Ramapo made the 2026 Bergen County Tournament one to remember.
The Raiders saw two champions in freshman 150-pounder Ethan Brantly and senior 175-pounder Gino Gorga along with four additional medalists to round out a potent two-day stretch in Garfield.
It’s the first time Ramapo has seen two champions in the same county tournament since 2004.
“It means a lot for the school,” Gorga said. “We’re putting the work in. We’re getting better pace in the room and making Ramapo wrestling better.”
“The room has gotten better,” Brantly added. “This year, we have a crazy team. We think we can go far.”
For Gorga, the title makes up for lost time. A running back and thumper out of the secondary on the football field, Gorga nursed a broken wrist last winter and was unable to wrestle at the county tournament, where he collected sixth at 144 pounds as a sophomore.
He went on a tear on Saturday and Sunday by pinning and teching his way to his gold medal with the exception of one match. That lone bout that went the distance came against Bergen Catholic senior and state blood rounder AJ DiGiovanni, who ranks No. 5 at the weight in the NJ.com individual rankings.
Gorga scored a second-period reversal and then got out late in the clock after a DiGiovanni reversal in the third to secure a 3-2 win. He went on to tech Westwood senior Ryan Sklavounos 18-2 (5:27) in the final.
It was the Franklin Lakes native’s signature wrestling moment.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match [against DiGiovanni],” Gorga said. “I needed a good mindset going in and I had it. I knew I could beat him and that’s what I did. I wanted to make a name for myself here.”
Brantly meanwhile pinned his way to a win over Northern Highlands’ Will Clasen in 3:42 in the title bout.
His path to the first-place effort included first-period pins over Hackensack’s Jeremie Gualpa (0:46) and Ramsey’s Rodney Delgado (1:00) before a 13-1 major decision win over Patrick Rotella of Pascack Hills on Day 1. Bergen Catholic top-seeded senior Joey Rondinelli missed weight Sunday morning and Brantly advanced through the semifinals by forfeit.
Brantly battled through an injured shoulder in the match against Clasen and trailed 3-1 after the first period. He put Clasen to his back twice with the second time being the pin.
“I was going into it thinking, ‘I’m going to win,’ but it was difficult mentally and physically,” Brantly said. “I was the [No.] 7 seed and I dropped down to the 4 when the 1 seed dropped out. It grew my confidence seeing my matchups change. It helped me feel better mentally.”
Freshman Luke Rivara (106), sophomore Connor DePersis (113), senior CJ Anzaldo (144) and senior Branden Causillas (165) were the other four placewinners for Ramapo, which finished fourth in team scoring and second among public schools behind Pascack Valley (183.5) with 141.5 points.
Ramapo is 8-3 in duals this year and with key Big North matches ahead versus the likes of Paramus, Northern Highlands and Passaic Valley among others in the sprint to the postseason, momentum from the county tournament could go a long way.
“We took some tough losses, but we’ve also had really good wins,” Gorga said. “I think we’re going to keep winning now. Our team is really rolling.”
