215: Nathan Faxon, Gov. Livingston, pin Timothy Smith, Elizabeth, :38.
Faxon was the top seed.

HWT: Sam Henry, Summit-Chatham, dec. Jonathan Martinez, Rahway, 3-1.
Henry, who attends Summit and is also a football standout, was the top seed.

106: Jaeczar Evans, Rahway, dec. Daniel Berardi, Westfield, 7-5.
Evans was the first non-top seed, he was the second seed, to win.
Berardi was the top seed.

113: Michael Daly, Cranford, pin Phillip Griffin, Rahway, 3:09.
Daly, a junior, was the top seed and won for the third time.
Johnson returning champ Zachary Belverio was originally the top seed, but did not wrestle.

120: Matty Ortega, Johnson, dec. Eduardo Ribeiro, Gov. Livingston 9-8.
Ortega was the top seed.

126: Brandon Rayak, Gov. Livingston, tech. fall 16-0, Ryder Connors, Cranford, 6:00.
Connors was the top seed.

132: Dylan Sontz, Westfield, ultimate tie-breaker, Keegan Parkhill, Johnson, 2-1.
Sontz was the top seed.

138: Ariel Azeredo, Union, pin Henrique Ribeiro, Gov. Livingston, 2:43.
Azeredo was the second seed. Azeredo was second at 138 last year, falling to Valley 7-5 in the final. Top-seeded Yehia Abdelrahman of Westfield lost in the semifinals.

144: Braeden Valley, New Providence, maj. dec. Eoghan O'Hara, Cranford, 10-0.
Valley was the top seed. Valley won at 138 last year.

150: Luke Scholz, Cranford, pin Daniel Gonzalez, Rahway, 1:48.
Scholz was the top seed and won for the third time.

157: Dylan Jones, Cranford, pin Jake Kreisberg, Gov. Livingston, 4:00.
Jones was the second seed and Kreisberg the top seed.

Ten top seeds won. The only weight classes where the top seed did not win were 106, 126, 138 and 157.

2020: Cranford
2021: No tournament because of Covid
2022: Cranford
2023: Cranford
2024: Cranford
2025: Cranford

CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Roselle Park (14)
Cranford (13)
Westfield (8)
Brearley-Dayton (7)
Union (4)
Rahway (3)
Scotch Plains-Fanwood (1)

2026 RETURNING UCT CHAMPIONS:
Cranford sophomore Joey Acinapura, 175 champ
Rahway junior Jaeczar Evans, 106 champ
Cranford junior Michael Daly, 113 champ
Johnson sophomore Matty Ortega, 120 champ
Union junior Ariel Azeredo, 138 champ
New Providence junior Braeden Valley, 144 champ
Cranford junior Luke Scholz, 150 champ

Seniors that won:
Cristian Gioia, Gov. Livingston, 165
Jordan Chapman, Cranford, 190
Nathan Faxon, Gov. Livingston, 215
Sam Henry, Summit-Chatham, HWT
Brandon Rayak, Gov. Livingston, 126
Dylan Sontz, Westfield, 132
Dylan Jones, Cranford, 157

Wrestlers who won after losing in finals last year:
Cristian Gioia, Gov. Livingston: lost in 165 final in 2024
Joey Acinapura, Cranford: lost in 175 final in 2024
Matty Ortega, Johnson: lost in 106 final in 2024
Ariel Azeredo, Union: lost in 138 final in 2024

Wrestlers who lost again in the finals, placing second once more:
Timothy Smith, Elizabeth, lost in 215 final in 2024
Henrique Ribeiro, Gov. Livingston, lost in 126 final in 2024

Simply put, Union's Ariel Azeredo is among the top wrestlers in Union County.
So when the Union County Tournament returned to Union High School's Louis J. Rettino Gymnasium last year Azeredo had an opportunity to become one of Union's first county champions in seven years.

Azeredo's first attempt to win a county championship included a battle of sophomore standouts, featuring New Providence's Braeden Valley vs. Azeredo for the 138-pound crown.

After producing two prior victories, Azeredo gave Valley all he could handle in a competition that went the full six minutes and was contested right down to the last second.
Although Valley prevailed 7-5, Azeredo was filled with plenty of determination to make 2025 his year.

Instead, Union senior Dan Collin at 175 turned out to be Union's first county champion last year since 2017.

This year Azeredo, now a junior, wanted to follow up and give Union back-to-back county champs for the first time in a while. He didn't disappoint.

Reaching the 138 final again last Saturday at Union's gym, this time as the second seed, Azeredo faced fourth-seeded Henrique Ribeiro of Gov. Livingston for the title. In the semifinals, Ribeiro defeated top-seeded Yehia Abdelrahman of Westfield by technical fall in 2:11 and by the score of 15-0 and Azeredo downed third-seeded Chris Valerio of Rahway by technical fall in 3:17 and by the score of 20-4. Last year, Valerio won the 126 crown by beating Ribeiro in the final by injury default.

Azeredo was not interested in gong a full six minutes against Ribeiro. He gained control early on and pinned Ribeiro in 2:43 for his first county championship.

"Ariel won his first title in decisive fashion," said Union head coach Dino DeBellonia, who earlier in the day was named Union County Coach of the Year for the second time and first time since 2016. "He used a claw lift and turn to pin Ribeiro. Both of those wrestlers are very good."

After getting a bye, Azeredo opened with a pin of Brearley-Dayton grappler Dominick Pintado in 1:48 to advance to the semifinals. Azeredo entered the UCT with a record of 15-2.
As a team Union finished seventh with 86 points.

"I feel our kids competed well," DeBellonia said. "Naturally, as a coach, there were some matches where we could have done better. That is where practice comes in. Corrections will be made at practice."

Cranford won the team title for a record 10th straight year and for the 13th time overall. Roselle Park still leads with 14 championships.

2025 UNION COUNTY COACH OF THE YEAR:
Dino DeBellonia, Union
DeBellonia earned this honor for the first time in 2016.
This year's squad entered the UCT with a record of 8-3 and was leading the Union County Conference's Mountain Division standings. The Farmers also produced fine showings in the Dover and Parsippany Hills tournaments. Junior standout Ariel Azeredo winning the UCT title this year at 138 was the third Union grappler to capture a county crown under DeBellonia and second in the past two tournaments. This is DeBellonia's 16th season at Union. Including a prior stint at Seton Hall Prep, DeBellonia has just over 250 career wins.

T. RALPH "PUG" WILLIAMS AWARD:
Don MacDonald, Westfield
MacDonald was a longtime assistant coach at Westfield including under present head coach Glen Kurz who this year in his 27th season at the helm of the Blue Devils reached 300 wins.

OUTSTANDING WRESTLER LOWER WEIGHTS (106-144):
Johnson sophomore Matty Ortega: 120 champion
Ortega has reached the finals his first two years, winning for the first time this year.
Ortega placed second at 106 as a freshman in 2024.

OUTSTANDING WRESTLER UPPER WEIGHTS (150-HWT):
Cranford senior Jordan Chapman: 190 champion
Chapman reached four finals and won as a sophomore at 157, junior at 165 and senior at 190.
Chapman placed second at 157 as a freshman in 2022.
Chapman was also the OW for Upper Weights his sophomore and junior years.