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: Paetzell (22-5) has won 13 in a row since a 1-0 loss to Delbarton’s Ty Agaisse, the Stateliner’s only New Jersey defeat this season. Gallo’s last loss at 106 was to Paetzell -- 3-1 in sudden victory in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals. Caserta bumped to 113, where he lost, 6-4, to Randolph state medalist A.J. Vindici on Tuesday. Caserta rebounded to give Hillsborough’s Adam LaBracio his first loss in 26 bouts – 2-0 in SV – on Saturday. Caserta has split with O’Shea and lost to Gallo. Kui wrestled twice at 113 this past week.

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: Nauta keeps rolling along as he enters the week riding an 18-match win streak since a 4-3 loss to highly-regarded Tyrone Klump of Nazareth (Pa.). Three of his four losses were early in the season and Nauta looks settled in at 113. The Blue Streaks are taking the week off before sectionals. Damon bumped up to 120, where he lost, 12-6, to Lenape Valley’s Peter Lipari. Fisher surrendered the opening takedown to Silva and finished strong in a 9-3 win – nearly getting a takedown for the major in the final seconds on Thursday. Damon beat Silva, 11-2, earlier this season. Silva has lost to the top three at this weight.

120 pounds

1. Fr. Jared Kobis, High Point

2. Sr. Cory Fleming, West Morris

3. So. Tyler Hrycak, Wayne Valley

4. So. Peter Lipari, Lenape Valley

5. So. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg

Notes: Kobis (27-1) picked up two wins – 9-1 over Mount Olive’s Matt Silva before closing the week by decking Ed Millan of Bloomfield. Fleming dropped a wild 14-10 decision to Don Bosco’s Luis Gonzalez, a two-time state placewinner and former finalist, and decked Hopatcong’s Joey Spaziani. Lipari dropped a 10-5 decision to Delbarton’s Nick Farro, who normally goes 113. Farro also beat Hrycak, 8-7, on Jan. 5. Hrycak (23-3) has just one loss in New Jersey. Friedman struggled in a 3-2 win over Kittatinny’s Nick Klinger – Friedman won 7-3 in their HWS meeting – and was decked by Paulsboro state qualifier John Gentile.

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: Kratochvil opened last week with an 8-1 loss to Somerville’s Nick Wahba, a tough customer, and closed with his second win over Hunterdon Central’s Dylan Nace – 2-1 – and second bout-deciding stall point to do so. Same outcome in their HWS final, except that one was in OT. Zinsmeister (shoulder) has not wrestled since a loss to Easton’s Jimmy Saylor on Jan. 24. No word on whether he will return this season. Roxbury’s Keith Hernandez would likely enter here in that case. He lost by fall to High Point’s Connor McHugh, who lost, 10-2, to Montville’s Anthony Fano. Hernandez beat Fano, 6-2. Nice little round robin there.  

132 pounds

1. Sr. Sam Tareky, Wayne Valley

2. Sr. Anthony Johnson, Phillipsburg

3. Jr. Jake Legotte, Roxbury

4. So. Glenn Haines, Lenape Valley

5. Sr. Brandon Rothman, Hackettstown

Notes: Tareky (24-3) has 20 pins this season. Johnson looks like he’s settling in after missing a good month, beating Delaware Valley’s Matt Gilmore, 4-3, and Paulsboro’s Juan Rivera, 3-1, on Saturday. Both finished fourth in their respective regions last season. Haines is back in off a 2-1 win over Rothman. It’s a pretty deep weight here with High Point state qualifier Mike Derin, Mendham’s Eric Friedman and West Morris’ David Migliaccio on the outside looking in.

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 rebounded with four wins after being dealt his only loss in the Morris County semifinals on Jan. 26. Benvenuto, who lost 3-1 to Matthews earlier this season, decked Delbarton’s Travis Vasquez on Friday. It was Vasquez, a MCT champ, who handed Matthews that aforementioned loss, 4-1. Murphy was simply solid in a 7-4 win over Elling on Thursday – hitting a four-pointer in the first period en route to an early 6-1 lead. Elling converted a late takedown to make it look closer than it was, as Murphy also won, 4-2, when they met for third in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament. Bundschuh returned to the lineup and dropped a 6-5 decision to Hunterdon Central’s Dylan Cote at 145.

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: Thorsen (25-1) is cementing his place atop an extremely tough weight class with a 7-3 win over West Morris’ Brandon Carcuffe on Saturday. Carcuffe (24-3) has been unable to squeeze in here since it’s so deep. Kaluzny converted a takedown at the buzzer to beat Romyns, 3-1, on Thursday. Kozimor, a R1 champ, lost by injury default to West Essex’s Carlo Zazzara, but came back in his next match to earn a fall against Keyport’s Ben Prevost.

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 (22-3) recorded a key pin to help the Stateliners earn a 34-22 win over Kittatinny on Thursday. He’s won 16 in a row since an OT loss to Tyrell White of Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on Dec. 28. Drugac enjoyed a 4-0 week, while Hooker posted a pair of pins. Butka dropped a 7-1 decision to Hunterdon Central’s Tim Higginson, who bumped from 145, on Friday.

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 (28-0), a R1 champ as a freshman, enters the week at 99-8 for his career. Button (20-5) has a double-loss to Artigliere this season. Sickles (22-5) picked up four wins last week, while Kocsis continues to wrestle extremely well. He decked Kittatinny’s Dave Popek, a two-time R1 qualifier, on Thursday, leading, 9-3, at the time of the fall. Kocsis, a HWS champ, will be one to watch come postseason time. Carey (24-4) beat Popek, 8-4, earlier this season.

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 (25-1) received a forfeit in his only bout of the week against Sparta. Gerrity had a great week, pinning Bupivi for his 80^th career win on Thursday and bumping up against Voorhees to knock off Nick Ruggiero, 5-1, at 182. Kratch (22-5) went 4-0 last week with two pins and a major.   

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 (23-5) has been cruising since a 3-1 loss to Michael Silano of St. Joseph-Montvale on Jan. 16. He’s won nine straight since with six pins, one technical fall and two majors. Burns (27-1) has one loss by injury default this season. Bray, who lost, 11-2, to DePalma, at the Kittatinny Tournament, is closing in on 100 wins. He’s at 93 entering the week after bumping up to post a 4-1 win over West Morris’ Jesse Windt, who’s ranked at 195. Brook, who has been mostly at 195 this season, beat Newton’s Gus Protogeropoulos, 7-1, on Tuesday and Voorhees’ Kyle Levy, 9-1, on Friday.

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: Stoll (23-3) didn’t last a minute in either of his two bouts last week with pins of 26 and 56 seconds. Wunder, who is really a 170-pounder, wrestled there against Voorhees on Friday and had the distinction of being the 121^st victim for Jadaen Bernstein, who became the school’s all-time wins leader in the team’s loss to the Cougars. It was a tough week for Windt with losses to Belvidere’s Evan Bray, a R1 champ, 4-1, and state champ Razohan Gross of Don Bosco (pin in 2:47).

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 did not wrestle against High Point so there was no showdown with McDonnell. However, Andrich did sustain a 5-2 loss to Lawson on Saturday. Lawson (23-3) hasn’t been challenged a lot this season and has won 16 straight since a 2-0 loss to Armstrong, who dropped the rematch in the HWS finals. Levine has not wrestled since Jan. 21 so we’ll see if he’s back this week. McDonnell (21-5) has won eight in a row since a 2-1 loss to Armstrong and enters the week with pins in his last seven bouts. Armstrong (25-3) bumped to 285 and beat Phillipsburg’s Jarrett Williams, 5-3, on Thursday.

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: Appleby (23-2) went 3-0 last week after moving into the leadoff spot. Pacheco (24-5) had three pins last week and hit a nice lat drop against Hunterdon Central’s Dan Hausman on Friday. Williams did not wrestle on Saturday after a 5-3 loss to Kittatinny’s Garrett Armstrong on Thursday. The fan favorite at P’burg has not looked 100 percent of late. Wenzel lost, 6-2, to Passaic Tech’s Enmanuel Soriano.