Where: Wallkill Valley Regional High School, Hardyston.
When: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Wednesday schedule: Preliminaries, 5 p.m. (Doors open at 3 p.m.).
Friday schedule: Quarterfinals, 4 p.m. (Doors open at 2 p.m.)
Saturday schedule: (Doors open at 7 a.m.): Semifinals, 9 a.m., immediately followed by two rounds of wrestlebacks; third-place consolations approximately 30 minutes after wrestlebacks; championships following consolations.
Returning champions (2012 weights): Jan Rosenberg, Morris Knolls (106); Dillon Artigliere, Roxbury (152); Ryan Harrington, Mendham (170).
Qualifiers by school
Phillipsburg 12; Kittatinny 10; Wayne Valley 9; High Point 8; Pequannock 8; Randolph 8; Roxbury 8; Morris Knolls 7; West Morris 7; Jefferson 6; Lakeland 6; Mendham 6; Warren Hills 6; Belvidere 5; DePaul 5; Lenape Valley 5; Morris Hills 5; Pompton Lakes 5; Pope John 5; Vernon 5; Newton 4; Wayne Hills 4; West Milford 4; Dover 3; Montville 3; Mount Olive 3; Wallkill Valley 3; Hopatcong 2; North Warren 2; Butler 1; Hackettstown 1; Morris Catholic 1; Sparta 1; Kinnelon 0.
Individual picks:
106 -- 1. Jan Rosenberg, Morris Knolls; 2. Tyler Hyrcak, Wayne Valley; 3. A.J. Vindici, Randolph; 4. Bryan Damon, Jefferson.
Notes: After Rosenberg, the state favorite at this weight, it gets tough to handicap. I think there are six others here that are all capable of placing. It's my job to narrow it down to only two. Nauta owns two convincing wins over Friedman, who turned the tables on him in the District 1 finals. Hyrcak finished fourth at this weight last season and has some impressive wins this season. Vindici has two losses to Rosenberg and beat Damon in ultimate tiebreaker earlier this season. Very deep and solid class.
113 -- 1. David McFadden, DePaul; 2. Zach Fisher, Phillipsburg; 3. James Elphick, Kittatinny; 4. Cory Fleming, West Morris.
Notes: Super freshman McFadden has been impressive all season, particularly in a win over Hunterdon Central's Dylan Nace at the All-Star Invitational. But do yourself a favor and watch Fisher, Elphick and Fleming this week. All three are outstanding mat wrestlers and worth the price of admission. Fisher-Elphick in the dual meet was a war and ended with Fisher decking the Cougar, who was fourth in the PIAA District 11 Class AA Tournament last year at Pen Argyl. Fleming narrowly lost to Fisher in the D1 final.
120 -- 1. Joe Cruz, Hopatcong; 2. Mike Derin, High Point, 3. Glenn Haines, Lenape Valley; 4. David Popek, Kittatinny.
Notes: Derin, a freshman, has talent beyond his years but must win the rematch with Cruz in order to become only the third ninth-grader in school history to win a region title (joining John Gardner and Nick Francavilla). Cruz dominated their Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex final and later went up a weight to knock off Matt Benvenuto, the No. 2 seed at 126, in a dual. Cruz, who is unbeaten at 120, is looking for his first final after finishing fourth in 2010. Haines is another solid freshman. Popek is on a roll of late and owns two wins over P'burg junior Andrew Kaluzny and lost a tight, 1-0, decision to Haines.
126 -- 1. Steven Churchill, Newton; 2. Matt Benvenuto, Lenape Valley; 3. Sam Tareky, Wayne Valley; 4. Joe Kratochvil, Warren Hills.
Notes: Churchill has to be itching to avenge a pair of close and controversial losses to Benvenuto last season. Churchill, a huge 132-pounder who dropped to 126 late in the season, has really gotten good on his feet and has always been a strong mat wrestler. Benvenuto has looked sharp all season and will be a tough out. Tareky poses a problem for Benvenuto in the bottom half of the draw. Kratochvil has beaten Phillipsburg's Max Elling two out of three this season and can't be overlooked here either the way he's been wrestling of late.
132 -- 1. Dylan Thorsen, Belvidere; 2. R.J. DeGeorge, Pequannock, 3. Jason Gaccione, High Point; 4. James Rivera, Mount Olive.
Notes: Just an absolutely insane weight class. Studs everywhere you look in the brackets. Thorsen, third last year, is looking for his second trip to the finals after a runner-up finish in 2010. He's beaten Murphy twice and beat Mount Olive's James Rivera, 5-3, in the D1 finals. Rivera scored an impressive 4-0 win over tough P'burg freshman Jimmy Schuitema, who beat Murphy, 5-2 in a dual, in the D1 semis. DeGeorge, second at 130 last year, owns two wins over Murphy, who has a pair of close losses to Gaccione.
138 -- 1. Nick Matthews, West Morris; 2. Steve McKowen, Morris Knolls; 3. Nick Romyns, Kittatinny; 4. Tyler Kozimor, Hackettstown.
Notes: Another tough one to call here. Matthews is the D1 champ, avenging a loss by pin to Kozimor. Romyns owns wins over Kozimor, 3-2, and Randolph's Ray Timpani, as well as two victories over Jefferson's Ryan Higgins. The Kittatinny sophomore seems to be coming on and will be a dangerous opponent. McKowen, who placed third last year, has split of a pair of close decisions against Matthews, winning, 3-1, and losing the rematch, 7-6.
145 -- 1. Tim Garripoli, Roxbury; 2. Tyler VanDyke, Pequannock; 3. Jacob Aloia, Mendham; 4. Dylan Offerding, Mount Olive.
Notes: Rock-solid choice here with the unbeaten Garripoli, who beat VanDyke, 4-0, in the Morris County finals. He also has an 8-3 win over Aloia, the D1 champ, earlier this season. Both Aloia and VanDyke beat Offerding this season. Keep an eye on Pope John's Joe Emering and Jefferson's Luke Bohn, a freshman who will make some noise in the coming years.
152 -- 1. Dillon Artigliere, Roxbury; 2. Clarke Moynihan, Kittatinny; 3. Parker Meytrott, Montville; 4. V.J. Delmonico, Phillipsburg.
Notes: Artigliere going for his second title in as many tournaments and was impressive in a 4-1 win over Moynihan back in late December. Moynihan, a two-time runner-up, is the next best here. Could be quite a battle for that third spot. Meytrott was a third-place finisher a year ago, while Delmonico has the ability to keep it close with most opponents.
160 -- 1. Nathan Dow, Belvidere; 2. Keith Lemengello, Pequannock; 3. Kevin Button, Mendham; 4. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny.
Notes: Good group here. Wallkill Valley has been a House of Horrors for Lemengello, who hasn't wrestled particularly well in this tournament. He's never placed despite a solid career. He's one of the best defensive wrestlers here and managed to get off his back in the D3 finals against DePaul freshman Nick DePalma. Dow lost to Gerrity in December and pinned Moyer, who knocked off Gerrity in a dual meet. Dow was up 5-0 on Button in the D1 finals before getting lateral-dropped for five points in an eventual 10-5 loss. I think he turns the tables in this one.
170 -- 1. Ryan Harrington, Mendham; 2. Steve Secor, Lakeland; 3. Kevin Pettenger, High Point; 4. Michael Burns, Morris Knolls.
Notes: The easiest choice to make here as Harrington, a returning state champion, is the class of this field. Secor lost, 5-2, to Wayne Valley's Nick Dellaferra, the top seed at 182. Pettenger looked very good in the D3 finals and really got a bum draw as the No. 8 seed. He'll see Harrington in Friday's quarterfinals, but will have plenty of time to regroup for Saturday's wrestlebacks.
182 -- 1. Nick Dellaferra, Wayne Valley; 2. Evan Bray, Belvidere; 3. Michael Rettino, Morris Knolls; 4. Kyle Stoll, High Point.
Notes: Dellaferra, who finished fourth last year, has been ranked No. 1 all season at this weight class by Open Mike. Bray, who won his first D1 title, lasted 17 seconds against Dellaferra when they met in early December. This one will be a lot longer. Rettino lost, 4-1, to Dellaferra in late December. Stoll won the D3 title and bears watching. His father, Joe, was the heavyweight champ in this region for Vernon in 1984.
195 -- 1. Jake Connelly, Newton; 2. Dan Hauck, North Warren; 3. Kyle Smith, Morris Knolls; 4. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny.
Notes: Connelly has been a heavy favorite to win here all season after a fourth-place finish at 145, that's right, last season. He beat Smith, the No. 5 seed, 3-1, earlier this season. Smith will likely tangle with Wunder, who's lost three times to Connelly, in the quarters. I feel the three best kids are all in the upper half of the draw. Bottom bracket is up for grabs.
220 -- 1. Brandon Hull, Phillipsburg; 2. Alex Trani, Wayne Valley; 3. Dan Smith, Warren Hills; 4. J.B. Lawson, Belvidere.
Notes: Hull, second in the region and eighth in the state at 215 last season, is the one to beat. He's beaten Smith twice and Lawson, who avenged a loss to Smith in the D1 semifinals. It gets a little tricky after Hull. Jack Baumgaertel of Pompton Lakes, the No. 3 seed, should get a rematch against Vernon's Dave Tlatelpa in the quarters. Baumgaertel, who beat Lawson in a close one, won the first meeting, 4-3, in ultimate tiebreaker. Tlatelpa was beaten by both Lawson and Smith in the HWS Tournament in January. Wayne Hills' Robert Levine, who split with Trani, also lurks in the bottom half.
285 -- 1. Anthony Pare, Phillipsburg; 2. Mike Spencer, Pequannock; 3. Jermaine Eluemunor, Morris Knolls; 4. Zach Krulan, West Morris.
Notes: I've become a big believer in Pare over the last few weeks. He's quick and that gives him a big edge in the this land of giants. Spencer (36-0), the top seed, and Andrew Grosser of Pompton Lakes are every bit of 285, in fact they both cut to make the limit. Spencer has 23 pins and nine forfeit wins. Eluemunor, who lost, 2-1, to Spencer in the MCT finals, has had several tight battles with Morris Hills' Chuck Foster this season, must be a style thing. Then there's Vernon senior Jon Gemeinhardt, last year's fourth-place finisher, who has been pinned by Grosser and Pare this season.
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