For the first time under Bridgewater-Raritan High School Coach Kyle Murphy, the wrestling program had multiple athletes step onto one of New Jersey’s most prestigious podiums.
Two Bridgewater-Raritan juniors outperformed their seeding and cemented their status as state medalists Friday, March 13, at the 2026 NJSIAA State Wrestling Tournament.
With their podium spots secured, the seventh-seeded heavyweight Trent Levash and the 13th-seeded 165-pound Matt McCann then stepped onto the mat on the final day of the wrestling season before collecting state medals for sixth place and eighth place, respectively, on Saturday, March 14, at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Wrestlers receive medals for finishing in the top eight of their weight class.
After Levash was eliminated from state championship contention by second-seeded Mateo Vinciguerra of Woodstown High School in the state quarterfinals, he pinned his way onto the podium with a fall in 1:29 against 12th-seeded Jason Gross of Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen.
Levash then rolled to a 16-9 victory by decision over ninth-seeded Gabe Jang of Leonia/Palisades Park in the wrestleback quarterfinal to conclude Friday night's action and clinch at least a top-six placement. In the opening minute of Saturday morning's wrestleback semifinals against fourth-seeded Jared Martini of Mount Olive High School, Levash went for an early takedown. Still, Martini dodged it before countering with a takedown and near-fall of his own to open up a quick seven-point lead before jumping out to an 11-point advantage after one period.
Levash collected the only takedown of the bout after that, at 3:20, and only surrendered two more points. However, Martini's big first period ultimately propelled him to a 14-5 victory on the way to a fourth-place finish and sent Levash to the fifth-place bout against fifth-seeded Nicholas Duarte of Hillsborough High School, who was defeated by Bridgewater-Raritan, 49-28, as part of a successful 20-9 team campaign that saw the Panthers defend their North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state sectional title.
Back then, Levash competed at 215 pounds, where he also wrestled in the team tournament after missing roughly a month of the season due to injury, before moving up to heavyweight for the individual tournament.
Things came full circle against Hillsborough in the Panthers' final bout of 2025-26, which saw Levash strike first with an escape in the second period after both wrestlers played to a scoreless draw after one period. Play was briefly stopped due to an injury Duarte appeared to suffer when his takedown attempt at 3:12 sent both wrestlers towards the wall just outside of play. Admirably, after being checked by the athletic trainers and coaching staff on site, Duarte continued his bout against Levash.
On top of that, Duarte delivered a takedown and near-fall that gave him a five-point cushion after two periods, but Levash began a comeback bid with a reversal early in the third period. However, Duarte's escape, takedown, and walk-off pin at 4:43 helped the Hillsborough wrestler end his season with a fifth-place finish over Levash, who ended his phenomenal year for Bridgewater-Raritan as a sixth-place state medalist.
In the consolation round, which is referred to as the blood round, one bout decides whether a wrestler wins a state medal or goes home empty-handed. McCann appeared to be done when he trailed 10th-seeded Justin Bullock of Mount Olive High School by seven points after one period before completing a stunning comeback with 10 straight points.
This included the next seven over the final two periods to force a sudden victory, when he produced the walk-off takedown at 6:57 to secure the Panthers' first state medal of the weekend.
McCann then squared off against third-seeded Jake Clayton of Point Pleasant Boro High School in the wrestleback quarterfinal, where Clayton's takedown at 1:18 gave him a three-point lead he never relinquished after one period. Clayton, who eventually finished fifth place, then launched the second period with an escape from the bottom position before exploding for a takedown and near-fall all before the 2:28 mark, while one more takedown to close out the period gave him a nine-point lead after two periods.
While McCann valiantly went the distance to end Friday night, he was defeated by a major decision, 12-2. He was sent down to Saturday morning's seventh-place match against seventh-seeded Brendan Boyer from Christian Brothers Academy.
After a well-deserved rest overnight for all of the event's wrestlers who survived and advanced to the final day of the season, McCann struck first with an early takedown before Boyer escaped to get within two points after one period. One more escape by Boyer in the second period trimmed his deficit in half. Still, at 4:51, Boyer produced the go-ahead near-fall to hold on for a 6-3 victory by decision and his seventh-place finish over McCann, who ended his state tournament run in eighth place.
The third Bridgewater-Raritan wrestler who had qualified for the state tournament was senior Andrew Adell, finishing with a 1-2 record in Atlantic City at 113 pounds.
While the 28th-seeded Adell lost his preliminary bout and was eventually eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks, he produced an upset victory of 21st-seeded Alex Rosciano of Delbarton School in between by technical fall, 18-3 in 5:56, in the first round of wrestlebacks.
This result proved to be the final victory of Adell's successful career in a Bridgewater-Raritan uniform.
McCann and Levash will be returning state placers for Bridgewater-Raritan in 2026-27, and will be the leaders of a team that seeks its third straight state sectional title, while each wrestler will be a candidate to win a state championship next March.