And we're off.
The high school wrestling season is underway and we move right into the dual meet portion of the season this week with some dandy matchups and our first set of weekly team rankings, which should be interesting to watch as we go along. The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference and Skyland Conference open on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, so check our calendar for all of the important dates and times.
Let's take a brief look at some of the big ones on tap in the next few days. We will have a more in-depth look at some matchups later in the week.
Delaware Valley, which hosts Hopewell Valley on Tuesday, will travel to Washington on Wednesday for a key Skyland Conference Raritan Division matchup against Warren Hills. The Terriers, who will close out the week against Phillipsburg at The Pit, have won 15 of the past 17 meetings against the Blue Streaks, including a 37-21 win at home last season.
Newton hosts Sparta on Tuesday in a non-divisional matchup in the NJAC. The Braves, seeking their first win over the Spartans since 2009, hold a 31-12-1 edge in the all-time series dating to 1961. The teams did not meet from 2010-13 after the Sussex County Interscholastic League folded following the 2008-09 season. Coach Eric Bollette's team will head to Warren County later in the week to take on Phillipsburg on Saturday. We could see a matchup between two of the state's best 152-pounders in Newton junior Wyatt McCarthy and P'burg senior Brian Meyer, who finished third in New Jersey at 145 last season and is sitting on 96 career wins.
P'burg coach Dave Post liked what he saw from his team at the King of the Mountain Tournament on Friday and Saturday, particularly seniors Lance Wissing (third at 170) and Patrick Sharpe (seventh at 285), who has rejoined the team after a two-year absence.
"We knew what we were getting out of our good guys, so we weren't surprised there," he said. "I would have been happy with just one surprise. Lance was a huge surprise, especially not being seeded. We knew he was going to be good wrestling at a bigger weight [he was a 138-pounder as a junior].
"Sharpe is as good of a heavyweight as we've had. He doesn't have the size or power like Kyle Nothnagel [a former district champion and region runner-up in 2016 for the 'Liners], but [Sharpe] is mat savvy. He was our backup as a ninth-grader behind Nothnagel, and he would have been a starter for us last year."
In what should be the match of the year in Hunterdon County takes place on Friday at 6:30 p.m., when North Hunterdon travels to Hunterdon Central for another big Skyland Conference Raritan Division matchup at the Field House. At first glance, that one will be decided in the upper weights.
Now, onto the rankings:
1. Phillipsburg (0-0) -- Stateliners, who were the only New Jersey team in the field, finished second in their return to the King of the Mountain Tournament in Pennsylvania. Logan Maczko (seventh at 106), Cullen Day (third at 113), Travis Jones (sixth at 120), Cody Harrison (second at 138), Brian Meyer (second at 152), Josh Ramos (fourth at 160) also joined Wissing and Sharpe on the medal stand. Everyone around town is buzzing as the team will open the dual season on Friday night as a heavy favorite in a return to The Pit for one night only this season.
Up next: Delaware Valley at The Pit on Friday; Newton at home on Saturday.
2. Pope John (0-0) -- Lions finished seventh in the rugged Beast of the East over the weekend in Delaware behind four placewinners -- Eddie Ventresca (fourth at 113), Jake Rotunda (fifth at 132), Joe Aragona (third at 138) and Robbie Garcia (seventh at 145). Rotunda (96) is closing in on 100 career wins. Coach Mark Piotrowsky's team will head to the South Jersey Duals on Saturday at Kingsway.
Up next: Camden Catholic, Northern Burlington and Ocean Township on Saturday.
3. Hunterdon Central (0-0) -- Red Devils cruised to the team title on Saturday at the Caldwell Tournament, besting second-place Kittatinny (227-172) behind six champions in Brett Ungar (106), Colton Washleski (113), Jack Bauer (120), Anthony Romaniello (126), Hunter Graf (132) and Lukas Bakerian (220), while Kevin Ciresa (160) and Reese Young (195) finished second. Third-place finishers were Vincent Romaniello (152), Dan Furmato (170) and Kyle Barrett (182).
Up next: at Bound Brook on Wednesday; North Hunterdon at home on Friday; Bishop Ahr, Hillsborough and Middletown North at home on Saturday.
4. High Point (0-0) -- Wildcats opened their season by winning the Colt Classic team championship at Christian Brothers Academy on Saturday -- 247.5 to 171.5 over second-place Hopewell Valley -- putting nine in the finals and crowning five individual champs in Devon Liebl (106), Brandon LaRue (113), Shane Kobis (138), Grayson Sabo (182) and Thomas Hubmaster (285). Finishing second were Devin Flannery (120), Maverick Liebl (126), Billy Talmadge (132) and Hunter Flores (195). Coach John Gardner's team is four wins shy of 700 as a program and could hit that mark as early as this weekend.
Up next: Mount Olive at home on Tuesday; at West Morris on Thursday; Atlantic City, Woodstown at Southern on Saturday.
5. North Hunterdon (0-0) -- Lions finished fourth among a pretty solid field at the Neptune Classic on Saturday. Winning individual titles were Andrew Gapas (138), Michael Wilson (145) and Tucker Kirchberger (152), while Connor Robinson (106) and Frank Diesso (113) finished third. Coach Chris Hrunka will seek his first dual meet win on Tuesday before the big showdown with Hunterdon Central later this week.
Up next: at Allentown on Tuesday; at Hunterdon Central on Friday.
6. Kittatinny (0-0) -- Cougars opened with a second-place finish in the Caldwell Tournament on Saturday behind six finalists, including champion Zach Mafaro (182). Runners-up were Derek Molfetto (126), Mike Callahan (138), Calvin Brook (152), Josh Hiler (170) and Jacob Mafaro (220), while Brian Hanna (132), Perry Maio (145), Shane Smith (160) and Jackson Crawn (195) all placed third.
Up next: at Wayne Hills on Wednesday; Kinnelon, Wayne Valley at West Milford on Thursday.
7. Newton (0-0) -- Braves are set up for a big week after a third-place team finish in the Battle at the Bay at Bayonne on Saturday. Wyatt McCarthy (160), Jonathon Borgognoni (170) and Luke Fischer (220) won individual titles. Joseph DeLuca (195) finished second, while Matthew Rosa (126), Michael Freda (138), Nick Brigante (182) and Jimmy Harding (285) placed third.
Up next: Sparta at home on Tuesday; at Roxbury on Thursday; at Phillipsburg on Saturday.
8. Delaware Valley (0-0) -- Terriers are struggling with injuries and inexperience to open the season, but they have some winnable matches early on. Coach Andy Fitz's team finished third-place in the program's Wendy Pandy-Leh Tournament on Saturday. A.J. DeRosa (132), Joseph Desapio (160), Shawne Ramsby (170) and Eli Kalfaian (195) won titles, while Gage Crater (138) and Kyle Carney (182) placed third.
Up next: Hopewell Valley at home on Tuesday; at Warren Hills on Wednesday; at Phillipsburg on Friday.
9. Warren Hills (0-0) -- Blue Streaks are another team with a lot of inexperience and lineup in flux due to some wrestlers coming down on the descent plan. Coach Jarrett Hosbach's squad finished second in the Nottingham Tournament on Saturday with senior state qualifier Jarod Ostir winning the 182-pound title. Nick Galka (220) was a runner-up, while Codey O'Rourke (126), Logan Nauta (138) and Geir Nemeth (152) finished third.
Up next: Delaware Valley at home on Wednesday; at Bound Brook on Friday.
10. Sparta (0-0) -- Spartans won the team title at the Hopatcong Tournament on Saturday. Cooper Stewart (106), Chris Hwang (120), Garrett Stewart (132) and Robbie Gennat (195) captured individual titles. Gennat earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award for weights 152-285. Kevin Berlin (160) was a runner-up and Carter Sheridan (145) finished third.
Up next: at Newton on Tuesday; Howell on Saturday.
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