Tyler Palumbo, Christian King lead No. 2 CBA to epic comeback win over No. 1 St. John Vianney

MIDDLETOWN — On Wednesday night, the opportunity Tyler Palumbo had been waiting for finally arrived. Four bouts prior, Christian King was just as surprised as anyone to learn he would be making his dual-meet debut in a matchup of top-five teams in New Jersey. Together, they bookended an incredible rally that delivered Christian Brothers Academy a monumental victory in an all-time classic.

With CBA trailing by 20 points with just four bouts remaining, King won by fall at 165 pounds in his first action in a varsity dual meet, jump-starting a Colts rally that concluded with Palumbo delivering a walk-off pin at 215 pounds to complete an epic comeback as No. 2 CBA toppled No. 1 St. John Vianney, 30-29, in a Shore Conference Class A Division match.

This match had it all. No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the Shore. No. 3 vs. No. 4 in New Jersey. Multiple nationally-ranked wrestlers and several returning state medalists. And in the final four bouts, an unknown wrestler provided one of the biggest dual-meet wins in program history and a standout came through in the clutch in his first match back after sitting out to comply with the NJSIAA transfer rule.

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“I love the team part and I love dual meets,” CBA head coach Billy Ashnault said. “Guys sacrificing, guys bumping, that’s how you build a team culture.”

“It’s all about finding a way,” CBA assistant coach Vinnie DelleFave said. “It’s not always going to be pretty and it might not be the guy you thought it was going to be.”

King, a sophomore, has been primarily a junior varsity wrestler, only recently competing at the varsity level during CBA’s trip to Virginia for the East Coast Catholic School Duals. He got the call at 165 with CBA electing to bump senior AJ Falcone to 175 and gamble on King winning and setting the Colts up to close the match with three of their hammers. They had a chance, but only if he won. The door was cracked open just a bit for a potential CBA comeback entering his bout, but four-and-a-half minutes later King ran a half-nelson and delivered six massive team points with a pin at the 4:30 mark.

“I didn’t even know I was going to wrestle until about two seconds before I went out,” King said. “I didn’t have time to think about it but I wanted to wrestle and I was ready.”

King built a 9-3 advantage in the second period and was on his way to bonus points. He realized early in the bout he could provide much more than just a decision.

“As soon as I got that first takedown and was on top I knew I could get something out of it and get the job done,” King said. “It was absolutely amazing. I’m so glad we won.”

“The kid answered the bell,” DelleFave said. “His name was called and he competed as hard as he could and got the fall for the team.”

CBA now trailed 29-15 with three bouts left and Falcone followed with a 10-3 victory over John Saraiva at 175 pounds. There were no bonus points as CBA had hoped, but Falcone was able to keep the line moving and keep the Colts mathematically alive at 29-18. With CBA down by 11 with two bouts left and St. John Vianney having already won eight bouts, everyone in attendance knew what had to happen. CBA had to pin out.

Act 1 was sophomore returning state medalist Brock Oizerowitz needing just 55 seconds to win by fall at 190 pounds and pull CBA to within 29-24 entering the final bout. Naturally, it came down to Palumbo in his first match back after sitting the required 30 days for transferring from Red Bank where he reached the third round of wrestlebacks at least season’s NJSIAA Tournament. He was the favorite against SJV’s Thomas Foley, but when only a pin will do, the task is much easier said than done.

Palumbo was in complete control entering the third period but was having trouble turning Foley and risked inadvertently winning by technical fall. Had the match finished tied at 29, St. John Vianney would have won on criteria via having won eight of the 14 bouts. As the clock ticked down late in the second period, Palumbo locked in a cement mixer, torqued Foley to his back, and finished off the pin at the 3:45 mark to send the home fans into a frenzy and clinch a comeback that seemed most unlikely 30 minutes prior.

“Probably two matches before coaches told me I’m up and I have to get the pin, so I did,” Palumbo said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but once I get on the mat I believe I’m the best wrestler in the country. That’s the mindset I carry with me every single match.”

“Honestly, I think because he had to sit he had so much adrenaline that he didn’t think too much about (the moment),” Ashnault said.

CBA needed to wait less than two weeks to exact revenge for a lopsided loss at the hands of St. John Vianney on Jan. 3. In the third-place match of the Catholic School Duals, the Lancers dealt the Colts a 49-25 defeat. CBA was without four starters that day, but it was a dominant performance by SJV. On Wednesday, three of those four wrestlers – Palumbo, Oizerowitz, and junior 132-pound Bobby Duffy – were back in the lineup. Conversely, St. John Vianney was without an integral piece of its lineup as standout senior 165-pounder Cole Stangle did not weigh in.

It did not initially appear that Stangle’s absence would make much of a difference. Vianney opened a 10-0 lead after the first two bouts, pushed the advantage to 20-9 halfway through, and then led 29-9 with four bouts remaining. The Lancers outwrestled CBA for much of the night, but the Colts landed three haymakers in the final four bouts for a 12-5 edge in bonus points that made all the difference.

Senior heavyweight Rocco Dellagatta, the defending state champion and top-five heavyweight in the country, received a forfeit to start the match. At 106 pounds, sophomore Julian Zargo won by 17-4 major decision over Kellen Duffy for a quick 10-0 Lancers’ lead.

CBA got on the board at 113 when standout freshman Sean Kenny survived a scare for a 14-9 victory over Riley Correal. Kenny was dominating the bout 10-2 in the second period when Correal was able to hit a seven-point move off a scramble, putting Kenny to his back and closing the gap to 10-9 entering the third. Kenny buckled down and got a turn for four near-fall points in the third period to win 14-9, but Correal saving bonus points was a major coup for the Lancers.

St. John Vianney’s move on the weigh-in sheet was weighing two-state state eighth-place finisher Matt Gould at 126 up from his usual spot at 120, giving the Lancers great flexibility from 120 through 138. CBA decided to bump star sophomore Paul Kenny to 126, which meant the matchup at 120 was CBA freshman Cael Dutton squaring off against St. John Vianney junior Ryan Kearney. Dutton won by fall in 4:25 and CBA was right back in the match trailing 10-9.

Then came the mega match. CBA sent out Kenny, a returning state third-place medalist who won a U17 world freestyle championship in 2023 and is ranked in the top five in the nation at 120 pounds. St. John Vianney did not counter with Gould, instead sending out Anthony Knox, a three-time state champion who is the nation’s No. 1-ranked 126-pounder. Knox scored a takedown in the first period, another in the second, and one more late in the third period to secure a 10-2 major decision in a fantastic, high-pace bout. Vianney was now up 14-9.

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The marquee matchups kept coming at 132 where St. John Vianney senior three-time state medalist Patrick O’Keefe squared off with junior Bobby Duffy, a two-time state qualifier who has narrowly missed out on state medals each of the past two seasons. O’Keefe scored the bout’s only takedown in the first period and kept the dangerous Duffy in check to win 3-1 and give Vianney a 17-9 lead.

Knox and O’Keefe started what would be a six-bout winning streak for the Lancers that appeared to have put the match out of reach. Abraham Adu-Amoako won a crucial toss-up bout with a 6-4 decision over Randy Jenks at 138 pounds before senior Jake Zaltsman won 7-1 over Will Sakoutis at 144 for a 23-9 St. John Vianney lead. At 150, Dezmond Lenaghan grinded out a 1-0 win over Jimmy Jakub and Bubba Gavrish topped Brendan Boyer, 8-3, in a matchup of two of the top three 157-pounders in the Shore.

The air was out of CBA’s balloon but King injected life back into the Colts’ bench and their momentum grew until Palumbo made his first major moment in Carolina blue one to remember.

“I love it here, I love the atmosphere, my coaches, my teammates,” Palumbo said. “This is why I came to CBA, to win big duals.”

Since the first matchup between CBA and SJV in the Catholic School Duals did not count as their division match, the door is now open for the Colts to secure the Class A championship. They can clinch at least a share of the title next Wednesday when they meet No. 3 Southern. A win by the Rams would create a three-way tie atop the standings between CBA, SJV, and Southern.

 

Box Score

	285:	Rocco Dellagata (SJV) over Unknown (For.)
	106:	Julian Zargo (SJV) over Kellen Duffy (CBA) (MD 17-4)
	113:	Sean Kenny (CBA) over Riley Correal (SJV) (Dec 14-9)
	120:	Cael Dutton (CBA) over Ryan Kearney (SJV) (Fall 4:25)
	126:	Anthony Knox (SJV) over Paul Kenny (CBA) (MD 10-2)
	132:	Patrick O`Keefe (SJV) over Robert Duffy (CBA) (Dec 3-1)
	138:	Abraham Adu-Amoako (SJV) over Randall Jenks (CBA (Dec 6-4)
	144:	Jake Zaltsman (SJV) over William Sakoutis (CBA) (Dec 7-1)
	150:	Dezmond Lenaghan (SJV) over James Jakub (CBA) (Dec 1-0)
	157:	Ryan Gavrish (SJV) over Brendan Boyer (CBA) (Dec 8-3)
	165:	Christian King (CBA) over Greg Jhanjee (SJV) (Fall 4:30)
	175:	AJ Falcone (CBA) over John Saraiva (SJV) (Dec 10-3)
	190:	Brock Oizerowitz (CBA) over Michael Scagnelli (SJV) (Fall 0:55)
	215:	Tyler Palumbo (CBA) over Thomas Foley (SJV) (Fall 3:45)