Wrestling: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex preview, info

What: 11th annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

Where: Phillipsburg High School, Lopatcong Township.

When: Saturday's schedule (approximate times): Preliminaries and pre-quarterfinals (six mats), 9 a.m.; quarterfinals and pre-quarterfinal losers (six mats), 11 a.m.; semifinals and consolations (4 mats), 1:30 p.m.; championships, third-place and fifth-place consolation finals (3 mats), 4 p.m.

Live feed (semis and finals): Stateliner Sports.

Teams: Belvidere, Delaware Valley, Hackettstown, High Point, Hopatcong, Hunterdon Central, Kittatinny, Lenape Valley, Newton, North Hunterdon, North Warren, Phillipsburg, Pope John, Sparta, Vernon, Voorhees, Wallkill Valley, Warren Hills.

Returning champions (4, this season's weights): Sr. Eddie Ventresca, Pope John (first-2017, first-2018, first-2019, 126); Sr. Garrett Stewart, Sparta (fifth-2018, first-2019, 138); Sr. Kaya Sement, Pope John (second-2018, first-2019, 145); Sr. Nate Fossett, North Hunterdon (fifth-2018, first-2019, 182).

Returning placewinners (32, this season's weights): Jr. Hunter Lensi, Belvidere (fifth-2019, 106); Sr. Cooper Stewart, Sparta (second-2019, 113); So. Daniel Haws, Lenape Valley (fourth-2019, 113); Jr. Nathan Fitt, Newton (third-2019, 120); Jr. Frank DiEsso, North Hunterdon (third-2019, 120); So. Nick Canonica, Hunterdon Central (sixth-2019, 120); Sr. Devon Liebl, High Point (fifth-2018, fourth-2019, 126); Jr. Logan Maczko, Phillipsburg (fifth-2019, 126); So. Jared Lee, Warren Hills (sixth-2019, 126); Sr. Gage Crater, Delaware Valley (second-2017, fourth-2018, sixth-2019, 126); Jr. Spencer Stewart, Sparta (fifth-2018, second-2019, 132); Sr. Eric Falleni, Lenape Valley (sixth-2017, sixth-2018, third-2019, 138); Jr. JoJo Lotruglio, Newton (sixth-2018, third-2019, 138); So. Tanner Peake, Hunterdon Central (fifth-2019, 138); Jr. Colton Washleski, Hunterdon Central (fifth-2018, third-2019, 145); Sr. Evan Klimas, North Hunterdon (sixth-2017, fourth-2019, 145); Sr. Anthony Romaniello, Hunterdon Central (sixth-2018, second-2019, 152); Sr. Matthew Garcia, Pope John (fifth-2018, second-2019, 152); Sr. Sean Cramner, Hopatcong (fourth-2019, 152); Sr. Rob Fletcher, North Warren (third-2019, 160); Sr. Connor Fritsch, Pope John (sixth-2018, fourth-2019, 160); Sr. John Rieche, Hunterdon Central (sixth-2019, 160); Jr. James Holder, North Hunterdon (third-2019, 170); Jr. Norman Cella, Hunterdon Central (fifth-2019, 170); Jr. Shane Exley, Belvidere (sixth-2019, 170); Sr. Jacob Wicks, Phillipsburg (second-2019, 195); Sr. Robert Bruce, Kittatinny (fifth-2019, 195); So. Peter Delaportas, Pope John (sixth-2019, 195); Sr. Ian Gaburo, North Hunterdon (second-2019, 220); Jr. Jackson Crawn, Kittatinny (fourth-2019, 220); Jr. Gage Horvath, Phillipsburg (fifth-2019, 220); Sr. Ryan Sutter, Delaware Valley (fifth-2019, 285).

Other past placewinners: Sr. Billy Talmadge, High Point (third-2017, third-2018, 138); Sr. Ben Lilly, North Warren (sixth-2017, 145); Sr. Ryan Hall, Lenape Valley (fourth-2018, 285).

Phillipsburg leads the field with six team titles (2011-15, '19).

Notes: Seeds and pairings were released on Friday evening, but as always, brackets are subject to change on Saturday morning. It looks like we will see more of the starters competing in this rugged tournament than in recent years due to injuries and match limits. Delaware Valley, Hunterdon Central, Kittatinny, North Hunterdon, P'burg, Pope John and Sparta are the only schools with 14 entries. High Point, which should contend for several individual titles, is without sophomores Clayton Utter (113) and Alex Buchwald (170) and freshman Shane Woolf (145) due to injuries. But sophomore Brian Soldano (160) will make his first HWS appearance and is one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the field. ... The gym should be rocking whenever North Hunterdon, looking to win its first team championship, and P'burg face off with that anticipated dual meet between state-ranked teams set to take place on Wednesday here at 7 p.m. That one figures to decide this season's Skyland Conference Raritan Division title and should be a preview of the North 2, Group 4 sectional final. North is the team title favorite here by virtue of its depth, though senior Kyle Anderson (9-4) was not entered at 152. ... Pope John ace Eddie Ventresca (126), a returning state champion, is looking to make HWS history as only the second wrestler to win four titles -- joining former teammate JoJo Aragona (2016-19). Four others won three -- Voorhees' Jadaen Bernstein (2011-13), North Hunterdon's Ryan Pomrinca (2013-15), Kittatinny's Nick Klinger (2014-16) and Pope John's Jake Rotunda (2016-18). ... Senior Garrett Stewart, the No. 2 seed at one of the deepest weights, bids to become Sparta's fourth HWS champion and the program's first repeat winner. Gavin Lally (2015) and Robert Gennat (2018) are the school's other champs. Seeking his first finals appearance is High Point senior Billy Talmadge, a fifth-place finisher in last season's state tournament, as the top seed at 138. A potential quarterfinal matchup between No. 5 seed JoJo Lotruglio of Newton and No. 4 seed Tanner Peake of Hunterdon Central would be a must-see bout. Looking forward to a potential rematch at 220, with top-seeded Jackson Crawn of Kittatinny and Phillipsburg's Gage Horvath, who will likely have to get by No. 2 seed Ian Gaburo of North Hunterdon in the semifinals. That's a tough weight to call. Crawn scored a 4-2 win over Horvath on Thursday, but he gave up a takedown in the third period to make it a one-point bout and got in deep on another single with 12 seconds to go. I thought Horvath did Crawn a huge favor by taking bottom down, 2-0, in the second period, which put Crawn in his best position on top. Sure enough, he rode Horvath for the entire two minutes. ... Watch for Warren Hills sophomores Stephen Malia (152) and Owen Frizzell (160), and P'burg sophomore Nate Zastowny (160), who are all poised to make names for themselves here. ... With the upper weights so unpredictable and wide open, Newton senior Julian Sibblies (182) is one to watch, while junior Nathan Fitt (120) may be the Braves' best shot at a title. The Sussex County school produced at least one finalist in nine of the previous 10 tournaments, missing only in 2016. ... P'burg, which has crowned a record 24 champions, but none in 2010, looks to senior Jacob Wicks (195), a returning finalist, to extend its title streak. ... Lenape Valley senior Eric Falleni (138), who is the No. 3 seed at 138, enters the tournament with 97 career wins, while Sparta senior Cooper Stewart (113) has 96, as they look to hit the century mark.

Championship picks

106 -- Logan Wadle, North Hunterdon
113 -- Cooper Stewart, Sparta
120 -- Shane Percelay, Pope John
126 -- Eddie Ventresca, Pope John
132 -- Spencer Stewart, Sparta
138 -- Billy Talmadge, High Point
145 -- Kaya Sement, Pope John
152 -- Matthew Garcia, Pope John
160 -- Brian Soldano, High Point
170 -- James Holder, North Hunterdon
182 -- Nate Fossett, North Hunterdon
195 -- Jacob Wicks, Phillipsburg
220 -- Jackson Crawn, Kittatinny
285 -- Ryan Hall, Lenape Valley

Team champion: North Hunterdon.