The township of Union has recently recognized two members of the high school wrestling community this week with the presentation of the Mayor’s Award. David Brown, a junior at Union High School, and his coach Dino Debellonia are being celebrated for their outstanding achievements in wrestling.
Wrestling in the heavyweight class, Brown finished this year with a record of 33-15, one of the school’s highest individual records for a single season ever. Throughout the season, Brown saw success in various tournaments, finishing in first at the Parsippany Holiday Wrestling Tournament and second in the District 10 Tournament. He advanced to the state tournament after finishing third place in the Region 3 tournament, where he won 4 out of the five matches, all of which had gone into double overtime or an ultimate tie breaker. Brown is the first UHS wrestler to advance to the New Jersey state wrestling tournament in ten years. In addition to wrestling, Brown is also a starter on the school’s varsity football team and a dedicated member of the JROTC program.
UHS wrestling coach Dino Debellonia has also been recognized this season for outstanding work, having been voted both the 2015 District 10 Coach of the Year as well as the Region 3 Coach of the Year. This was Debollenia’s 23rd year of coaching in New Jersey. Debellonia has been working at UHS since 2009 as a social studies teacher and head wrestling coach. Before joining the UHS community, Debellonia saw success as at Seton Hall Prep, where during his 6 seasons as head coach he lead the team to two Essex County Team titles, one District 10 Team title, and had five state individual medalists. In 2013 he was inducted into the Seton Hall Prep Hall of Fame.
Both Brown and Debellonia have received the Mayor’s Award for their accomplishments and excellent work representing their team, school, and the community.
