113 pounds
Ryan Pomrinca (35-3), North Hunterdon, vs. James Elphick (18-2), Kittatinny -- Great first-round matchup. Contrast in styles, as Pomrinca, a freshman, is good on his feet and Elphick, a senior is a very dangerous mat wrestler. It's a shame that the loser won't be moving on.
David McFadden (34-2), DePaul, vs. Kyle Brady (35-0), Bishop Ahr -- Super frosh McFadden looked great in winning the Region 1 title, while Brady, a junior, came out on top in a loaded Region 5 class.
120 pounds
Billy Ward (35-3), Buena, vs. Sal Profaci (35-3), Monroe -- Ward is trying to become his school's first state champ and looked great in winning the Region 8 title. Profaci is one tough frosh and will be heard from down here, perhaps as soon as this weekend. His only losses are to South Plainfield's Troy Heilmann, Burlington Township's Kevin Devoy and Watchung Hills' Mike Magaldo -- all state placewinners.
126 pounds
Sam Tareky (33-2), Wayne Valley, vs. Gary Dinmore (25-7), Hunterdon Central -- Tareky opened a lot of eyes, including mine, with the way he ran roughshod through Region 1. Dinmore won another controversial decision over Delaware Valley state placer Mike Pongracz en route to his second Region 5 title. Dinmore went 1-2 here a year ago and did not place.
132 pounds
R.J. DeGeorge (34-2), Pequannock, vs. Richard Lewis (32-3), Toms River East -- DeGeorge is coming off an impressive win over Belvidere's Dylan Thorsen to win his first Region 1 title. Lewis, the Region 6 champion, placed seventh last year at 119 pounds.
145 pounds
Lenny Richardson (31-3), St. Peter's Prep, vs. Tim Garripoli (35-0), Roxbury -- Richardson, fifth at 135 last year, is a pick by many to reach the finals, but what a tough opener. Garripoli rolled to the Region 1 title and went one-and-done last year at 140.
152 pounds
Dan Ressler (33-2), Pascack Valley, vs. V.J. Delmonico (28-12), Phillipsburg -- Ressler, perfect name for the sport, is kind of flying under the radar, despite a 7-2 win over Becton-Wallington state placer James Dugan on Dec. 29. Ressler scored the opening takedown against Don Bosco's Sal Mastriani, who rallied for an 11-3 win in their Region 2 final. Both of Ressler's losses are to Mastriani. Delmonico has been battle-tested, so this should be an interesting first-round encounter.
170 pounds
Robert Shade (34-3), Timber Creek, vs. Joey Balboni (31-5), Brearley-Dayton -- Shade impressed me in the dual against Kittatinny and has a chance to do well at this not-so-deep weight class. Balboni beat Shade, 5-3, on Dec. 28.
182 pounds
Keith Lewis (34-4), Franklin, vs. Nick Dellaferra (30-5), Wayne Valley -- Lewis suffered three of his losses before the New Year, one to state runner-up Dallas Winston of Jackson Memorial. The other was a 7-2 setback to Belvidere's Evan Bray, who just avenged an early-season loss to Dellaferra in the Region 1 finals.
195 pounds
Bryan Dobzanski (33-1), Delsea, vs. Jake Connelly (40-0), Newton -- Dobzanski has reeled off 27 straight wins since a 4-0 loss to Haddonfield's Carson Stack on Dec. 30. Connelly hasn't been mentioned much, if at all, in a lot of previews I've seen on the web. But don't sleep on him. Lower Cape May's Cory Damiana is a common opponent for both -- Dobzanski won twice, 5-0 and 6-0, while Connelly defeated Damiana, 6-5.
very nice list. pongrancz/vanbrill also an excellent matchup.
ReplyDeleteThanks. That isn't a guaranteed matchup, so it doesn't make the list.
ReplyDelete