Wrestling: Region 1 individual rankings

106 pounds

1. Fr. Brandon Paetzell, Phillipsburg

2. So. Dom Gallo, High Point

3. So. William Kui, DePaul

4. Fr. Garrett O’Shea, Morris Knolls

5. Sr. Stephen Caserta, Roxbury

Notes: Kui won the Passaic County Tournament title, beating Passaic Valley’s Anthony Cruz, 6-4. Caserta, who finished third in the Morris County Tournament, pinned Cruz earlier this season. I’m dropping Kui, who has been at 113 quite a bit, down a few spots. Just like what I’ve seen out of Paetzell and Gallo this season. O’Shea avenged an earlier OT loss to Caserta with a 4-2 win in the MCT semifinals. O’Shea lost, 2-1, to Delbarton’s Ty Agaisse in the title match. Agaisse beat Paetzell, 1-0, in a dual meet. This is a very competitive group here.

113 pounds

1. So. Max Nauta, Warren Hills

2. Jr. Bryan Damon, Jefferson

3. Sr. Zach Fisher, Phillipsburg

4. So. A.J. Vindici, Randolph

5. Jr. Christian Silva, Kittatinny

Notes: Damon beat Vindici, 4-3, in the MCT finals – losing a 4-0 lead late when he was put to his back and nearly decked. Damon also beat Delbarton's Nick Farro -- 4-2 in sudden victory in the semifinals.Fisher, who beat Farro, 12-8, in a dual, earned a nice 9-4 win over Howell’s Jimmy Slendorn on Saturday. Slendorn beat Nauta in December. Order stays the same for now, as all of these guys are very tough.

120 pounds

1. Fr. Jared Kobis, High Point

2. Sr. Cory Fleming, West Morris

3. So. Peter Lipari, Lenape Valley

4. So. Tyler Hrycak, Wayne Valley

5. So. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg

Notes: This weight is starting to be a real headache to rank. Kobis is a solid No. 1, as evidenced by Roxbury’s Devon LaFranco going to OT in a loss to Hanover Park state champ Anthony Cefolo in the MCT semifinals. Kobis beat LaFranco, 5-0, the previous weekend. Fleming, who lost, 11-2, to Delbarton’s Christian Innarella in the semis, beat LaFranco, 8-3, in sudden victory for third place at the MCT. Now, here’s where it gets tricky. Fleming decked Lipari on Jan. 17. LaFranco has double-losses to Cefolo and Fleming and a loss to North Warren’s Matt Ritchie, who doesn’t get in here. LaFranco stays out for now. Hrycak won the Passaic County Tournament title.

126 pounds

1. So. David McFadden, DePaul

2. Sr. Joe Kratochvil, Warren Hills

3. So. Corey Zinsmeister, Phillipsburg

4. So. Ian Burke, Sparta

5. Fr. Austin Scrivani, Kittatinny

Notes: Not much to report here. McFadden cruised to the Passaic County title. Zinsmeister missed Saturday’s match against Howell after reportedly being slammed – though it wasn’t called – in Thursday’s loss to Jimmy Saylor of Easton. Everything else is status quo.

132 pounds

1. Sr. Sam Tareky, Wayne Valley

2. Sr. Anthony Johnson, Phillipsburg

3. Jr. Jake Legotte, Roxbury

4. Sr. Brandon Rothman, Hackettstown

5. So. Eric Friedman, Mendham

Notes: Another mishmash of a weight class here. Tareky rolled to the Passaic County title, beating Passaic Valley’s Tom Dunphy, 6-2. Legotte enters here for the first time at No. 3, following a 5-0 win over Friedman on Wednesday and a 3-1 win over Migliaccio in the MCT semis. Migliaccio beat Legotte, 7-2, earlier this season. Legotte also recently beat High Point’s Mike Derin, who was third in R1 last year, and Mount Olive's Ron Spera, 3-1 in OT, in the MCT quarters. Spera finished fifth and also has a loss to Migliaccio. Friedman has two wins over Migliaccio. Rothman, who recently dropped to 132, has a 4-0 win over Friedman and slides in at No. 4. R1 runner-up Glenn Haines of Lenape Valley, who lost 6-5 to Migliaccio, slips out of the five-hole. Migliaccio also falls out.

138 pounds

1. Sr. Nick Matthews, West Morris

2. Sr. Matt Benvenuto, Lenape Valley

3. So. Tom Murphy, Kittatinny

4. So. Max Elling, Phillipsburg

5. Sr. Kevin Bundschuh, Warren Hills

Notes: Matthews stumbled for the first time this season with a 4-1 loss to Delbarton’s Travis Vasquez in the MCT semifinals. He rebounded to finish third. Benvenuto picked up his 100^th win on Saturday – the 12^th Lenape Valley wrestler to reach the milestone. Elling scored a nice major decision win over Easton’s Kyle Baker on Thursday and appears to be coming on. Bundschuh (ankle injury) didn’t wrestle this past week in the Blue Streaks’ five matches. We’ll see if he returns this week.

145 pounds

1. Sr. Jesse Thorsen, Belvidere

2. Sr. Andrew Kaluzny, Phillipsburg

3. Sr. Tyler Kozimor, Hackettstown

4. So. Jason Gaccione, High Point

5. Jr. Nick Romyns, Kittatinny

Notes: Status quo here as well. This weight is so tough that West Morris’ Brandon Carcuffe (21-2) can’t squeeze in here. His only losses are to North Hunterdon’s Mike Ciavarro (2-1 in OT) and Delbarton’s Dan Reed, 7-2 in the MCT finals on Saturday. Thorsen went over the 70-win mark for his career with five wins last week. It’s a shame that he did not meet up with Kozimor, who was out of the lineup, on Saturday. Word is that Gaccione could be dropping to 138 for the postseason. Romyns picked up his 70^th win on Saturday.

152 pounds

1. So. Jimmy Schuitema, Phillipsburg

2. So. Luke Bohn, Jefferson

3. Fr. Dean Drugac, Morris Knolls

4. Jr. Tommy Hooker, High Point

5. Jr. Evan Butka, Warren Hills

Notes: Schuitema keeps rolling along, getting his 50^th career win on Saturday in the Stateliners’ victory over Howell. Bohn finished second in the MCT. Drugac went 3-1 at the MCT and did not place in the top four – losing 7-4 to Sam Mual of Parsippany Hills in the quarterfinals. Drugac beat Randolph's Sean Rodgers, 4-3, for fifth place. Drugac (21-2) stays No. 3 since High Point’s Hooker was out of the lineup when their teams met in a dual.

160 pounds

1. Jr. Dillon Artigliere, Roxbury

2. Jr. Sam Button, Mendham

3. Sr. John Sickles, West Morris

4. Jr. Jake Kocsis, Phillipsburg

5. Jr. Nick Carey, DePaul

Notes: Artigliere impressed with his 7-1 win over Delbarton’s Josef Johnson in the MCT finals – decking Sickles in the semifinals en route to the title and the OW Award. Button beat Sickles, 4-0, for third place. Carey enters here after knocking off VanDuyne in his own home gym for the Passaic County title. Carey and Kocsis have a common opponent in Franklin’s Mike Fagg-Daves. Casey lost by technical fall and Kocsis beat Fagg-Daves, 3-2. Button beat Fagg-Daves by the same score. VanDuyne, who also has a 4-2 loss to Button, drops out.

170 pounds

1. Sr. Parker Meytrott, Montville

2. Jr. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny

3. Jr. Broderick Bupivi, Phillipsburg

4. Sr. Adam Kratch, West Morris

5. So. D.J. Barrett, Lenape Valley

Notes: Meytrott outclassed the MCT field, scoring a technical fall win over Kratch in the semifinals, en route to the championship. Kratch finished third. Gerrity gave Northern Highlands stud Nick Gravina all he could handle in a 3-2 loss on Saturday. Bupivi has turned in some big wins of late for the Stateliners, including a 5-2 win over Howell’s Casey Fecht on Saturday to help ice the team’s win.  

182 pounds

1. So. Nick DePalma, DePaul

2. Sr. Michael Burns, Morris Knolls

3. Sr. Josh Sibblies, Newton

4. Sr. Jake Brook, Kittatinny

5. Sr. Evan Bray, Belvidere

Notes: DePalma wasn’t challenged in his run to the Passaic County title – two majors and a pin. Burns was equally dominating in winning the MCT championship, beating Pequannock’s Luke Foukas, 10-4. Could see a rematch between Sibblies and Brook on Tuesday when Newton calls on Kittatinny. Bray bumped up to beat Lenape Valley’s Kristian Barrett, 12-4, at 195.

195 pounds

1. Jr. Kyle Stoll, High Point

2. Jr. Anthony Landberg, Wayne Valley

3. Jr. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny

4. Sr. Kristian Barrett, Lenape Valley

5. Jr. Jesse Windt, West Morris

Notes: Landberg gave a good account in a 3-1 loss to Hawthorne’s Evan Ramos in the Passaic County finals. Windt beat Roxbury’s Stephen Arthur III, 2-0, in a tiebreaker for the MCT title. Lakeland’s Jon Fazio, who has bounced back-and-forth between 195 and 220, is just on the cusp at this weight.

220 pounds

1. Sr. J.B. Lawson, Belvidere

2. Jr. Garrett Armstrong, Kittatinny

3. Sr. Robert Levine, Wayne Hills

4. Jr. Bobby McDonnell, High Point

5. Sr. Pete Andrich, Mount Olive

Notes: Andrich wasn’t really tested in a less-than-stellar MCT field – beating Randolph’s Zac Kazaba, 8-3, in the finals. Levine did not compete in the Passaic County Tournament – won by Wayne Valley’s Justin Walker, who beat Lakeland’s Jon Fazio, 7-6, in the semifinals. Fazio has been at 195 and 220 this season. Levine has not wrestled in nearly a week, so we’ll keep an eye out here. Lawson pinned Walker in 34 seconds earlier this season and beat Levine, 4-2. Andrich will get a chance to move up when he faces McDonnell on Monday.

285 pounds

1. Sr. Ryan Appleby, Belvidere

2. So. Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills

3. Sr. Jarrett Williams, Phillipsburg

4. Sr. William Wenzel, West Milford

5. Jr. Noa Merritt, Pope John

Notes: Some reshuffling done here. Wenzel was dealt his first loss, 5-2, to Wayne Valley 220-pounder Justin Walker on Wednesday. Wenzel rebounded by pinning his way to the Passaic County title. Lakeland’s Brendon Narbone lost in the PCT semis and did not place so he’s out. We have a new 1-2-3 and a new No. 5 in Pope John’s Merritt, who lost, 7-4, to Pacheco at Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex.