Public A team tournament. Shue finished fourth in the state.

Ironically, his opponent in the state final was his former teammate. Dellagatta spent his first three high school years at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale where he won three district titles, three region titles, placed fourth in the state at 175 pounds as a sophomore, and won his first state title as a junior. Last season, he helped the Green Knights upend Delbarton in the Non-Public A final and finish as the No. 1 team in the state, a feat St. Joe’s duplicated this season.

“It was kind of weird,” Dellagatta said of his matchup with Alvarez. “He’s like a brother to me. I love his family, they’re great people. But I knew I was going to win.”

After a scoreless first period, Dellagatta had choice to begin the second period, chose down, and escaped 11 seconds in for a 1-0 lead. He scored the only takedown he would need with 17 seconds left in the second period to build a 4-1 advantage. In the third, Alvarez escaped eight seconds in but Dellagatta closed out the match and the title on a takedown with 15 seconds left.

A 6-foot-4 and right at the 285-pound limit for the heavyweight class, Alvarez is a difficult opponent to move, and a sloppy shot can put a wrestler on the wrong end of all that mass.

“You have to find big partners to train with (to prepare for the biggest heavyweights),” Dellagatta said. “I got the shot on, had to circle, hook the ankle, pop the head; his head was heavy as…yeah. Just forcing it to get the takedown was the goal and that’s what I did.”

When Dellagatta exited the mat following his championship victory he was mobbed by his St. John Vianney teammates. That connection based on just one season together speaks volumes about Dellagatta’s demeanor. He spent only one year in the Shore Conference but that was enough to showcase his talent, intelligence, and gregarious personality with a touch of dry humor.

“He’s very relatable,” St. John Vianney head coach Chris Notte said. “Obviously he’s big, so he has that big teddy bear feel to him. We have a lot of personalities on the team so they like being around Rocco and he loves the energy. We welcomed him with open arms.”

“This team is a brotherhood,” Dellagatta said. “They treat you like a brother, they bleed with you, they cry with you, they go through hell with you. They always have my back.”

Along with teammate Anthony Knox, Dellagatta is part of an excellent recruiting class for Cornell University that also includes Delbarton’s Alessio Perentin, a three-time state champion who won the 165-pound title on Saturday, and St. Joseph’s Adrian DeJesus, a two-time state champion. Soon, he’ll join one of the best college programs in the nation that also includes his older brother Mikey, a 2023 state champion, whom Rocco now holds bragging rights over.

“I just gotta say, now I have one more (state title) than my brother,” Dellagatta said.