Melde, a senior transfer from DePaul who won a state title last year at Delbarton, was looking forward to meeting the undefeated Passaic Valley sophomore in the 140-pound finals.

With less than a month of head-to-head competition after sitting out the mandatory 30-days due to NJSIAA transfer rules and making his County Tournament debut, Melde was able to hold off Dunphy, 8-3 in a matchup of undefeated wrestlers.

"I was looking forward to wrestling him," said Melde, who needed all six minutes to hold off Dunphy in his first full-length match since last year’s state title championship. "I’ve got to work on my stamina. I’m still a little out of shape."

Melde, along with teammate A.J. Mott, was one of two DePaul wrestlers to claim County titles and help the Spartans finish in a distant seventh with 67 team points and behind team champions West Milford (136.5). Defending champions Passaic Valley took second with 135.5 points, while Wayne Valley (134.5) and Passaic Tech (113) finished in third and fourth place respectively.

Passaic Valley appeared to be on track to win its second-consecutive team title, however West Milford 285-pounder Luke Ramsey managed to pin Wayne Valley junior Emrah Akil in 4:50 to give the Highlanders the team championship. If Ramsey won in any other fashion or lost for that matter, Passaic Valley would have claimed the 2008 title.

The Hornets, however did boast two individual champions in junior Andrew Greco (130) and senior Joe Wassel (152) as did Wayne Valley with junior Bobby Markowski (145) and senior Mike Landberg (215).

Greco pulled off what may be the upset of the tournament when he surprised three-time defending champion Luke Rigoglioso of Wayne Valley, 10-6 after earning three crucial back-points at the buzzer for the victory.

"I waited for the right opportunity," said Greco, who was trailing most of the match, including a 6-5 deficit in the final seconds. "I knew I had to pull something out."

After two-consecutive seasons finishing in second place, Passaic County Tech junior Vince Perry landed his first championship when he pinned Passaic Valley senior Aslan Bachkhaz in 34 seconds for the 135-pound title.

Mott, a sophomore, claimed the 189-pound championship when he held off Pompton Lakes’ Matt Grosser, 7-2.

Although West Milford had only two individual champions in Ramsey and 103-pounder Ryan Murphy, the town of West Milford produced four overall champions as Melde and Perry reside in the Passaic County Township.

Lakeland’s Colton Chalkley was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after he edged PCT freshman Bryant Lightly in the 125-pound finals. The Lakeland senior became just the sixth County wrestler to win four Passaic titles.