Watchung Hills might have won the 32nd annual Somerset County Wrestling Tournament last Thursday, but it was very hard to ignore what Hillsborough accomplished.

   The Raiders, fourth last year with 119 points and two champions in graduated stars John Mangini and Frankie McLaughlin, finished second this year with three champs and 166 points. The Raiders and Watchung had a back-and-forth struggle that wasn’t settled until late in the final round. Watchung Hills, county champs for the fourth time in six years, scored 172½ points. Bound Brook was third with 116.

   ”Overall, I’m happy with the effort the kids put in, especially with all the youth in the lineup,” said Hillsborough head coach Steve Molinaro, whose teams won in 2001 and 2003. “Obviously at this time of year, it’s so early. You find things that were kind of critical that occurred that maybe later in the season might not. It’s almost like a ‘what if.’ If we had gotten one or two more kids punching it into the finals it’s a different ending. But overall the guys are working hard, responding to coaching and we can only get better from here. We can only grow from here.”

   The Raiders also had two award winners.

   Senior Luke Dawson, the top seed at 152 pounds, pinned Pingry senior Trevor Topf in 3:37 for the title and won the J. Pat Melitski Award for the most outstanding wrestler. Senior 189-pounder Kevin Campanale, who is in remission with his battle with leukemia, won the championship and the Robert Dougherty Award for sportsmanship as a second seed, beating top seed and defending champion and last season’s District 18 champ Andrew Hampton of Bridgewater-Raritan 5-0.

   Freshman 112-pounder T.J. Guidice, the third seed, beat Montgomery’s John Moyle 8-0 for the title. The Raiders were behind 166 ½-166 after Campanale’s win. Hillsborough junior Max Borisenko had the enormous task of facing Bound Brook’s outstanding freshman Andrew Campolattano and was pinned at 3:19 in the 215 final. But the Raiders showed that this winter should be significantly more eventful than last year.

   ”We have filled all the weight classes this year and the freshmen have really come through. It’s great,” said Dawson, who didn’t place at 171 last year, but went on to win the district title.

   Campanale, who is still taking chemotherapy treatments once a month, and continues spinal tap evaluations, scored early against Hampton.

   ”The takedown in the beginning was big. Once I got the takedown I knew I had the lead and I knew that since he was defensive wrestler and hard to score on — so every point counted, the two back points at the end of the first period were big too,” Campanale said. “That gave me a comfortable lead and let me wrestle defensively the rest of the match. From there I rode him out, got my escape and had the championship.”

   Campanale joked that he was fortunate since Campolattano had originally been scheduled to wrestle at his regular weight — 189. But Bound Brook assistant coach Marty Gleason bumped him up after Crusader 130-pounder Jorge Rentas didn’t make weight.

   But that was trivial in the journey Campanale has made and continues to make.

   ”Once he bumped up it was anybody’s tournament,” Campanale said. “That helped me out a lot. It’s a nice way to start the season, but it’s just the beginning of the season. The important part is the end of the year at districts and regions and I hope to do well there.”

   Molinaro marvels at him. Campanale pinned Watchung Hills’ junior Evan Dill — the third place finisher — in the quarterfinals, then pinned Bound Brook junior Andrew LaFleur in the semifinals. His conditioning seemed fine in the marathon day.

   ”Last year, he would just about have to crawl back to the mat,” Molinaro said. “The heart that kid has — you can’t teach that kind of stuff. Just watching him and knowing his situation — it makes you take a step back and realize what it’s really about. I’m lucky enough to coach him.”

   Guidice pinned sixth-seeded Josh Moehler of Somerville and second seeded Bridgewater-Raritan junior Cody Hresan in 52 seconds in the semifinals before majoring Moyle in the title bout.

   The Raiders stayed in the hunt with an outstanding effort from their wrestle back group. Freshman Joey DiCarlo — the sixth seed — pinned Bridgewater-Raritan’s David Noble for third. Sophomore 130-pounder Issac Muck pinned Somerville sophomore Greg Bolomey for third. Muck was a fourth seed.

   Junior Will Goddiess, a third seed, lost to Watchung Hills’ Josh Alpizar 5-3 in the semifinals, but came back to place third at 145 with an 8-0 major over Dennis Guerrera. Third-seeded sophomore 171-pounder Jared Leon also placed third, losing in the semifinals 6-3 to Ridge’s John Lorio. He was fourth last year at 189. Sophomore Jesse DiBlasio, the 10th seed at 135, wound up fourth.

   ”A lot of those guys coming through in the consolations kept us in the race,” Molinaro said. “You can’t write that off. That’s one of the toughest things to do is to lose and come back and win two more times.”