Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Wrestling: Delaware Valley at Kittatinny preview

What: Delaware Valley Terriers at Kittatinny Cougars.

Where: Kittatinny Regional High School, Hampton Township.

When: Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Conference: Independent.

Records: Delaware Valley 12-6; Kittatinny 18-2.

State rankings (New Jersey Wrestling Writers): Delaware Valley No. 20; Kittatinny No. 11.

Coaches: Andy Fitz (100-34, sixth season); John Gill (483-148-5, 32nd season).

Series history: Kittatinny leads 7-4 dating to 1992, including a 33-30 win on the road on Jan. 29, 2011. Cougars have won the last five meetings since Del Val's 31-24 win on Feb. 13, 1999. Schools have met fives times in the postseason with Kittatinny winning all four matchups in the Group 2 finals. Del Val prevailed in a consolation match in 1994 and also won the regular season meeting. The Terriers' other win was in 1992.

Note: Delaware Valley wrestlers listed first with season records in parentheses.

106 -- Fr. Vito Intili (11-5) vs. Fr. Jake Van Wingerden (17-11).

113 -- Fr. Kyle Refalvy (3-6) vs. Jr. Christian Silva (21-7).

120 -- Jr. Michael Adam (11-6) or So. Ryan Erwin (11-10) vs. Fr. Nick Klinger (11-16).

126 -- Sr. Mike Pongracz (22-0) vs. Fr. Austin Scrivani (20-8) or Jr. Nick West (9-17).

132 -- Sr. Matt Gilmore (13-7) vs. Scrivani or West.

138 -- Jr. Holden Baker (15-8) vs. So. Tom Murphy (25-3).

145 -- Jr. Austin McLaughlin (2-4) vs. Jr. Nick Romyns (20-5).

152 -- Sr. Alex Niemann (14-6) or Fr. Kyle Schlittler (4-5) vs. Sr. Connor Zandarski (11-12) or Sr. Dave Popek (10-10).

160 -- Jr. Kody Eichlin (20-2) vs. So. Brandon Olsen (7-6) or Zandarski or Popek.

170 -- Jr. Nour Mays (4-14) or Jr. Luke Zehnbauer (18-8) vs. Jr. Kieran Gerrity (25-3) or Jr. Dylan Wunder (21-7).

182 -- Sr. Ryan Metz (9-9) or Zehnbauer vs. Sr. Jake Brook (25-3) or Wunder.

195 -- Jr. Vincent Kwiatek (0-2) or Metz vs. Brook or Wunder.

220 -- Jr. Brian Baehr (18-8) vs. Jr. Garrett Armstrong (25-3) or Jr. Tom Smith (15-11).

285 -- Jr. Marek Tomanek (7-1) vs. Armstrong or Smith.

Breakdown: This one was originally scheduled to take place on Jan. 26 at Del Val. Kittatinny benefits from the cancellation to get a home match. Matchups certainly favor the Cougars, who are trying to go 2-for-2 against Hunterdon County -- beating Voorhees, 37-25, on Friday. Straight up, Del Val will be favored at 126, 132, 160, and either 220 or 285 against only Smith. Cougars have the edge at 106, 113, 120, 138, 145, 152, 170, 182, 195 and with Armstrong at 220 or 285. Adam and Niemann have been sidelined with injuries and both would rate as slight favorites if available for this one. Without them, I see Del Val winning four bouts, possibly five if Zehnbauer meets Wunder, and that's not a given. I only see Pongracz getting bonus points if Popek faces Eichlin. Kittatinny has an excellent chance for bonus at five weights. Look for Wunder to weigh in at 170, as the Cougars try to get Gerrity on Zehnbauer. Either way, I think the hosts win by a comfortable margin.

Prediction: Kittatinny, 39-19.

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