Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex wrestling on tap

We're less than a week away from the third annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament -- scheduled for Saturday at the Hunterdon Central Field House.

This year's version is back to a one-day affair, and sadly, the finals will reportedly be contested on two mats. If true, I will have more on that disservice to the sport and fans later in the week. Hopatcong did a great job of hosting last year's two-day event, showcasing some of the season's best wrestling and the finals.

Of course, we all remember the first year at Central when wrestling was basically done on a carousel of six mats. Semifinals wrestled on four mats as I recall and the finals on two mats. Very sad for the sport and fans, who paid in excess of $10 to see very little action. But I digress.

Here's a sneak preview of the weight classes, contenders and wrestlers to watch. Official seeds and pairings will be done on Tuesday, so a lot of these guys may be at different weight classes or not entered at all. I was hoping to see a potential Mike Pongracz-Steven Churchill final at 126, but Churchill is staying at 132 for this one. Still a tough road with the likes of Belvidere's Dylan Thorsen in a rugged county class.

Another piece of good news is that High Point, which won the team title in 2010, is back after a one-year hiatus. Now we have a full complement of HWS schools. Phillipsburg won the team title in 2011. This year's race figures to be very wide open and close to call at this point.

106 pounds

Contenders: Jr. Matt Moncourtois, North Hunterdon; Fr. Max Nauta, Warren Hills; Sr. John Torppey, High Point.

Others to watch: So. Austin Sisco, Pope John; Sr. Ashley Iliff, Newton; Jr. Joey Spaziani, Hopatcong.

Sleeper: Fr. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg.

Notes: Moncourtois finished fifth at 103 last year. Torppey, Sisco and Iliff finished 1-3-4, respectively, in District 3 last year at 103. Nauta and Friedman are good-looking freshman. Nauta (12-1) pinned Sisco and beat Moncourtois, 1-0, in winning the John Goles Invitational.

113 pounds

Contenders: So. Dylan Nace, Hunterdon Central; So. Matt Ritchie, North Warren; Fr. Ryan Pomrinca, North Hunterdon.

Others to watch: Jr. Zach Fisher, Phillipsburg; So. Nick West, Kittatinny; Fr. Peter Lipari, Lenape Valley; Fr. Ian Burke, Sparta.

Sleeper: So. Tai Adetula, Warren Hills.

Notes: Pretty deep weight class. Nace finished second at 103 last year and is the favorite. Ritchie was third at 103 and won the District 1 title. West was the runner-up at 103 in District 3. Pomrinca and Lipari are tough freshmen, while Fisher is much-improved. Keep an eye on Adetula, a very athletic and fun wrestler to watch. He lost, 5-2, to Pomrinca in the John Goles quarterfinals.

120 pounds

Contenders: Jr. Andrew Kaluzny, Phillipsburg; Jr. Matt Gilmore, Delaware Valley; Sr. Chris Greenwald, Warren Hills.

Others to watch: Fr. Glenn Haines, Lenape Valley; Jr. Dave Popek, Kittatinny; Jr. Tyler Yarnell, Voorhees.

Sleeper: Fr. Mike Derin, High Point.

Notes: Kaluzny was third in District 1 last year, while Gilmore took fourth in District 17 and Greenwald fourth in District 1 and finished sixth in the HWS a year ago. Haines, whose cousin, Dan, was a stud at Hopatcong, is a tough freshman. Speaking of tough rookies, do yourself a favor and watch Derin (11-1) in this one. He is a legitimate contender for the title.

126 pounds

Contenders: Jr. Mike Pongracz, Delaware Valley; Sr. Avelino Jacinto, Kittatinny; So. Gary Dinmore, Hunterdon Central.

Others to watch: Jr. Matt Benvenuto, Lenape Valley; Sr. Joe Cruz, Hopatcong; Jr. Jesse Thorsen, Belvidere; Sr. Kevin Gocklin, Vernon; Jr. Connor McHugh, High Point.

Sleeper: Fr. Max Elling, Phillipsburg.

Notes: Pongracz has had an outstanding career to this point, but has never wrestled in a county final having finished third twice. He's also closing in on 90 career wins. Jacinto is a 50-50 bet to wrestle with that shoulder and I wouldn't be surprised if he's held out of the tourney. If he's in, that could be a great final. Dinmore, a district and region champ, was second last year at 112. Benvenuto is a returning champ in this loaded class, while Cruz finished third at 103. Watch out for Elling, another tough freshman for the 'Liners.

132 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Dylan Thorsen, Belvidere; Sr. Steven Churchill, Newton.

Others to watch: Jr. Tyler Kozimor, Hackettstown; So. Mike Ciavarro, North Hunterdon; Sr. KC Wanamaker, Warren Hills; Fr. Tom Murphy, Kittatinny; So. Christian Okulicz, Voorhees; Fr. Jason Gaccione, High Point.

Sleeper; Fr. Jim Schuitema, Phillipsburg.

Notes: Another deep class here. A Thorsen-Churchill final would be an instant classic. Both finished second in the county last year. Kozimor had a bad shoulder and still managed a fourth-place finish last season. Ciavarro has one career win over Churchill (90-19), but was dominated in the rematch, 10-0, this season in the John Goles finals. Wanamaker beat Murphy, 2-1, in a dual. This after Murphy lost a one-pointer to Thorsen in the Cougar Classic finals. Schuitema and Gaccione are among the growing list of promising freshman in this tourney.

138 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Derek Zehnbauer, Delaware Valley; So. Nick Romyns, Kittatinny; Jr. Mason Ryzoff, North Warren.

Others to watch: Jr. Dylan Cote, Hunterdon Central; Jr. Kevin Bundschuh, Warren Hills.

Sleeper: Jr. Joe Hocking, Wallkill Valley.

Notes: Zehnbauer, a state qualifier and a HWS runner-up last year, is the clear favorite here. Romyns finished second in District 3 as a freshman, while Ryzoff placed fourth here a year ago. Bundschuh made his season debut on Friday and bears watching. Hocking is struggling right now after finishing second in District 3 as a sophomore, but he's dangerous.

145 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Ronnie Honickel, Voorhees; Jr. Josh Sibblies, Newton; Jr. Tyler Cote, Hunterdon Central.

Others to watch: Jr. Jim Lodema, Wallkill Valley; Jr. A.J. Bongiovanni, Hopatcong.

Sleeper:  Jr. Ryan Ward, Vernon.

Notes: Honickel, with 92 career wins, is the clear No. 1 here, but keep an eye on Sibblies who just made the drop to 145 on Saturday for the Henry Boresch Duals. He was a big 152-pounder! Cote was a District 17 runner-up last season and sixth in this tournament. Lodema is a two-time district fourth-place finisher, while Bongiovanni took fourth at HWS as a sophomore. Ward finished fourth in District 3 and in HWS last season.

152 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Clarke Moynihan, Kittatinny; Sr. Joe Emering, Pope John; Sr. V.J. Delmonico, Phillipsburg.

Others to watch: Jr. David Fenton, Hunterdon Central; So. Kody Eichlin, Delaware Valley.

Sleeper: Sr. Steven Baker, Voorhees.

Notes: Moynihan is the consensus favorite here and is six wins shy of 100 for his career, so with two dual meets in advance of this one, he could do it on Saturday in the finals. He's been a two-time district and region runner-up and was second here a year ago, so he' hungry for another gold medal. Emering was a District 3 runner-up and looked good in winning the John Goles. Delmonico was third in District 1 as a junior. Baker beat Eichlin, 6-3, on Friday.

160 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Beau Vrancken, North Hunterdon; Sr. Will Van Doren, Delaware Valley; Sr. Nathan Dow, Belvidere; So. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny.

Others to watch: Sr. Joe Moyer, Phillipsburg; Sr. Thomas Scerbo, Hunterdon Central.

Sleeper: Sr. Michael Staufenberger, North Warren.

Notes: Good class at the top. Vrancken (95-29) rolled to the 152-pound crown a year ago and rates the favorite to repeat. He beat Van Doren, 6-5, in the John Goles final and that was a good one. Van Doren may also go 182 in this tournament where he'd be favored, so nothing is a given. Dow and Gerrity are also capable of doing some damage here. They didn't meet at the Cougar Classic, with Dow placing third and Gerrity second. Moyer has struggled after winning a District 1 title last season. Staufenberger was a District 1 runner-up a year ago.

170 pounds

Contenders: Jr. Jadaen Bernstein, Voorhees; Sr. Joe Ragsdale, North Hunterdon.

Others to watch: Sr. Andrew LaBell, Lenape Valley; Sr. Devin Grade, Phillipsburg; Jr. Jake Brook, Kittatinny.

Sleeper: Sr. Kevin Pettinger, High Point.

Notes: Bernstein, a state runner-up as a sophomore, is among the returning champions. He was 15-14 as a freshman before going 39-1 last season, a remarkable turnaround. Rumor has it that he may drop to 160 for this one, so that would really make 60s a stellar class. Ragsdale, a District 17 runner-up, was sixth in the county as a junior. Brook (7-2) is having a nice season and keep an eye on Pettinger, who didn't wrestle the past two seasons after going 10-3 as a freshman. LaBell was a District 2 runner-up last season.

182 pounds

Contenders: Jr. Evan Bray, Belvidere; Jr. Liam Korbul, North Hunterdon.

Others to watch: So. Garrett Armstrong, Kittatinny; Jr. Nicholas Ruggiero, Voorhees; Jr. Kristian Barrett, Lenape Valley.

Sleeper: So. Kyle Stoll, High Point.

Notes: Potential rematch in the final with Bray and Korbul, who met in the Hopatcong Invitational final. Bray won, 8-7. Those two appear to be at the head of this class, but watch out for Stoll. The sophomore has been impressive thus far, placing third at the rugged Mustang Classic.

195 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Jake Connelly, Newton; Jr. Dan Pepe, North Hunterdon.

Others to watch: Sr. Derek Pierson, Phillipsburg; So. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny.

Sleeper: So. Jesse Cornwell, Vernon.

Notes: Connelly is head-and-shoulders above the rest here and seems determined to stay at 195 after finishing fourth in Region 1 at 145 last season. He's quick for the bigger boys and still wrestles as a middle weight. Connelly and Pepe finished first and third, respectively, at the John Goles, but they did not meet. Wunder is expected to do well here and keep an eye on Cornwell, who has been flying a bit under the radar.

220 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Brandon Hull, Phillipsburg; Sr. Dan Smith, Warren Hills; Sr. Dave Tlatelpa, Vernon.

Others to watch: Jr. J.B. Lawson, Belvidere; Sr. Jake Drelich, Kittatinny.

Sleeper: So. Gunther Wassong, High Point.

Notes: Hull the clear choice for his second HWS title. Smith and Tlatelpa finished third in their respective districts last season. Smith beat Lawson, 9-4, early in the season. Lawson also decked Drelich in the Cougar Classic.

285 pounds

Contenders: Sr. Jon Gemeinhardt, Vernon; Sr. Anthony Pare, Phillipsburg; Sr. Forrest Wooden, Delaware Valley.

Others to watch: Jr. Chris Longyhore, North Warren; Jr. Ryan Appleby, Belvidere; Sr. Ismail Saleh, Hackettstown.

Sleeper: Fr. Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills.

Notes: Gemeinhardt finished fourth in Region 1 last year and Pare is much-improved after going one-and-done in the regions after finishing second here at 189. Longyhore was a District 1 runner-up as a sophomore. Wooden and Pacheco are the most intriguing to me. The Del val senior is one of the most improved wrestlers in the tournament, while Pacheco is a talented rookie. Should be a fun group to watch.