Overall Record: 28-1 / A-Division: 3-1

3/8: NJSIAA TOURNAMENT
2 Medal Winners
3rd: Sonny Amato (144)
5th: Joaquin Duque (126)
WB4: Eamon Fry (113) / Cole Pangborn (165) / Matt Smith (Hwt)
WB3: Elijah Bayne (120) / Luke Dougherty (175)
For the eighth consecutive season, the Bulldogs brought home hardware from the State Tournament. Sonny Amato won his second medal, while Joaquin Duque won his first, bringing the Bulldogs overall total to 13 medals during their current streak. Prior to that, Rumson had only five medal winners in the program's first 56 years. 


3/1: REGION 5
3 Champs - 7 Medal Winners
1st: Eamon Fry (113)
1st: Sonny Amato (144)
1st: Matt Smith (Hwt)
2nd: Joaquin Duque (126)
2nd: Cole Pangborn (165)
3rd: Elijah Bayne (120)
3rd: Luke Dougherty (175)
PQ: Hunter Curley (144) / William Keller (157)

Sonny Amato won his 2nd title, and Eamon Fry and Matt Smith won their first, as the Bulldogs set a program record with three Region champions and extended their streak to seven seasons with at least one Region champ.


2/22: DISTRICT 18
1st Place - 7 Champs - 9 Region Qualifiers
1st: Eamon Fry (113) / Elijah Bayne (120) / Joaquin Duque (126) / Sonny Amato (144) / Cole Pangborn (165) / Luke Dougherty (175) / Matt Smith (Hwt)
3rd: Hunter Curley (150) / William Keller (157)
4th: Henry Marshall (132)
Rumson: Despite missing a few starters for the individual postseason, Rumson still managed to set a new program record with seven District champions. They've had multiple champions for six consecutive seasons. Prior to this streak, the Bulldogs had only had two separate streaks of two years with multiple champs in their entire history. These were the second titles for Eamon Fry, Sonny Amato, and Cole Pangborn. Matt Smith became the Bulldogs' first heavyweight champ at the Districts since Tommy Kavoukjian in 1970, who was also the Bulldogs first ever District champ.


GROUP 2 TOURNAMENT
F: Rumson 40 - Caldwell 28 (BOX SCORE)
SF: Rumson 57 - Middle Twp 24 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Bulldogs win 2nd consecutive G2 Title


CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 2 SECTIONAL
F: #1 Rumson 48 - #3 Wall 28 (BOX SCORE)
SF: #1 Rumson 46 - #4 Pt Boro 22 (BOX SCORE)
QF: #1 Rumson 60 - #8 Delran 14 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Bulldogs win 2nd consecutive CJG2 Title


2/7: NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Rumson 48 - Egg Harbor Twp 31 (BOX SCORE)


2/5: NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Rumson 48 - Immaculata 24 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Amato (29-1); Bayne (24-4); Delaney (29-1); Dougherty (22-7); Smith (19-5); Fry (17-5); Pangborn (14-2)


2/3: NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Rumson 61 - Plainfield 15 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Bayne, Newell, Curley, & Pangborn win by pin; Skove & Roberts tech


2/1: NORTH WARREN QUAD
#2 Rumson 61 - West Milford 18 (BOX SCORE)
#2 Rumson 64 - North Warren 18 (BOX SCORE)
#2 Rumson 63 - Depaul Catholic 18 (BOX SCORE)


NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Rumson 61 - Atlantic City 18 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Skove, Branker, Jones, Newell, & Del Vecchio win by fall; Haggerty & Duque tech


1/28: A-DIVISION
#2 Rumson 39 - #4 Southern 27 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: 1st Shore Conference public school to defeat the Rams since 2020 (TR North); Bayne, Duque, Amato, Pangborn, Delaney, & Smith with bonus wins; 100th career win for Bayne
Southern: 138 - #2 Sari d. #3 Del Vecchio, 12-5; Mason & Vigilante pin; Stout techs; Fontana majors


1/27: NON-CONFERENCE
#2 Rumson 53 - North Brunswick (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Eberhard, Marshall, Newell, Duque, Del Vecchio, Curley, Skove, Branker, & Izzo with bonus point wins


1/25: SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Rumson - 2nd Place
1st: Sonny Amato (150) / Conor Delaney (215)
2nd: Eamon Fry (113) / Mario Del Vecchio (138)
3rd: Elijah Bayne (120)
4th: Joaquin Duque (132) / Cole Pangborn (165) / Luke Dougherty (175)
6th: Matt Smith (Hwt)
Sonny Amato won his 2nd SCT Title and Conor Delaney won his 1st SCT title, as part of a program record 9 Bulldogs to reach the podium at this year's Shore Conference Tournament. For Delaney, who won his 3rd SCT medal, his win in the finals was also his 100th career victory, becoming the 9th Bulldog all-time to reach that milestone.

Rumson also finished in 2nd-place as a team for the 2nd consecutive year, and have finished in the top 8 for the last five tournaments.


1/22: A-DIVISION
#4 Rumson 34 - #2 St John Vianney 29 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Delaney tech in final bout gives Bulldogs the win; Izzo with a huge pin at 175; 113 - #4 Fry d. #9 Correal, 11-4; 138 - #3 Del Vecchio d. #5 Adu-Amoako, 4-3; Pangborn d. Gavrish, 4-1 at 165
SJV: 120 - #2 Gould d. #3 Bayne, 7-4; Hwt - #1 Dellagata p. #4 Smith; Lenaghan & Zaltsman pin; Knox & Zargo tech


1/18: NON-CONFERENCE
#4 Rumson 44 - Phillipsburg 25 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: 8 of 9 wins come with bonus; Amato (21-1); Delaney (19-1); Smith (15-4); Dougherty (15-4); Del Vecchio (12-0); Fry (11-4); Bayne (17-2); Duque (16-3); Pangborn (7-1)


1/18: PENN CHARTER INVITATIONAL
1st: Mario Del Vecchio (Rumson - 141)
3rd: Henry Marshall (Rumson - 123)


1/17: NON-CONFERENCE
#4 Rumson 52 - North Hunterdon 21 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Fry, Bayne, Amato, Oangborn, Delaney, & Smith pin; Skove (season debut) & Del Vecchio tech


1/15: A-DIVISION
#4 Rumson 38 - #6 Brick Memorial 28 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Delaney bumps to 285 to dec #3 Szuba, 9-5; 113 - #5 Fry d. #6 Napolitano, 5-4; Amato & DelVecchio pin; Dougherty pin walks it off
Brick Mem: Tallmadge & Marotta pin; Martin techs


1/14: NON-CONFERENCE
Rumson 60 - Newark Academy 12 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Newell, Del Vecchio, Curley, Keller, Branker, Izzo, & Roberts win by pin


1/11: NORTHERN BURLINGTON QUAD
Rumson 58 - Northern Burlington 16 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson 59 - Robbinsville 17 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson 53 - Clearview 19 (BOX SCORE)


1/10: NON-DIVISION
Rumson 38 - RBC 32 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Smith walks it off with a pin at heavyweight; Bayne, Amato, & Delaney pin; Del Vecchio & Duque tech as Bulldogs out-bonus Caseys in 7-7 bout split
RBC: Milke pins; Gallagher & Connelley major


1/8: A-DIVISION
CBA 43 - Rumson 29 (BOX SCORE)
CBA: K Duffy, S Kenny, P Kenny, R Duffy, Sakoutis, Boyer, Falcone, & Oizerowitz with bonus wins
Rumson: Smith & Bayne pin; Amato techs


1/4: HADDONFIELD TRI
Rumson 46 - Kingsway 29 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson 46 - Haddonfield 30 (BOX SCORE)


12/28: SAM CALI MEMORIAL
1st: Sonny Amato (150)
4th: Joaquin Duque (126)
5th: Matt Smith (Hwt)
6th: Elijah Bayne (120)


12/21: BEAST OF THE EAST
2nd: Sonny Amato (Rumson - 150)
3rd: Conor Delaney (Rumson - 215)


12/21: RON MAZZOLA MEMORIAL
Rumson - 16th Place


12/18: NON-DIVISION
Rumson 54 - Long Branch 24 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Bulldogs win all 10 contested bouts; Eberhard, Fry, Bayne, Amato, Delaney, & Smith win by pin

12/14: RICKY I MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Rumson - 10th Place
2nd: Luke Eberhard (106)


12/11: NON-CONFERENCE
Rumson 50 - Chaminade (NY) 20 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Delaney, Smith, Marshall, & Fry win by pin; Amato, Pangborn, Dougherty & Duque win by tech


12/9: NON-CONFERENCE
Rumson 54 - Manchester Regional 24 (BOX SCORE)
Rumson: Eberhard, Bayne, A Newell, Keller, Izzo, Dougherty, & Tobias win by pin

 

---

2025 Rumson Bulldogs

Head Coach: Eleazar DeLuca (4th Season / Career: 38-20)
Assistants: Tom Colella / Jeremy Schulte / Zach DelVecchio / Joe Teresi
2024 Record: 18-1 (Group 2, CJG2, District 2 Champions)

The defending Group 2 Champs are loaded again and looking to defend their crown. With just two starters lost to graduation, albeit two very good ones in 2023 State Champion Hudson Skove and Julian Duque, the Bulldogs return a small village from last year's history-making squad, and add a couple strong pieces, as they look to keep things rolling.

The upperweights are led by a trio of seniors Conor Delaney, Matt Smith, and Cole Pangborn, and junior Luke Dougherty. The Princeton-bound Delaney is a 2-time District Champ (3x medalist), 2-time Region medalist, and was one win away from a spot on the podium at Boardwalk Hall last season. He enters the season needing 23 wins to hit 100 for his career. Smith should not only be one of the top heavies in the Shore, but also the state. A 31-bout winner last year, Smith advanced to Atlantic City after placing 4th at the Regions. A big part of the Bulldogs State Champion football team, he's not just a 3-month football heavyweight; Smith put the time in this offseason on the mats as well as the gridiron. Injuries kept Pangborn out of the lineup until the final week of January, but he came back strong enough to win a District Title. A State-qualifier in 2023, he's looking for a return trip to Boardwalk Hall in his final season. Dougherty punched a ticket to AC last season after placing 4th at the Regions, as part of his 27-win sophomore campaign in which he was also a District runner-up.

Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs are stacked in the middle of the lineup as well, led by returning State Champion, sophomore Sonny Amato, who became just the 4th wrestler in Shore Conference history to win a State Championship as a freshman. Seniors Evan Ridgway, a 3-time District medal winner and the D20 Champ at 165 last season and Walker Skove, a District medal winner as a freshman, who enter their 4th year in the starting lineup also return after dealing with injury issues in 2024. Joining them is sophomore Mario Del Vecchio, a transfer from St Mary's of Rutherford, who comes in after a freshman season that saw him win 39 matches and advance to Atlantic City following a 3rd-place finish at the Region 3 Tournament.

Four more starters return down low, led by a pair of returning State-qualifiers in senior Elijah Bayne and junior Eamon Fry. Fry, a District Champion in 2023, was a runner-up in D20 last year, and advanced to the boardwalk after a 4th-place finish at Region. He had put up 58 wins in his first two seasons. Bayne, who transferred into the program last season from Oregon, where he was a State Champion, made it to AC after taking 2nd at the Districts and Regions. Also back down low are 3rd-year starter Joaquin Duque, a junior who was a runner-up at Districts last year, and sophomore Henry Marshall, who is coming off a 16-win freshman season. There will also some members of the freshmen class looking to make an impact in the lineup. Among them are Luke Eberhard, a JSJWL Champ and Intermediate States qualifier.

The Bulldogs are stacked once again, and enter the 2025 season as the favorite to repeat as Group 2 Champions. As for the Shore Conference, along with CBA, St John Vianney, Southern, and Brick Memorial, Rumson will be a part of the A-Division in which all five teams are likely to be state-ranked when the first polls come out.

 

Rumson-Fair Haven High School
74 Ridge Rd.
Rumson, NJ 07760
732-842-1597

Program Established
1961

Mascot
Bulldogs

Colors
Purple & White

Head Coach
Eleazar DeLuca
(4th Season in 2025)

Assistants
Tom Colella
Jeremy Schulte
Zach DelVecchio

Section
CJG2

Division
A-Division

District
18

Region
5


2 - Group Titles
G2 in 2024, 2025

2 - Sectional Titles 2
Last: CJG2 (2025)

2 - District Title
2025: District 18

5 - Division Titles
Last: A-Central in 2020

2 - State Champions
Sonny Amato - 2024

18 - State Medalists
Last: Sonny Amato & Joaquin Duque - 2025

17 - Region Champions
Last: Eamon Fry / Sonny Amato / Matt Smith (2025)

54 - District Champions
Last: 7 in 2025

7 - SCT Champions
Last: Sonny Amato & Conor Delaney - 2025

28 - SCT Medalists
Last: 9 in 2025


Career Wins Leader - 139
Nick Addison
(2016-2019)

Season Wins Record - 45
Sonny Amato
(2025)