It's been a struggle on the health front for Warren Hills' wrestling program, but the Blue Streaks seem to be rounding into form as we steam toward the final weeks of the regular season.
Coach Dave Sbriscia's team enjoyed a solid week, going 4-1 and finishing in third place at the 14th annual Jack Welch Duals on Friday and Saturday at Moorestown High School.
Warren Hills (10-3), which won its pool with a 33-25 victory over Long Branch, suffered its only loss to overall champion Delbarton, ranked No. 2 in the state by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association, 62-6, before rebounding with a 37-30 victory over Cherokee.
"We knew it was going to be a dogfight between us and Long Branch," said Sbriscia, whose team has another big week on tap, including a Skyland Conference cross-divisional match at North Hunterdon on Wednesday to cap a tri-meet that begins with the Lions taking on Montgomery at 4 p.m., followed by Warren Hills vs. Montgomery. "Cherokee was tough. The way the matchups fell, we saved some bonus points, and where we needed to hit them up top, we did."
The Streaks, who were missing six starters in a 36-27 loss to Hunterdon Central on Dec. 31, are still not at full strength, as freshman Jarett Pantuso (170) and sophomore Ryan Galka (182) have been out indefinitely in the upper weights, while promising freshman Cody Miller (145) was lost for the season due to a knee injury. The good news for Warren Hills is that senior Nick Hildebrant (8-6 at 170), sophomore Michael Galka (8-6 at 195) and junior Logan Polcari (10-7 at 220) all recently returned to action.
"You never wish for [injuries], but it's given a lot of our JV guys some varsity experience," Sbriscia said. "Going into the season, I thought we were a pretty deep team. Obviously it's showed by beating some quality teams having guys out."
Sophomore Stephen Malia (18-4 at 152), an HWS Tournament runner-up, is enjoying a breakout season, while senior Greg Slivka (14-5 at 120) and sophomore Jared Lee (15-8 at 126), along with seniors Logan Nauta (16-5 at 132) and Geir Nemeth (15-6 at 138), give Warren Hills a formidable middle of the lineup. In addition, sophomore Owen Frizzell (16-5 at 160) has been a pleasant surprise after going 2-5 in a limited role as a freshman. The upper weights are anchored by sophomore Tyler McCatharn (18-3 at 285).
"We're still a young team," said Sbriscia, who regularly employs a combination of seven freshmen and sophomores, along with three juniors in the starting lineup.
With Group 3 being extremely wide open once again, the focus in a few weeks will be on the North 2 section, which includes defending state champion West Essex and Warren Hills, which is looking to capture the program's sixth sectional title and first since 2007. Both teams will be in action at the Patriot Duals on Saturday at North Warren. Montville is the team to watch coming out of North 1.
"I think it's going to come down to our section -- who is healthy and wrestling well that time of year," Sbriscia said.
Now, onto this week's rankings:
1. North Hunterdon (9-0) -- Lions snapped a 17-match skid against Phillipsburg and secured at least a share of the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a 30-24 victory on Wednesday -- the program's first win in the series since Jan. 6, 2007. Junior Frank DiEsso (120) and senior Drew Doscher (138) delivered pins, while senior Ian Gaburo added a key decision win at 220. Coach Chris Hrunka's team could face another stiff test against High Point on Saturday as the state-ranked teams will likely draw the top two seeds for the Patriot Duals.
Coach Dave Sbriscia's team enjoyed a solid week, going 4-1 and finishing in third place at the 14th annual Jack Welch Duals on Friday and Saturday at Moorestown High School.
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| Warren Hills at the Jack Welch Duals. (Dave Sbriscia) |
"We knew it was going to be a dogfight between us and Long Branch," said Sbriscia, whose team has another big week on tap, including a Skyland Conference cross-divisional match at North Hunterdon on Wednesday to cap a tri-meet that begins with the Lions taking on Montgomery at 4 p.m., followed by Warren Hills vs. Montgomery. "Cherokee was tough. The way the matchups fell, we saved some bonus points, and where we needed to hit them up top, we did."
The Streaks, who were missing six starters in a 36-27 loss to Hunterdon Central on Dec. 31, are still not at full strength, as freshman Jarett Pantuso (170) and sophomore Ryan Galka (182) have been out indefinitely in the upper weights, while promising freshman Cody Miller (145) was lost for the season due to a knee injury. The good news for Warren Hills is that senior Nick Hildebrant (8-6 at 170), sophomore Michael Galka (8-6 at 195) and junior Logan Polcari (10-7 at 220) all recently returned to action.
"You never wish for [injuries], but it's given a lot of our JV guys some varsity experience," Sbriscia said. "Going into the season, I thought we were a pretty deep team. Obviously it's showed by beating some quality teams having guys out."
Sophomore Stephen Malia (18-4 at 152), an HWS Tournament runner-up, is enjoying a breakout season, while senior Greg Slivka (14-5 at 120) and sophomore Jared Lee (15-8 at 126), along with seniors Logan Nauta (16-5 at 132) and Geir Nemeth (15-6 at 138), give Warren Hills a formidable middle of the lineup. In addition, sophomore Owen Frizzell (16-5 at 160) has been a pleasant surprise after going 2-5 in a limited role as a freshman. The upper weights are anchored by sophomore Tyler McCatharn (18-3 at 285).
"We're still a young team," said Sbriscia, who regularly employs a combination of seven freshmen and sophomores, along with three juniors in the starting lineup.
With Group 3 being extremely wide open once again, the focus in a few weeks will be on the North 2 section, which includes defending state champion West Essex and Warren Hills, which is looking to capture the program's sixth sectional title and first since 2007. Both teams will be in action at the Patriot Duals on Saturday at North Warren. Montville is the team to watch coming out of North 1.
"I think it's going to come down to our section -- who is healthy and wrestling well that time of year," Sbriscia said.
Now, onto this week's rankings:
1. North Hunterdon (9-0) -- Lions snapped a 17-match skid against Phillipsburg and secured at least a share of the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a 30-24 victory on Wednesday -- the program's first win in the series since Jan. 6, 2007. Junior Frank DiEsso (120) and senior Drew Doscher (138) delivered pins, while senior Ian Gaburo added a key decision win at 220. Coach Chris Hrunka's team could face another stiff test against High Point on Saturday as the state-ranked teams will likely draw the top two seeds for the Patriot Duals.
Up next: Montgomery and Warren Hills at home on Wednesday; Patriot Duals at North Warren on Saturday.
2. Phillipsburg (5-1) -- Stateliners, who won six bouts and gave a good account in their 30-24 loss to North Hunterdon on Wednesday, bounced back with a 29-28 win over Toms River North on Thursday as freshman Hunter Cleaver (1-2), who coach Dave Post mentioned as a wrestler to watch following the North match, delivered a clutch pin at 138 pounds in his varsity dual meet debut. Sophomore Joey Innamorato, who scored a big win at 132 pounds in the loss to North Hunterdon, missed the Toms River North match due to illness. The annual "Return to The Pit" match this season featuring High Point, which was to be contested on Saturday, was rescheduled to Monday, Jan. 27. The 'Liners will seek their fifth win in the last seven meetings against Easton on Thursday. The 40-22 triumph over the Red Rovers last season was their largest margin in the series since a 34-8 victory on Feb. 5, 1970.
.@PBurgHSWrestlin 29 @TrnWrestling 28 Final— PBurg HS Wrestling (@PBurgHSWrestlin) January 17, 2020
Great Match by Both Teams!!#980Wins pic.twitter.com/grmAm90YI3
Up next: Ridge at home on Wednesday; at Easton (Pa.) on Thursday; Southern at home on Saturday.
3. High Point (2-1) -- In their only action last week, the Wildcats cruised to a 55-18 victory over Hackettstown in an NJAC Freedom Division match. Senior Billy Talmadge (18-0 at 138), who is 118-26 overall, is four victories shy of moving into the school's Top 10 list. The good news for coach John Gardner's team was it featured a healthy 13 starters on the mat -- freshman Shane Woolf is likely out for the season with a knee injury -- and junior Nick Douma (126-132) could be back in a few weeks to help bolster the lineup.
Up next: at West Morris on Tuesday; at Mount Olive on Thursday; Patriot Duals at North Warren on Saturday.
4. Pope John (5-2) -- Lions went 3-0 in dual-meet action with wins against North Warren (47-25), Roxbury (51-9) and Mendham (39-25), the latter two were NJAC American Division clashes, and capped the week in the Escape the Rock Tournament. Senior Eddie Ventresca (19-2 at 126), who secured second place on the school's all-time wins list (136-14) this past week, was an Escape the Rock Tournament finalist, suffering his second loss this season to PIAA Class AA state champ Ryan Crookham of Notre Dame (Pa.), 1-0, while junior Shane Percelay (seventh at 120), senior Kaya Sement (fourth at 145) and sophomore Jack Stoll (seventh at 182) earned medals.
Up next: Don Bosco Prep at home on Tuesday; West Morris at home on Thursday; Bergen Catholic and Jackson Memorial at Kingsway on Saturday.
5. Delaware Valley (11-1) -- Terriers rolled to a 54-18 win over Voorhees in a Skyland Conference Valley Division clash on Wednesday before going 2-1 in a quad -- minus sophomore Robert Groogan (113) and senior Ryan Sutter (285) due to illnesses -- at home on Saturday, including a 39-28 victory over Kittatinny and a 28-27 criteria win (least forfeits, 1-0) over West Morris, as well as a 44-15 loss to Westfield. Junior Corey Crater (145) and senior Derek Schepens (113), who bumped up from 106, had key decisions against Kittatinny. Coach Andy Fitz, with 214 career wins and his father, Vince (284), are closing in on a milestone with a combined 498 victories. Del Val is at 786 total.
DV 54, Voorhees 18— Del Val Wrestling (@DVRWrestling) January 16, 2020
Win #784
Derek Schepens changed the number!
Thanks to the fans and the DV Dawgpound for your support. The gym looked GOLDEN tonight! pic.twitter.com/wSvPqMVASE
Up next: Watchung Hills at home on Tuesday; Bernards at home on Wednesday; Hillsborough at home on Friday; Manalapan and Perth Amboy at Sayreville on Saturday.
6. Hunterdon Central (5-4) -- Red Devils scored a Skyland Conference Delaware Division win over Bridgewater-Raritan (53-21) on Tuesday and beat Hillsborough (63-12) on Thursday before splitting a tri-meet on Saturday with a win over host Emerson (No. 990 for the program) and a loss to Mount Olive (35-24). Junior Colton Washleski (145) and senior Anthony Romaniello (152) are each approaching 80 career victories.
Up next: Morris Knolls at home on Wednesday; Roxbury, Westwood and Woodstown at home on Saturday.
7. Warren Hills (10-3) -- Blue Streaks opened last week with a 67-6 win over Bernards in a Skyland Conference Valley Division showdown before going 4-1 at the Jack Welch Duals over the weekend, including a 37-30 victory over Cherokee in the third-place match. Sophomores Owen Frizzell (160) and Tyler McCatharn (285), and senior Nick Hildebrant (170), all went 4-1 in the tournament.
Nice weekend for the streaks. 4-1 winning against Cherokee 37-30 to take 3rd place. pic.twitter.com/TU3b8EEDwL— Warren Hills Wrestling (@WHR_Wrestling) January 18, 2020
Up next: Montgomery at North Hunterdon tri-meet on Wednesday; at Somerville on Friday; Patriot Duals at North Warren on Saturday.
8. Kittatinny (3-4) -- Cougars rolled to wins over Morris Hills (42-17) on Wednesday and Hanover Park (43-24) on Friday before going 0-2 in a quad at Delaware Valley on Saturday, including a 39-28 loss to the Terriers and a 35-33 defeat against Westfield. Junior Jackson Crawn, who enters the week with 68 career wins, decked Del Val senior Zach Zuchowski, an HWS Tournament runner-up, at 220. Veteran coach John Gill will face his friend and former wrestler Eric Bollette in a key NJAC Freedom Division clash at Newton on Thursday.
Up next: at Newton on Thursday; Passaic Valley and Teaneck at Dumont on Saturday.
9. Sparta (6-4) -- Spartans went 1-2, falling to a pair of state-ranked teams in Delbarton (60-13) on Wednesday and 43-27 to St. Peter's Prep at home as part of a tri-meet on Saturday, which included a 39-38 victory over Pompton Lakes. Junior Spencer Stewart (19-0), who is sitting on 92 career wins, secured the victory with a 17-second pin in the final bout at 132 pounds. Senior Garrett Stewart, a two-time HWS runner-up who is 123-24 overall, recently passed Ian Burke (120-23 from 2011-15) for second place on the school's all-time wins list and is four shy of surpassing Robert Gennat (126-32 from 2014-18) for the top spot.
Up next: Montville at home on Thursday; Wallkilll Valley, Demarest and Pascack Hills at home on Saturday.
10. Newton (6-6) -- Braves pulled out a 33-31 win over Jefferson in an NJAC Freedom Division matchup on Wednesday before going 3-2 at the Jack Welch Duals with victories against Northern Burlington (35-30), Holy Spirit (53-18) and Cinnaminson (51-21). Against Jefferson, junior JoJo Lotruglio scored a decisive 7-5 decision over Austin Jack in sudden-victory overtime in the final bout. Coach Eric Bollette's team will look to secure second place in the division with a win over archrival Kittatinny on Thursday.
Up next: Kittatinny at home on Thursday; Montgomery at New Brunswick on Saturday.
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