The third annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament is slated to get underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday the Hunterdon Central Field House. The last several days have seen plenty of upheaval with the brackets, as several wrestlers had to withdraw due to injuries.
Newton senior Steven Churchill and Phillipsburg freshman Jimmy Schuitema were among the notable scratches at 132 pounds. Newton junior Josh Sibblies, the No. 6 seed at 145, was the latest to drop out after sustaining an injury during Friday's practice, according to Braves coach Eric Bollette.
Despite all of the changes, here is my attempt at forecasting the top four finishers at each weight class. Keep in mind, wrestlers must reach the semifinals to place 1-4. All others fall into the wrestlebacks and can finish no higher than fifth. In my opinion, better wrestlers will be in the wrestlebacks at some classes than those finishing in the top four. But that's how it goes.
Here we go:
106 -- 1. Max Nauta, Warren Hills; 2. Peter Lipari, Lenape Valley; 3. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg; 4. Matt Moncourtois, North Hunterdon.
Comments: Nauta is a tough freshman who beat Region 5 qualifier Moncourtois, 1-0, in the John Goles finals. Friedman, who recently lost in OT to Moncourtois, lurks in that top half. Lipari is another tough freshman and should see Moncourtois in the semis.
113 -- Ryan Pomrinca, North Hunterdon; 2. Dylan Nace, Hunterdon Central; 3. Matt Ritchie, North Warren; 4. Tai Adetula, Warren Hills.
Comments: Pomrinca, a big 113-pounder, has been impressive and should keep rolling here. Nace, second last year at 103, will be a tough foe in the finals. Ritchie will have to deal with Phillipsburg's Zach Fisher in the quarters and that won't be an easy task. Adetula is sitting in a good spot up top, though watch out for Sparta freshman Ian Burke.
120 -- 1. Mike Derin, High Point; 2. Joe Cruz, Hopatcong; 3. Andrew Kaluzny, Phillipsburg; 4. Matt Gilmore, Delaware Valley.
Comments: Really like the High Point freshman, a slick wrestler. Cruz is a veteran having placed third twice in this tournament. Kaluzny has a tough one out of the shoot against talented Lenape Valley freshman Glenn Haines, but I'm going with experience in big matches. Gilmore having a fine season, but it's a tough path in that bottom half.
126 -- 1. Mike Pongracz, Delaware Valley; 2. Gary Dinmore, Hunterdon Central; 3. Matt Benvenuto, Lenape Valley; 4. Jesse Thorsen, Belvidere.
Comments: Very deep class here. Pongracz will get the winner of a great matchup between Phillipsburg's Max Elling and High Point's Connor McHugh -- one heck of a first-round matchup. Don't miss that one. Vernon's Kevin Gocklin and Thorsen should be another great potential quarterfinal. Ditto for Dinmore-Benvenuto in the semis. Pongracz beat Dinmore, 3-2, on Wednesday.
132 -- 1. Dylan Thorsen, Belvidere; 2. Tom Murphy, Kittatinny; 3. Mike Ciavarro, North Hunterdon; 4. Christian Okulicz, Voorhees.
Comments: Still a great class, despite the loss of Churchill and Schuitema. The significance here is that Murphy fell into the bottom half at No. 7 and should collide with Hackettstown's Tyler Kozimor, the No. 2 seed, in the quarters. I like Murphy to reach the finals for a rematch against Thorsen, who prevailed, 4-3, when they met in the Cougar Classic finals on Dec. 27.
138 -- 1. Nick Romyns, Kittatinny; 2. Derek Zehnbauer, Delaware Valley; 3. Mason Ryzoff, North Warren; 4. A.J. Bongiovanni, Hopatcong.
Comments: Tough call here, but I like Romyns to win his first county title in a tight one over Zehnbauer, a runner-up in 2011. Keep an eye on High Point freshman Jason Gaccione, the No. 7 seed. For those who haven't seen him, he's a dead-ringer for brother, Joe, a state bronze medalist last season, and is plenty talented.
145 -- 1. Ronnie Honickel, Voorhees; 2. Joe Emering, Pope John; 3. Tyler Cote, Hunterdon Central; 4. Chris Olivo, Lenape Valley.
Comments: Honickel is the clear-cut choice here over Emering, who is down at 145 for this one. Tough call on the rest of the draw. Vernon's Ryan Ward, the No. 5 seed, is talented and should see Cote in the quarters. Olivo benefits from the absence of Sibblies in the lower half. Emering beat Sibblies en route to the John Goles title at 152.
152 -- 1. Beau Vrancken, North Hunterdon; 2. Clarke Moynihan, Kittatinny; 3. V.J. Delmonico, Phillipsburg; 4. Steven Baker, Voorhees.
Comments: Should be one of the most entertaining finals, so keep a close eye with two mats going in the championship round. I think Vrancken is a little stronger than Moynihan, who is one shy of becoming the 12th Kittatinny wrestler to amass 100 career victories. Vrancken enters with 97 career wins. Delmonico should have a tough quarterfinal against Del Val's Kody Eichlin.
160 -- 1. Jadaen Bernstein, Voorhees; 2. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny; 3. Nathan Dow, Belvidere; 4. Ryan Larkin, Hunterdon Central.
Comments: Bernstein is a heavy favorite to win his second county championship after recently dropping from 170. Gerrity-Dow would be a great semifinal matchup. They didn't meet in the Cougar Classic last month, both losing to Mendham's Kevin Button, who beat Dow, 5-4, and Gerrity, 3-1 in OT. Bernstein handed Button his first loss on Thursday, 6-3.
170 -- 1. Will Van Doren, Delaware Valley; 2. Joe Ragsdale, North Hunterdon; 3. Jake Brook, Kittatinny; 4. Tom Scerbo, Hunterdon Central.
Comments: Keep an eye on Brook, who could upset the apple cart. Van Doren majored Ragsdale, 9-0, on Jan. 4.
182 -- 1. Liam Korbul, North Hunterdon; 2. Evan Bray, Belvidere; 3. Kyle Stoll, High Point; 4. Zack Levy, Vernon.
Comments: Bray beat Korbul, 8-7, in the season-opening tournament at Hopatcong. Both are wrestling well of late. Stoll is one to keep an eye on here, he's one tough sophomore. No. 6 seed Levy also quietly having a breakout year. He pinned No. 3 seed Dan Hauck of North Warren earlier this season. They should meet in the quarters.
195 -- 1. Jake Connelly, Newton; 2. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny; 3. Dan Pepe, North Hunterdon; 4. Jesse Cornwell, Vernon.
Comments: Connelly beat Wunder, 8-6 in OT on Tuesday, so I anticipate a rematch here in the finals. I was really impressed with Wunder on the mat, so look for Connelly to keep the action on their feet where he had the upper hand. Both will have tough semifinals en route to the championship round.
220 -- 1. Brandon Hull, Phillipsburg; 2. Dan Smith, Warren Hills; 3. J.B. Lawson, Belvidere; 4. Dave Tlatelpa, Vernon.
Comments: Hull, who was eighth in the state and a HWS champ last year at 215, is the class of this field. Smith could see Vernon's Dave Tlatelpa in the semis in a matchup of Region 1 qualifiers.
285 -- 1. Anthony Pare, Phillipsburg; 2. Jon Gemeinhardt, Vernon; 3. Forrest Wooden, Delaware Valley; 4. Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills.
Comments: This is some class and about as tough to call as any. I believe any one of five could win the whole thing. Pare really hit the weights in the offseason, while Gemeinhardt took fourth in Region 1 last year. Wooden, one of the most improved wrestlers, comes in unbeaten. Then there's the freshman, Pacheco, who hasn't been on the mat a whole lot this season. North Warren's Chris Longyhore and Belvidere's Ryan Appleby are also capable of placing. Appleby vs. Pacheco in the opening round, with the winner likely to meet Longyhore in the quarters.
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