HOLMDEL – Holmdel’s Dean Gallo entered this season with 92 victories under his belt -- just eight shy of the 100-win milestone in high school wrestling. The senior would not have to wait long to capture the milestone, as he did so in just the team’s fifth meet of the season.
Gallo opened the season with a pin against Donovan Catholic’s Noah Bakos. In Holmdel’s first quad meet of the season, Gallo defeated Pennsauken’s Naheem McCoy and then lost to Rumson-Fair Haven’s Kelly Jack and Raritan’s James Ecklyn.
Dean would get right back to the mats and prepare for the Holmdel Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27. In his weight class of 145, Gallo drew a first-round bye. In the second round he would face Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Mateo Velez in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he would defeat United Summit Chatham’s Patrick Nevins. This set up a finals match with Shore Regional’s Mike McGhee where he would come up just short of hitting the milestone and capturing the championship in front of his home crowd.
Two days later in another quad meet, this time at Manalapan, Gallo would get the elusive 100th win with a win over Kearny’s Kyle Ostanksi in a 3-2 decision. Gallo finished the quad meet with a win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Martin Rogoff in a technical fault, 17-2, and a loss to Manalapan’s Alex Baran in a 7-2 decision.
On the season, Gallo is off to another great season with a record of 18-5, with second-place finishes at the Holmdel Holiday Tournament and at the Blue Devils Classic.
During his junior season, Gallo went 35-5 with a second-place finish in the Districts.
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