The Rams completed the 2025-26 season with a hard-fought 11-13 record, making a significant improvement from last year’s 5-16 record.

“The preseason practices we had benefitted the whole team, individually and as a unit,” sophomore Noah Sternberg said. “Going through hard practices brought the team closer together and set the tone, allowing everyone to get back into the swing of things and improve, with our record reflecting the work we put in.”

The season started in December with the Dover Holiday Tournament, where the Rams fell to Bridgewater-Raritan, 48-29. This was followed up with appearances at the Kearny Holiday and Linn Crawn Tournaments.

Randolph soon found its footing, achieving back-to-back victories against West Orange and rival Mendham, with a dominant 55-24 win. Following that, the Rams suffered a loss to Kearny and a 42-29 win over Madison.

Unfortunately, the team hit an early slump, suffering five straight losses to River Dell, Morris Knolls, Pompton Lakes, West Morris and Montville, before snapping the streak with a win over Clifton, 54-30.

Randolph quickly followed up with a win over Parsippany Hills in the Morris County Tournament.

Going into the later part of the season, Randolph lost to Roxbury, yet bounced back with a 49-24 win over Boonton. The Rams then struggled through five straight losses to Immaculata, West Essex, Nutley, Hackettstown and Lakeland.

“The team really learned from small mistakes that make big differences,” junior captain Will Mihalko said. “We still brought the energy and still showed up no matter what.”

The Rams finished the regular season strong, fighting for a narrow win over Morristown 39-34, as well as wins over Pingry, Whippany Park, Verona and Dover.

In the NJSIAA District 12 Tournament, several Rams delivered standout performances. Freshman Mason Marks (113 lbs) captured first place with a series of dominant wins, including a technical fall over West Morris and two pins against Whippany Park and another opponent. Unfortunately, an injury prevented him from advancing further.

At 120 lbs, Mihalko placed second, winning both Mendham and Warren Hills matches by pin before losing in the final by technical fall. Then in the Region 3 tournament, Mihalko beat Hanover Park in a technical fall before losing to Caldwell in the quarterfinals.

Junior Rayan Taherpour (144 lbs) reached the district semifinals with pins over Newark Academy and Whippany Park but was ultimately defeated by Belvidere.

Sophomore captain Emanuel Samaniego (175 lbs) fought hard, coming in second at districts, with two pins leading up to a technical fall in the championship match. He started off regionals strong with a pin against Verona but fell to a pin by Kearny in the quarterfinals.

Senior captain Andrew Zeidman (190 lbs) won first place in the district tournament, pinning Warren Hills and Madison. He then secured a 7-3 decision against West Morris for the win. In the regional tournament, Zeidman had a first-round bye before winning a 10-3 decision over St. Mary, and a major decision 13-5 against West Morris before falling to Delbarton in the final round.

Zeidman continued his post-season run in Atlantic City for the state tournament. He won two consolation matches, one by sudden victory 6-3, to earn a spot in the preliminary round, where he lost by another technical fall, ending an impressive run.

“Our team’s improvement off last season came from the group of returning kids we had,” Zeidman said. “Only losing a few seniors and keeping most of the lineup means most of them will improve throughout the year and build up our team for this year and more to come.”

With a stronger foundation and valuable experience gained, Randolph wrestling now turns its focus to the offseason, preparing for another demanding and promising season ahead.