Wrestling: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex standings

(As of Feb. 5) Skyland Conference
Delaware Division
		Overall	Division
Hunterdon Central		(14-4)	(4-0)
Watchung Hills		(10-6)	(4-1)
Bridgewater-Raritan		(7-6)	(2-1)
Ridge		(9-5)	(2-3)
Hillsborough		(13-8)	(1-3)
Franklin		(2-14)	(0-5)
Raritan Division
		Overall	Division
Phillipsburg		(13-0)	(5-0)
North Hunterdon		(13-2)	(5-1)
Delaware Valley		(17-6)	(4-2)
Voorhees		(17-4)	(3-2)
Warren Hills		(9-10)	(2-4)
Somerville		(8-10)	(1-5)
Montgomery		(3-14)	(0-6)
Valley Division
		Overall	Division
x-Bound Brook		(15-5)	(5-0)
Belvidere		(11-5)	(4-1)
Manville		(9-4)	(3-2)
North Plainfield		(4-11)	(2-3)
Pingry		(2-7)	(1-4)
Bernards		(3-13)	(0-5)
Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Freedom Division
		Overall	Division
Kittatinny		(15-2)	(6-0)
Jefferson		(16-5)	(5-1)
Lenape Valley		(7-8)	(5-1)
Hackettstown		(5-13)	(3-3)
Newton		(8-12)	(2-3)
North Warren		(6-10)	(1-4)
Wallkill Valley		(3-14)	(1-5)
Hopatcong		(1-14)	(0-6)
American Division
		Overall	Division
High Point		(11-4)	(6-0)
Morris Knolls		(14-3)	(4-1)
Mount Olive		(9-4)	(4-2)
Sparta		(11-5)	(3-2)
Montville		(9-7)	(2-4)
Morris Hills		(6-7)	(1-3)
Pope John		(4-9)	(1-4)
Vernon		(5-14)	(0-5)
x-division champion

Wrestling: Region 1 individual rankings

106 pounds

1. So. Brandon Paetzell, Phillipsburg

2. So. Garrett O’Shea, Morris Knolls

3. So. Troy Stanich, Roxbury

4. Jr. Mojahed Hamdeh, Wayne Hills

5. Jr. Dominic Koert, Pope John

Notes: Paetzell (24-1) keeps rolling along -- scoring an 18-3 technical fall win over West Morris freshman Shane Metzler (20-6) last Tuesday in a potential preview of the District 1 final in just over two weeks. Paetzell, fifth in the state last season, followed that win by decking Paulsboro's Nick Duca, who was fourth in District 29 a year ago, on Saturday and bumping to 113 on Tuesday to earn a technical fall win over Warren Hills freshman Matt Valli. O'Shea finished second in the Morris County Tournament -- beating Stanich, 4-1, in the semifinals before getting decked by Delbarton ace Ty Agaisse, seventh in the state last season, in the title match. Stanich finished third. Metzler, who was fifth, knocked off Mount Olive's Shane Murphy, 13-3, and Pequannock's Steven Pocze, 5-2.

113 pounds

1. Sr. Austin Sisco, Pope John

2. Fr. Matt Valli, Warren Hills
3. Jr. Trevor Morales, Newton
4. Fr. Mark Bohn, Jefferson
5. Fr. Richard Reimers, Roxbury

Notes: Sisco decked Morris Knolls freshman Daniel Percelay last Wednesday. Reimers knocked off Percelay, 5-2, in the Morris County Tournament pre-quarterfinals. Reimers finished sixth after getting pinned by Parsippany's Zach Kovacs, the runner-up, in the quarters. Bohn enters here at No. 4 after dropping and winning the MCT, claiming the Outstanding Wrestler Award as the No. 10 seed. Reimers beat Morales, 7-2, on Jan. 18, while Morales beat Bohn, 4-2, on Dec. 30, when both were at 120. We'll give Morales the nod here at No. 3. Lakeland's Dan Kee (20-1), who was No. 5 last week, falls out. Keep an eye on Phillipsburg's Tyler Agans (8-12), who dropped a 4-3 decision to Morales on Jan. 11 and beat West Morris' Kade Loughney, 4-0. Loughney owns a 7-6 win over Reimers this season.

120 pounds

1. Jr. A.J. Vindici, Randolph

2. Jr. William Kui, DePaul

3. Jr. Dom Gallo, High Point

4. So. Nick Klinger, Kittatinny

5. So. Joe Renne, Hackettstown

Notes: Vindici (25-1) was knocked off in the Morris County semifinals, 4-1, by Delbarton's Nick Farro, who dropped a 5-4 decision to former state champion Anthony Cefolo of Hanover Park. Vindici finished third. Kui lost a 3-2 decision to Michael Russo of St. Peter's Prep, who was sixth in the state at 113 last season, on Thursday, while Klinger (25-4) beat Phillipsburg's DJ Wissing, 8-5, on Friday. We could see Klinger-Renne III on Wednesday. Klinger is 2-0, with wins of 12-5 and 8-6, the latter in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex finals on Jan. 11. Renne (21-5) scored a technical fall win in their only meeting last season. Gallo (21-5) went over the 70-win mark on Saturday with three victories.

126 pounds

1. Sr. Bryan Damon, Jefferson

2. Jr. Matt Noble, DePaul
3. Sr. Tyler Hrycak, Wayne Valley

4. Sr. Matt Ritchie, North Warren
5. Sr. Dylan Sullivan, Morris Hills

Notes: Damon (25-2) rolled to the Morris County Tournament title, scoring a 10-0 win over Hanover Park's Austin Nash in the title match. Sullivan (19-5), who has been up at 132 most of the season, dropped a 1-0 decision to Damon in the semifinals and decked West Morris' Dylan Luciano in 42 seconds in the quarterfinals before finishing fourth. Luciano also lost, 5-3, to Morris Knolls' Jayson Parisi, Randolph senior Matt Vozzo (16-7) finished fifth, and bears watching. Kittatinny's Christian Silva, who was No. 5 last week, beat Luciano, who decked Phillipsburg' Tylor Petchonka, who reversed a previous 12-3 loss to Silva with a 6-4 win in the rematch on Friday. Sullivan is in and Silva drops out.

132 pounds

1. Jr. Mike Derin, High Point

2. Sr. Devon LaFranco, Roxbury

3. Jr. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg
4. So. Austin Scrivani, Kittatinny
5. Jr. Michael Nigro, Morris Knolls

Notes: Derin enters the week riding a 10-match win streak following a 6-2 loss to Hunterdon Central's Dylan Nace in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex finals on Jan. 11. LaFranco, after a 1-0 loss to Hanover Park's Christian Bassolino in the semifinals, finished third in the Morris County Tournament, beating Nigro, 10-5, for the bronze. Jefferson's Matt Tripodi (22-6), who lost 12-4 to LaFranco in the quarters, finished sixth. Friedman scored a 5-3 win over Scrivani on Friday to avenge a 13-6 loss in the third-place consolations of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

138 pounds

1. Jr. Anthony Fano, Montville
2. Jr. Eric Friedman, Mendham
3. Jr. Max Nauta, Warren Hills
4. Jr. David Migliaccio, West Morris
5. Jr. Corey Zinsmeister, Phillipsburg

Notes: Real mess here. Nauta (21-5) lost his rematch with Zinsmeister on Tuesday, getting pinned in 1:06, after decking the Stateliner in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals, down, 6-5, at the time of that one. Fano (23-2) finished third in the Morris County Tournament, while Friedman (23-3) was second. Both were beaten by Delbarton's Travis Vasquez, who beat Fano, 14-0, in the semifinals and knocked off Friedman, 2-0, in the final behind two penalty points. Migliaccio, who dropped a 5-3 decision in sudden victory to Fano in the quarters, finished fifth. Migliaccio and Friedman have not met this season, while Nauta beat Migliaccio, 2-0. Zinsmeister lost, 5-3 in OT, to Migliaccio. So Fano moves to No. 1 and Friedman to No. 2, while Nauta falls two spots. How much fun is District 1 going to be?

145 pounds

1. Jr. David McFadden, DePaul
2. Jr. Jimmy Schuitema, Phillipsburg
3. Jr. Jason Gaccione, High Point

4. So. Craig Roumes, Roxbury
5. Jr. David Zeppetelli, West Milford

Notes: McFadden (27-1) scored a nice 5-1 win over Ryan Burkert of St. Peter's Prep, eighth in the state tournament at 138 last season, on Thursday. Schuitema (17-4) on Saturday fell, 7-3, to Paulsboro's Ronnie Gentile, who placed second in the state at 132 last season. Gaccione (24-4), who recorded his 91st win on Saturday, fell, 7-5, to Gentile at the Mustang Classic. Roumes (14-7) missed the Morris County Tournament as the Gaels didn't have an entry at 145. Sparta's Walker Schmitzer (20-3) is quietly having a nice season.

152 pounds

1. Jr. Max Elling, Phillipsburg

2. Sr. Nick Romyns, Kittatinny
3. Jr. Luke Bohn, Jefferson
4. Sr. Anthony Duncan, Wayne Valley
5. So. Spencer Carey, DePaul

Notes: Elling (23-4) entered the week riding a 10-match win streak, including eight pins in that stretch. He decked Delaware Valley's Nour Mays (19-7) last Wednesday. Romyns (15-3), who is three wins shy of becoming the 14th wrestler at his school to amass 100 career victories, received a forfeit against P'burg on Friday. Bohn (19-3) finished second in the Morris County Tournament, getting beat, 5-3, by Delbarton's Joe Tavoso in the final. Duncan (21-3) defeated High Point's Chris Auer, last week's No. 4, 2-1, on Saturday. Duncan split with DePaul's Spencer Carey this season -- avenging a 6-5 loss on Jan. 4 with a 3-2 win on Jan. 25. Spera (20-3) beat Auer, 5-3 in sudden victory, last Wednesday, but lost 3-1 in sudden victory to Morris Knolls' Luke Drugac (18-6) in the MCT quarterfinals. Drugac, who finished third, lost 12-3 to Auer on Jan. 14, and also lost to Spera, 5-3, on Jan. 11. Spera, who finished fifth at the MCT, drops out for now and Carey is in at No. 5.

160 pounds

1. Sr. Broderick Bupivi, Phillipsburg

2. Sr. Tommy Hooker, High Point

3. So. Dean Drugac, Morris Knolls
4. Sr. Steven Acevedo, Morris Hills
5. Sr. Nick Carey, DePaul

Notes: Bupivi hung tough with Kittatinny's Kieran Gerrity, No. 3 at 170, in a 5-2 loss on Friday. Acevedo (20-3), the No. 3 seed, finished third in the Morris County Tournament, dropping a 12-4 major decision to Hanover Park's Anthony Bassolino in the semifinals. Drugac (24-2) won the title with a 4-3 decision over Bassolino. Hooker, who beat Drugac, 11-4, on Jan. 14, moves up two spots, while Drugac goes ahead of Acevedo, who has not faced either wrestler this season. We could see Hooker-Acevedo on Wednesday. Wayne Hills sophomore Daniel Kilroy (16-3) still on the bubble.

170 pounds

1. Sr. Dillon Artigliere, Roxbury

2. Sr. Jake Kocsis, Phillipsburg
3. Sr. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny

4. Jr. Kevin Merle, Belvidere

5. Sr. Zach D’Apolito, Wayne Valley

Notes: Artigliere (27-0) had his hands full in a 7-5 win over Delbarton's Josef Johnson, seventh in the state at 160 last season, in Saturday's Morris County Tournament finals. Kocsis (25-2) was at 182 against Kittatinny on Friday, so no rematch with Gerrity, who beat Broderick Bupivi, 5-2. Gerrity (26-3) lost 3-0 to Johnson earlier this season. D'Apolito (21-5) knocked off High Point's Colby Brands (4-0) and Warren Hills' Ryan Ostir (2-0) on Saturday. Sparta's Al Falco (15-8) has split with D'Apolito and has been more impressive of late, but stays out for now.

182 pounds

1. Sr. Sam Button, Mendham

2. Jr. Nick DePalma, DePaul

3. Jr. D.J. Barrett, Lenape Valley

4. Sr. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny

5. Sr. Antonio Porraspita, High Point

Notes: Button (25-1) claimed the Morris County Tournament championship with a 5-3 win over Parsippany Hills' Mike Weiss. Button teched Morris Knolls' Payton Campbell and scored a 9-0 victory over Mount Olive's Anthony Colabella in the semifinals. Colabella (22-6), the No. 5 seed, earned a 4-2 win over No. 4 Pat Daly (17-6) of Pequannock in the quarters, and finished third. Morris Hills' Jose Delgado, who was ranked fifth last week, was pinned by Roxbury's Peter Sutton in the quarters. Sutton finished fourth and Delgado fifth. Warren Hills' Steve Cleaver was poised to slide in here, but he dropped a 4-2 decision in sudden victory to High Point's Antonio Porraspita on Saturday. Combined with a 2-0 decision over Colabella last Wednesday, Porraspita (18-10), who has a double-loss to Wunder, is in.

195 pounds

1. Sr. Kyle Stoll, High Point

2. Sr. Anthony Landberg, Wayne Valley

3. Sr. Garrett Armstrong, Kittatinny

4. Jr. Gus Protogeropoulos, Newton
5. Jr. Joe Maso, Phillipsburg

Notes: Stoll (24-5) enters the week with 92 career wins, after going 3-0 in Saturday's quad at home that included a 9-6 win over Landberg. The Wildcat appears to be coming on of late, decking Bound Brook's Ronald Picado the previous Saturday, one of six pins in a seven-match stretch. Landberg (22-2), whose other loss is to Holy Cross' Matt Correnti, 6-4, on Jan. 4, defeated St. Joseph-Montvale's Dominic Carfagno, 3-2, in that quad. Maso beat Kittatinny's Dylan Wunder, 3-2, on Friday. Protogeropoulos (23-4), who has been nursing a knee issue, enters the week with six straight pins. Morris Knolls junior Luke Nappi (20-5) finished second at the Morris County Tournament.

220 pounds

1. Sr. Justin Walker, Wayne Valley

2. Sr. Jesse Windt, West Morris
3. So. Scott Lavelle, DePaul
4. Sr. Spencer Ochner, Pequannock

5. Sr. Bobby McDonnell, High Point

Notes: Walker (24-1) justified his No. 1 ranking by decking McDonnell on Saturday. He also earned a 6-2 win over Warren Hills' Ryan Witner, a two-time Region 1 qualifier. Windt, who won the Morris County Tournament title with a 12-1 win over Parsippany Hills' Stephen Hill, also scored a 4-0 victory over Ochner (18-2), who finished third, in the quarters. Jefferson's Robert Hajnos was pinned by Hill in the MCT quarters and did not place. Morris Catholic's Pat Vidal (16-4), who lost to Ochner earlier this season, was fifth. Here's where it gets messy, as Witner stunned McDonnell, 5-3, in sudden victory. It's been that kind of season for McDonnell, last year's Region 1 runner-up. Witner turns around and loses 3-2 to Phillipsburg freshman Drew Horun three days later. McDonnell pinned Horun in 1:02 on Jan. 18. McDonnell does have a win over Kittatinny's Garrett Armstrong, so he hangs on at No. 5 for now.

285 pounds

1. Sr. Noa Merritt, Pope John
2. Jr. Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills

3. Sr. Gunny Wassong, High Point
4. Jr. Will O'Connell, North Warren
5. Sr. Ethan Fox, Montville

Notes: Merritt (18-0) still holding down the top spot by virtue of his 5-2 victory over Pacheco in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament on Jan. 11. Head-to-head rules there. Merritt also beat Delaware Valley's Marek Tomanek, who has split with Pacheco, for the second time this season, 5-3, on Saturday. Speaking of Pacheco (24-2), he shook up things statewide by decking St. Joseph-Montvale's Kevin Wilkins, who was fourth in the state last season, in 33 seconds Saturday at High Point. Wassong decked Wayne Valley's Austin Behrens, who didn't face Pacheco, in that quad. Pacheco also decked High Point's Christian Campbell, who shares time with Wassong. Fox (20-5) was second in the Morris County Tournament and enters at No. 5.

Wrestling: Final NJSIAA sectional seeds

Here are the final seeds totals for the NJSIAA sectional tournaments that begin on Monday, Feb. 10, with first-round matches between No. 5 vs. No. 4 and No. 3 vs. No. 6. There are two sections that have a No. 7 seed, where 7 will face 2, and the top seed has a bye. In all others, the top two seeds receive first-round byes.

Delaware Valley, the No. 2 seed in Central Jersey, Group 2, will open against No. 7 Delran on Monday. The Terriers, who are seeking the program's 15th sectional title and first since 2006, were originally slated for a first-round bye.

Sectional semifinals will be held Wednesday, Feb. 12, with the finals are slated for Friday, Feb. 14. The Group championships will be contested on Sunday, Feb. 16 at Toms River North High School.

North 1

Group 4

1-North Bergen (15-3), 31.40; 2-Morris Knolls (15-3), 30.80; 3-Clifton (13-2), 29.10; 4-Hackensack (13-3), 29.00; 5-Ridgewood (11-4), 28.70; 6-West Orange (12-2), 27.60.

Group 3

1-Paramus (15-3), 32.50; 2-Wayne Valley (11-3), 29.80; 3-Northern Highlands (12-4), 28.70; 4-Glen Rock/Saddle Brook (13-5), 27.80; 5-Mount Olive (9-4), 27.40; 6-Old Tappan (7-9), 26.90.

Group 2

1-High Point (11-4), 31.70; 2-River Dell (16-3), 30.40; 3-Parsippany (8-4), 29.30; 4-Jefferson (16-5), 28.80; 5-Parsippany Hills (10-5), 28.30; 6-Lodi (13-4), 27.90.

Group 1

1-Kittatinny (15-2), 32.80; 2-Pequannock (10-3), 28.90; 3-Emerson-Park Ridge (15-3), 27.80; 4-Lenape Valley (7-7), 26.70; 5-Cresskill (14-6), 26.70; 6-Pascack Hills (11-6), 26.40.

North 2

Group 4

1-Phillipsburg (11-0), 36.20; 2-North Hunterdon (13-1), 33.50; 3-Hunterdon Central (13-4), 33.20; 4-Watchung Hills (10-6), 29.50; 5-Edison (10-4), 28.20; 6-Bridgewater-Raritan (7-6), 27.60.

Group 3

1-Roxbury (11-3), 31.60; 2-Warren Hills (7-8), 31.00; 3-Morristown (18-5), 28.10; 4-West Morris (9-10), 28.60; 5-Scotch Plains (11-8), 27.30; 6-Mendham (9-8), 27.60.

Group 2

1-Hanover Park (14-3), 35.70; 2-South Plainfield (18-5), 33.90; 3-Voorhees (16-4), 32.40; 4-Cranford (14-2), 29.80; 5-Becton-Wallington (12-4), 27.60; 6-Brearley (5-3), 26.63; 7-Governor Livingston (10-8), 27.40.

Group 1

1-Roselle Park (19-0), 31.70; 2-Whippany Park (13-3), 30.80; 3-Caldwell (8-6), 28.50; 4-Belvidere (11-5), 26.60; 5-Cedar Grove (11-6), 26.60; 6-Rutherford (11-3), 26.40.

Central

Group 4

1-Howell (25-3), 37.10; 2-Brick Memorial (13-2), 34.90; 3-Jackson Memorial (13-3), 33.80; 4-Monroe (15-1), 29.40; 5-Hillsborough (13-8), 28.50; 6-Manalapan (12-7), 28.40.

Group 3

1-Ocean Township (10-7), 31.00; 2-Hopewell Valley (13-4), 30.70; 3-Brick Township (14-5), 30.20; 4-Jackson Liberty (11-7), 28.60; 5-Middletown North (14-8), 28.50; 6-Nottingham (14-2), 27.90.

Group 2

1-Raritan (26-3), 34.50; 2-Delaware Valley (15-6), 34.40; 3-Long Branch (17-3), 34.00; 4-Wall (9-4), 30.50; 5-Point Pleasant Boro (14-2), 29.00; 6-Robbinsville (10-5), 28.00; 7-Delran (15-2), 28.00.

Group 1

1-Bound Brook (14-5), 32.50; 2-Point Pleasant Beach (20-3), 27.70; 3-Burlington City (17-3), 26.90; 4-Shore Regional (13-4), 26.30; 5-Manville (9-4), 26.10; 6-Bordentown (8-12), 26.00.

South

Group 4

1-Southern (15-0), 35.30; 2-Cherry Hill West (16-3), 29.70; 3-Cherokee (18-8), 30.00; 4-Millville (17-4), 29.90; 5-Shawnee (13-7), 29.60; 6-Toms River North (10-7), 28.20; 7-Absegami (12-5), 28.20.

Group 3

1-Clearview (18-1), 34.80; 2-Kingsway (13-5), 30.30; 3-Toms River South (12-6), 28.80; 4-Pennsauken (14-2), 28.20; 5-Hammonton (15-9), 28.10; 6-Moorestown (11-8), 27.40.

Group 2

1-Delsea (16-5), 32.30; 2-West Deptford (20-3), 30.50; 3-Highland (17-1), 29.30; 4-Woodstown (16-5), 28.80; 5-Clayton/Glassboro (13-4), 27.10; 6-Gateway/Woodbury (14-5), 26.60.

Group 1

1-Paulsboro (15-1), 33.30; 2-Collingswood (20-5), 32.10; 3-Haddonfield (10-6), 27.30; 4-Buena (8-7), 28.10; 5-Penns Grove (15-4), 27.20; 6-Haddon Township (10-9), 27.20.

Non-Public

North A

1-Bergen Catholic (21-4), 36.10; 2-Don Bosco Prep (12-3), 33.80; 3-St. Peter's Prep (16-6), 35.40; 4-Delbarton (12-2), 32.20; 5-St. Joseph-Montvale (8-6), 30.00; 6-Seton Hall (9-6), 28.30.

North B

1-DePaul (10-4), 29.80; 2-Newark Academy (9-9), 25.50; 3-Pingry (2-7), 20.38; 4-Morris Catholic (5-7), 20.20; 5-Hudson Catholic (1-7), 13.50; 6-Rutgers Prep (0-6), 12.60.

South A

1-St. Augustine (17-2), 33.70; 2-Christian Brothers Academy (16-6), 31.30; 3-St. John Vianney (9-5), 27.30; 4-Paul VI-Haddonfield (10-10), 27.30; 5-Red Bank Catholic (8-7), 26.00; 6-Bishop Ahr (7-11), 25.90.

South B

1-Camden Catholic (11-12), 27.90; 2-Holy Cross (5-11), 25.30; 3-Holy Spirit (3-15), 22.10; 4-Gloucester Catholic (1-18), 17.40; 5-St. Joseph-Hammonton (4-16), 22.00; 6-Bishop Eustace (1-17), 16.90.

New Jersey Wrestling Writers Top 20

Rank	School	Record	Votes	Previous
1	Bergen Catholic	(21-4)	340	1
2	Bound Brook	(15-5)	311	2
3	Phillipsburg	(12-0)	305	4
4	St. Peter's Prep	(16-6)	291	3
5	Don Bosco Prep	(18-3)	282	5
6	Delbarton	(12-2)	255	6
7	Southern	(15-0)	235	7
8	Hanover Park	(14-3)	203	13
9	Howell	(25-3)	197	14
10	Brick Memorial	(13-2)	182	8
11	Paulsboro	(15-1)	176	10
12	Jackson Memorial	(13-3)	154	11
13	High Point	(11-4)	152	9
14	Kittatinny	(15-2)	128	12
15	Long Branch	(19-3)	84	NR
16	Raritan	(26-3)	70	15
17	South Plainfield	(18-5)	61	16
18	St. Augustine Prep	(18-2)	48	18
	North Hunterdon	(13-2)	48	19
20	Roselle Park	(17-0)	18	NR

Others receiving votes: Clearview 11; Delaware Valley 9; Roxbury 5; Paramus 4; Morris Knolls 1.

NJWWA voting memebers (in alphabetical order): Donald J. Brower (MorrisCountyHSWrestling.com); Patrick Buganski (The Mat Pack); Bill Evans (South Jersey Times); Frank D'Esposito (TheShoreConference.com); Steve Falk (Asbury Park Press of Neptune and Hitting the Mats); Brian Fortner (Express-Times); Harry Frezza (Courier News of Bridgewater); Joe Hofmann (Daily Record of Parsippany); Screwy Louie Lazzari (New Jersey Wrestling Historian); John Lewis (Burlington County Times); Ron Mazzola (On the Mat); Tom McGurk (Courier Post of Cherry Hill); John O'Kane (The Press of Atlantic City); Anthony Spaulding (New Jersey Herald); Greg Tufaro (Home News Tribune of East Brunswick); Mike Weilamann (Open Mike/Mugs Media); Joe Zedalis (Trenton Times).

Wrestling: Hunt-Warren-Sussex schedule (Feb. 3-8)

Monday, Feb. 3

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Mount Olive at Hackettstown, 7 p.m. (ppd)

Tuesday, Feb. 4

Skyland Conference

Phillipsburg at Warren Hills, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 5

(All matches 7 p.m., unless noted)

Skyland Conference

Hunterdon Central at Delaware Valley (ppd to Feb. 15, tentative based on sectionals)

Belvidere at Warren Hills (rescheduled to Feb. 18)

Thursday, Feb. 6

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Morris Hills at High Point

Lenape Valley at Jefferson

Newton at Hopatcong, 6 p.m. (auxiliary gym)

Pope John at Mount Olive

Skyland Conference

Voorhees at Phillipsburg, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 7

(All matches 7 p.m., unless noted)

Skyland Conference

Warren Hills at Hunterdon Central, 6 p.m.

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Hackettstown at Kittatinny
High Point at West Morris
Sparta at Pope John
Vernon at Montville

Saturday, Feb. 8

(All matches 10 a.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Sparta at Morris Knolls, 9 a.m.

Independent duals

North, Warren, Wallkill Valley at Pompton Lakes, 11 a.m.

Tris and quads

Delaware Valley, North Hunterdon, Voorhees in Region 5 Duals at Hunterdon Central, 9:30 a.m.

Mendham, Parsippany at Newton

Vernon, Livingston at Bridgewater, 9 a.m.

Belvidere, Hopatcong, Mount Olive at West Morris

Sparta, Summit, Millburn at Kinnelon

Hackettstown, Keyport at South River

Wrestling: 'Liners have right moves to cage Cougars

HAMPTON TWP. -- Phillipsburg's wrestling team certainly has worn out its welcome in Sussex County this season.

The Stateliners once again took no prisoners with a thorough 48-16 butt kicking of Kittatinny on Friday night in an independent matchup between two of the state's Top 20 teams. Coach Dave Post's squad won 10 of 14 bouts -- including five pins -- as P'burg (11-0), ranked No. 4 by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers, tuned up for its big match against No. 10 Paulsboro on Saturday.

Combined with its 52-13 win at High Point on Jan. 18, Phillipsburg has racked up 100 points against its two Sussex County opponents.

"The kids just keep impressing us," said Post, whose club was coming off a 52-12 waxing of No. 17 Delaware Valley at The Pit on Wednesday. "Whatever you throw at them, they just keep coming. It's a credit to how hard they train."

No. 12 Kittatinny (15-2) ended a pretty nice week -- wins over Jefferson (48-21 on Monday) and Newton (52-19 on Wednesday) -- with a clunker. After getting his 500th win on Monday at home, veteran coach John Gill watched in disbelief as his Cougars were methodically and surgically taken apart on their home mat. The fourth straight loss to P'burg -- the most lopsided result since a 49-12 defeat at The Pit in 2009 -- dropped Kittatinny to 6-13 all-time in the series dating to 1994.

Making matters worse for the Cougars were losses at 126 and 132, where they'd beaten the 'Liners earlier this month at the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament. Tylor Petchonka scored a 6-4 win over Christian Silva to reverse a 12-3 loss, while Steve Friedman used a third-period takedown for a 5-3 win over Austin Scrivani, who posted a 13-6 victory in their third-place bout at HWS.

"I'm disappointed," said Gill, now 501-151-5 overall. "We lost four matches I thought we'd win. We beat two kids about 20 days ago, one was a major, and that was a seven-point swing. My seniors didn't come through. About the only positive is that this happened now and not back in December, where you forget about it. I will make sure this stays fresh in [my team's] memory. We need to show some determination and heart."

Here's a closer look at where this one was won and lost:

1. Phillipsburg beat Kittatinny at its own game by winning the battle on the mat. This wasn't a showcase from the neutral position, as the Cougars won the takedown battle, 13-9, thanks to Garrett Armstrong, who racked up seven in his wild 20-12 win over P'burg freshman Robert Melise, who nearly had what would have been a stunning first-period pin off a reversal. Melise took a 7-4 lead into the second period. A reversal in the second rideout was the difference for freshman Drew Horun in a 3-2 win over Andrew Simpson at 285. Petchonka also had two reversals -- the second with 23 seconds left -- in his win over Silva. Friedman employed sound strategy by keeping his bout with Scrivani on their feet, racking up two takedowns and immediately issuing escapes after each. Scrivani is a very dangerous mat wrestler. Three of the 'Liners' pins totaled just 1:12, while the other two were in the first period.

2. It's always easy to second-guess after the fact, but it was puzzling to me to see Kittatinny not have senior Dylan Wunder weighed in at 170, where the match just happened to start. And it certainly backfired with moving him up to 195 to wrestle Joe Maso, who won a 3-2 decision. Maso has a win over High Point's Bobby McDonnell this season and hung with Kyle Stoll in a 3-2 loss at HWS. Beware of bumping up to face better wrestlers. With Wunder and Kieran Gerrity at 170, it would have allowed the Cougars to match up Wunder with Broderick Bupivi at 170 and Gerrity against Jake Kocsis at 182. Gerrity, who dropped a 5-3 decision to Kocsis at HWS, beat Bupivi, 5-2, in this one. The Kittatinny coaches obviously were not sold that Wunder beats Bupivi. With Kocsis up, Gill opted to send out reserve Luke DeGroat, who was decked in 38 seconds. Hindsight there would have been to simply forfeit and not give momentum away early in the match, but that's just not Gill's style. The only reason Gill forfeited to Brandon Paetzell at 106 is because the Cougars had no one available with Taylor Molfetto on the shelf due to a thumb injury. Gill also went with Simpson and sat Tom Smith at 285, despite Smith's 50-pound weight advantage on Horun.

3. Maso (14-6) really got the ball rolling with his win over Wunder (21-8), a District 3 runner-up, at 195. Since a tough 4-1 loss in overtime in P'burg's win over Easton (Pa.), the junior has really stepped it up. The win over Wunder gave the 'Liners a 9-3 lead after three bouts and all but ended Kittatinny's bid for an upset. "I just went out and wrestled my match," said Maso, a District 1 runner-up last season. "I knew [Wunder] was having a good season. I was just taking it as any other match. We knew they were favored in a lot of the upper weights."  If Melise could have pulled off the upset at 220, the raucous P'burg crowd would have gone crazy. As it was, Kittatinny athletic director Chris Carroll had to squash an ugly scene early on with some back-and-forth from both sides after Gerrity's win at 170.

4. It's clear that Phillipsburg is plenty battle tested behind a rugged dual meet schedule and participating in some top-level tournaments. But credit Post and his stellar coaching staff, including assistants Scott Silvis, Josh Haines, Brad Gentzle and Bryan Kopesky, for bringing some of the younger wrestlers a long way. Take sophomore Tyler Agans (8-11) at 113, who is looking better each time out, and DJ Wissing, who gave talented Kittatinny sophomore Nick Klinger all he could handle in an 8-5 loss at 120. Wissing (16-9) got the opening takedown and trailed just 6-5 in the third period before giving up a takedown with 18 seconds left in the bout. "There were a few matches [earlier this season] where we didn't wrestle our best and we still won some big matches," Maso said.

5. Both of these teams seem to be heading in opposite directions with sectionals just over a week away. P'burg is a heavy favorite to claim the North 2, Group 4 title, while Kittatinny is almost a lock for the North 1, Group 1 championship. The 'Liners must first take care of business against Paulsboro, Voorhees and South Plainfield to close out the regular season, while the Cougars can wrap up the NJAC Freedom Division title against Hackettstown on Wednesday. That match may be moved to Friday depending upon the Sussex school's schedule for HWS basketball. Additionally, Kittatinny may travel to No. 8 Brick Memorial next Saturday, as the Mustangs called this week to schedule a match. Kittatinny is now 4-5 at home in the series with P'burg and 2-8 at The Pit. "I can't even blame The Pit, this was in our own gym," Gill said. "We didn't step up. We just haven't scored in the big matches."

PHILLIPSBURG 48, KITTATINNY 16

170 -- Sr. Kieran Gerrity (26-3), K, d. Sr. Broderick Bupivi (17-9), 5-2.
182 -- Sr. Jake Kocsis (24-2), P, p. So. Luke DeGroat (2-1), :38.
195 -- Jr. Joe Maso (14-6), P, d. Sr. Dylan Wunder (21-8), 3-2.
220 -- Sr. Garrett Armstrong (24-5), K, md. Fr. Robert Melise (1-2), 20-12
285 -- Fr. Drew Horun (15-6), P, d. Sr. Andrew Simpson (20-8), 3-2 OT3.
106 -- So. Brandon Paetzell (23-1), P, forfeit.
113 -- So. Tyler Agans (8-11), P, p. Fr. Kasey Hotz (16-11), 1:10.
120 -- So. Nick Klinger (25-4), K, d. So. DJ Wissing (16-9), 8-5.
126 -- Sr. Tylor Petchonka (10-10), P, d. Sr. Christian Silva (18-11), 6-4.
132 -- Jr. Steve Friedman (12-10), P, d. So. Austin Scrivani (22-6), 5-3.
138 -- Jr. Corey Zinsmeister (16-5), P, p. Sr. Nick West (10-14), :16.
145 -- Jr. Jimmy Schuitema (17-3), P, p. Jr. Trevor Schutte (0-9), :58.
152 -- Sr. Nick Romyns (15-3), K, forfeit.
160 -- Jr. Max Elling (22-4), P, p. Sr. Tyler Parkyn (5-15), 1:59.
Records -- Phillipsburg 11-0; Kittatinny 15-2.
Officials -- Gary Kessel and Gary Szucs.