Wrestling: P'burg pulls away late for Pin Cancer win

PHILLIPSBURG -- Twenty minutes or so after the final bout of the night, Phillipsburg senior Jacob Wicks was ready to go again. That's typical for the high-energy wrestler.

In the 11th of 14 bouts, Wicks iced things with a decision at 193 pounds as the Stateliners scored a 36-16 victory over newcomer Frenchtown before an estimated crowd of about 1,000 in the eighth annual Pin Cancer event on a picture perfect Thursday night on the new turf at Maloney Stadium. The result was the exact score and outcome from when the teams met during this past high school season.

Anthony DeRosa was among 5 winners for Frenchtown.

P'burg, now 7-1 all-time in Pin Cancer matches, won nine bouts in all and five of the last six, including sophomore David Pierson's 2-0 decision at 180 that started a four-bout run to the finish. After Wicks scored a workmanlike 7-1 decision over Zach Zuchowski, junior Gage Horvath (218) and senior Cody Cruts (288) capped the night with victories in matchups considered tossups.

"We thought coming in that if we wrestled the best we could, we could win 10," said P'burg coach Dave Post, who co-founded this event with former Washington/Warren Hills coach Jarrett Hosbach. "In reality, we could have won 12. We like the balance with this team. There are no superstars, but they are going to give us everything they've got."

Wicks, who went 24-16 and won a district title in a breakout junior campaign this past high school season, will be one of the leaders for a P'burg team that will be extremely young, but certainly not short on talent. His father, Jamie, was a legend for Delaware Valley, winning state titles in 1987 and '88. Jacob is now 2-0 in Pin Cancer matches.

Jacob Wicks controls Zach Zuchowski in a 7-1 win.

"I know these [Del Val/Frenchtown] guys really well and we're friends, but not on the mat," said Jacob Wicks, who has been working on improving this offseason and getting in some evening running sessions. "A lot of the guys have been telling me, 'Hey Wicks, transfer to Del Val. Sorry, I'm not doing that. [P'burg] is my team. We don't have any stars, but we have a lot of talent. We're going to do what P'burg always does and fill in some spots, and compete for state championships."

Frenchtown, which joined this event in March when Washington/Warren Hills pulled out for undisclosed reasons, was thrilled with its introduction to a unique summertime tradition. Terriers coach Andy Fitz is looking forward to hosting in 2020.

"There was a ton of enthusiasm going into the match," Fitz said. "I want to thank Hosbach, Post, the P'burg administration. This doesn't happen without someone like Jarrett thinking of doing this. In the big picture, this is about having fun in a great environment for a good cause."

P'burg fell behind early after dropping two of the first three bouts, including a tight one at 122, where Frenchtown junior Cooper Gill rode out Hakeem Ransdell in a 30-second period for a 4-3 win to give the Terriers a 6-5 lead, their final advantage of the night. The Stateliners won three of the next four, including a 7-3 win by senior Jared Kukor in a pivotal bout at 143 that swung the momentum for the hosts.

One of the most impressive performances came from P'burg sophomore Nate Zastowny, who scored a 12-2 major over Andrew Larsen. Keep an eye on Zastowny, who was tough on top with three sets of back points in his victory, after a collarbone injury derailed most of his freshman campaign. His return will be one of the keys for P'burg in the program's quest for sectional and Group 4 titles.

"He would have been a starter for us [last season]," Post said. "We're not too worried about Nate. He came back at the end of [last] season, but he didn't get enough mat time."

One of the best matchups of the night potentially would have pitted Zastowny against highly-touted Frenchtown freshman Garrett Tettemer, who did not compete due to a coaching decision. Fitz said he has been using multiple lineups this summer and Pin Cancer adopted the weights used in the upcoming 1,000 Island Duals, which feature one fewer class in the middle.

Junior Anthony DeRosa scored an 11-1 major at 170 for Frenchtown's fifth and final win of the match. P'burg led 24-16 through 10 bouts before pulling away up top.

In a wild one at 218, Horvath gave up a go-ahead reversal to Nick Moose with 19 seconds left before getting an escape to tie the bout at 3. With 14 seconds left in sudden-victory overtime, Horvath converted a low-single shot off the whistle to win it. P'burg finished with a 15-12 overall edge in takedowns.

"We let a couple matches slip away tonight," Fitz said. "I don't know if it was nerves or what. We're looking forward to the dual meet [during the high school season at P'burg on Feb. 6, 2020]. We're competitive with them again."

PHILLIPSBURG 36, FRENCHTOWN 16

108 -- Sr. Derek Schepens, F, d. So. Sean Stasiulaitis, 10-4.
115 -- So. James Day, P, tf. So. Robert Groogan, 16-0, 3:00.
122 -- Jr. Cooper Gill, F, d. So. Hakeem Ransdell, 4-3 OT (rideout).
128 -- So. Joey Innamorato, P, p. So. Noah Sheeley, 2:23.
133 -- Jr. Jason Tino, P, p. Jr. Ben Brown, 1:13.
138 -- Sr. Gage Crater, F, d. So. James Palitto, 10-4.
143 -- Sr. Jared Kukor, P, d. Sr. Chase Christie, 7-3.
150 -- Jr. Corey Crater, F, d. Fr. Hunter Cleaver, 1-0.
158 -- So. Nate Zastowny, P, md. Sr. Andrew Larsen, 12-2.
170 -- Jr. Anthony DeRosa, F, md. So. Matt D'Onofrio, 11-1.
180 -- So. David Pierson, P, d. Sr. Matt Zdepski, 2-0.
193 -- Sr. Jacob Wicks, P, d. Sr. Zach Zuchowski, 7-1.
218 -- Jr. Gage Horvath, P, d. Sr. Nick Moose, 5-3 SV.
288 -- Sr. Cody Cruts, P, d. Sr. Ryan Sutter, 5-3.
Officials -- Chip Castner, Frank Leitner and Jack Meyer.

Wrestling: Terriers-'Liners set for Pin Cancer clash

Nothing says summer wrestling in our area more than the annual Pin Cancer match. The eighth annual version, which is set for Thursday, features a different twist as Phillipsburg will take on newcomer Frenchtown on the brand new turf at Maloney Stadium.

There will be a junior high match starting at 6 p.m., with the high school match to follow at 7. Gates open at 5. Ticket price is $5. All proceeds go to cancer research and development. Click here for more information about this tremendous organization.

Phillipsburg defeated Delaware Valley, 36-16, when the teams met during the 2018-19 high school season. Del Val joined the Pin Cancer fun when Washington (Warren Hills), which competed in the previous seven summer matches, pulled out of the event in March.

"We're happy to have the opportunity to get in a fairly visible event," Terriers coach Andy Fitz said in March. "It fits perfectly into our summer program. It's a local rivalry for a great cause. It was a no-brainer [to enter].

"This event is not all about winning. It's about getting quality matches and doing something good on and off the mat," Fitz added on Friday.

P'burg won the first four Pin Cancer matches before Washington ended that run with a 28-24 in 2016 at Warren Hills' auxiliary gym. The event was moved indoors for the first time due to rain, as was the case again for the 2017 match at Phillipsburg -- a 54-10 win for the Stateliners.

This year's clash features just one New Jersey state qualifier in Frenchtown's Anthony DeRosa, who will compete at 170 pounds. Phillipsburg's Logan Maczko, a district and region champion at 106 pounds as a sophomore this past season and the only returning qualifier for the Warren County program, will miss this year's event due to another wrestling commitment. Maczko (2-0) is one of five P'burg wrestlers to go unbeaten in Pin Cancer matches (minimum of two bouts).

"I like the matchups. I think it's going to be a good dual," said 'Liners coach Dave Post, whose teams are 6-1 in this event.

While one of Frenchtown's wrestlers does have Pin Cancer experience -- senior Shane Reynolds was a fill-in for Washington two years ago -- Fitz is eager to see how his fan base responds to what has become an extremely popular and unique occasion.

"While the Del Val community is excited, I don't think they understand how fun this event is going to be, and what a positive night it's going to be," said Fitz, who attended previous Pin Cancer matches as a spectator. "Our kids are excited. We always like wrestling P'burg."

The event will also feature a potential matchup between two blue-chip freshmen in Hunter Cleaver of P'burg, a New Jersey Grade School Wrestling League champion for the Washington Y program, and Garrett Tettemer of Frenchtown, a NJGSWL runner-up in 2019 and a champ in '18, at 150 pounds.

Tettemer's father, Scott, was a two-time district and a region champ as a senior for the Terriers in 1985. Frenchtown also features senior Gage Crater, a two-time district runner-up and 74-32 for his high school career, while DeRosa (27-11) is coming off a breakout season in which he finished fourth in Region 5. Ryan Sutter, a district runner-up at 285, went 23-12 as a junior.

P'burg, as we've noted in previous stories, will be a very young team this coming high school season, but not short on talent. Maczko, a two-time district champion who went 33-11 last season and 1-2 in his first trip to Atlantic City, leads the team with 51 career wins, while no other 'Liner has more than 29. Sophomore Joey Innamorato (128), senior Jacob Wicks (193) and sophomore Gage Horvath (218) were district champs last season.

Both Fitz and Post expect this year's Pin Cancer match to be highly competitive -- based on the head-to-head results in several matchups involving their teams a few weeks ago at the Lycoming Wrestling Team Camp.

"We had a fair amount of success against them, but it's a little hard to say it was Del Val vs. P'burg since one of our teams was two-thirds Del Val and one-third Benton [Pa.]," Fitz said. "After having some success against them at camp, we're looking forward to this."

"It could be very close," Post said.

Tentative Pin Cancer lineups (Frenchtown listed first)

108 -- Sr. Derek Schepens vs. So. Sean Stasiulaitis
115 -- So. Robert Groogan vs. So. James Day
122 -- Fr. Chris Colasurdo or Jr. Cooper Gill vs. So. Hakeem Ransdell
128 -- So. Noah Sheeley vs. So. Joey Innamorato
133 -- Jr. Ben Brown vs. Jr. Jason Tino
138 -- Sr. Gage Crater vs. So. James Palitto
143 -- Sr. Chase Christie vs. Sr. Jared Kukor
150 -- Jr. Corey Crater or Fr. Garrett Tettemer vs. Fr. Hunter Cleaver
158 -- Sr. Shane Reynolds or Sr. Andrew Larsen vs. So. Nate Zastowny
170 -- Jr. Anthony DeRosa vs. So. Matt D'Onofrio
180 -- Sr. Matt Zdepski vs. So. David Pierson
193 -- Sr. Zach Zuchowski or So. Matt Schneider vs. Sr. Jacob Wicks
218 -- Sr. Nick Moose vs. Jr. Gage Horvath
288 -- Sr. Ryan Sutter vs. Sr. Cody Cruts

(Box from last season's high school dual)

PHILLIPSBURG 36, DELAWARE VALLEY 16

145 -- Tommy Horn, DV, d. Jared Kukor, 6-2.
152 -- TJ Abode, P, p. Corey Crater, :55.
160 -- Cody Harrison, P, d. Anthony DeRosa, 5-3.
170 -- Shawne Ramsby, DV, d. David Pierson, 3-2.
182 -- Jacob Wicks, P, d. Kyle Carney, 11-4.
195 -- Austin Roth, P, d. Anthony DiPaolo, 6-2.
220 -- Gage Horvath, P, d. Nick Moose, 5-2.
285 -- Ryan Sutter, DV, d. Cody Cruts, 5-2.
106 -- Logan Maczko, P, tf. Derek Schepens, 17-2, 5:26.
113 -- James Day, P, md. Cooper Gill, 9-0.
120 -- Joey Innamorato, P, md. Ben Brown, 12-2.
126 -- Travis Jones, P, p. Chase Christie, 1:41.
132 -- A.J. DeRosa, DV, md. Jason Tino, 10-0.
138 -- Gage Crater, DV, d. Luke Hardin, 5-4.
Note: Phillipsburg was deducted one team point after 170.

(2018 Pin Cancer results)

PHILLIPSBURG 48, WASHINGTON 6

107 -- Fr. James Day, P, d. Fr. Jared Lee, 5-0.
113 -- So. Logan Maczko, P, d. Fr. Noah DiNapoli, 6-0.
120 -- Fr. Joey Innamorato, P, p. Fr. Max Pagano, :40.
125 -- So. Jason Tino, P, d. Jr. Greg Slivka, 8-6.
130 -- Sr. Bryce Parenti, P, p. Fr. Stephen Malia, 1:53.
135 -- Sr. Travis Jones, P, p. Jr. Logan Nauta, 3:47.
140 -- Jr. Nick Gorab, W, d. Sr. Luke Hardin, 2-1 OT (rideout).
145 -- Sr. Kyle Tino, P, md. Jr. Geir Nemeth, 13-1.
155 -- Sr. Thomas Abode, P, d. Sr. Chris Ostir, 4-3.
167 -- Sr. Cody Harrison, P, md. Jr. Nick Hildebrant, 10-0.
180 -- Jr. Jacob Wicks, P, d. Fr. Tyler McCatharn, 7-0.
200 -- Sr. Austin Roth, P, md. So. Logan Polcari, 8-0.
215 -- Sr. Nick Galka, W, d. So. Gage Horvath, 7-1.
285 -- Jr. Cody Cruts, P, d. Sr. Duro Ajayi, 7-5.