Wrestling: North 1 Super Region 1-2 entrants

Here are the entries for North 1 Super Region 1-2 to be held at Mount Olive High School on Saturday and Sunday. Official seeds and pairings will be released on Monday. The Top 16 wrestlers at each weight class qualify with those remaining serving as alternates. 

The top four placewinners at each weight class advance to the state tournament to be conducted on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 at Phillipsburg High School.

106 pounds

Fr. Marco Alcaron, Don Bosco Prep; Fr. Collin Altieri, Kinnelon; So. Jason Athey, Pope John; Fr. Peter Binikos, Tenafly; Fr. Zach Haase, North Warren; Jr. Taisei Kurachi, River Dell; Fr. Benjamin Marchetto, West Milford; Jr. Brandon Massey, Hawthorne; Sr. Erick Narvaez, Northern Highlands; Fr. Nico Nucifora, Indian Hills.

Fr. Jaydin Barreto, Morris Hills; So. Jack Bastarrika, Mount Olive; Jr. Christian Castro, Roxbury; Fr. Anthony Cummings, Hasbrouck Heights; So. Chris Hong, Paramus; Fr. Ethan Kerlin, West Essex; So. Connor Kerwin, Passaic Valley; Sr. Jason Longaker, Elmwood Park; Fr. Evan McGinnity, Hackensack; Fr. Chris Nucifora, Bergen Catholic; Fr. Dylan Ross, Paramus Catholic; So. Ethan Smith, Boonton.

113 pounds

Fr.. Colin Fowler, Waldwick-Midland Park; Fr. Benjamin Garcia, Mahwah; So. Ryan Hartung, New Milford; Fr. Evan Krakower, River Dell; Fr. Colin Lake, Ridgewood; So. Jack Nauta, Sparta; Jr. Joseph Ribitzki, Lakeland; Fr. Van Schoening, Ramsey; Sr. Tanner Thatcher, North Warren; Jr. Clayton Utter, High Point; Fr. Michael VanderMeulen, Jefferson; So. Lucas Wells, Pequannock.

Jr. Adam Albino, Bogota-Ridgefield Park; So. Malik Asfow, Lodi-Immaculate Conception; Sr. Benjamin Bautista, Paramus Catholic; Fr. Ryan Ford, Bergen Catholic; Fr. Tyler Hagensen, Mount Olive; Jr. Daniel Hong, Paramus; So. Joey Macrino, West Essex; Fr. Chris McMaster, Boonton; Jr. Patrik Rendon, Fort Lee-Palisades Park; Fr. Najati Salim, Clifton; So. Luke Stanich, Roxbury; Jr. Omar Vasquez, Morris Hills.

120 pounds

So. Roman Citro, High Point; Sr. Danny Cleary, Newton; Sr. Thomas Comeau, Emerson-Park Ridge; Sr. Matt DiGennaro, River Dell; Jr. Kubrick Hilton, Demarest; Sr. Matthew Litchult, Indian Hills; Jr. Joe Manno, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Max Martinez, Pascack Hills; Fr. Colin Menier, West Milford; Jr. Evan Mougalian, Kinnelon; Jr. Shane Nelson, Kittatinny; Sr. Nicholas Parel, Northern Highlands; Jr. Brett Redner, Butler; Jr. Hudson Testa, Hawthorne.

So. Ricardo Balanzategui, Passaic Tech; Jr. Michael Calabrese, Hasbrouck Heights; Jr. Joseph Cappello, Paramus Catholic; Jr. Lenny Cocca, Morris Knolls; So. Deven Desai, Clifton; Sr. Seth Hagensen, Mount Olive; Jr. Daniel Haws, Lenape Valley; Jr. Aaron Kurzer, Montville; Sr. Franco Mazza, Roxbury; Sr. Jack Ruane, West Essex; Jr. Brian Vargas, Hackensack; So. Aidan Wallace, Bergen Catholic.

126 pounds

Nathan Fitt (10-0) recently dropped to 126.

Jr. Kenny Brouwer, Emerson-Park Ridge; Jr. Patrick Cahill, Pascack Hills; Sr. Ethan Fernandez, Westwood; Sr. Nathan Fitt, Newton; Jr. Zachary Hentschel, Pope John; Sr. Shady Ibrahim, Wayne Hills; Jr. Ryan Kozdra, Mahwah; Jr. Noah Martin, Pascack Valley; Jr. Jacob McCoy, Northern Highlands; Jr. Dimitri Rainey, Indian Hills; Fr. Cormac Smith, Hawthorne; Sr. Mike Tandurella, Don Bosco Prep.

Fr. Rafat Al-Kardall, Wayne Valley; Jr. Nick Bottazzi, DePaul; Jr. Joseph Cangro, Bergen Catholic; Sr. Thomas Conselyea, Roxbury; Jr. Gregory Hadoulis, Fort Lee-Palisades Park; Sr. William Matistic, Paramus Catholic; Jr. Austin McBride, Mountain Lakes; Jr. Anthony Monetti, Montville; Jr. Mike Pescatore, West Essex; Fr. Connor Scuilla, Hasbrouck Heights; Jr. Alex Vertedor, Passaic Tech; Sr. Andres Villanueva, Lenape Valley.

132 pounds

So. Chris Casale, Kittatinny; Jr. Brendan Connolly, Northern Highlands; Jr. Andrew Davies, Kinnelon; Sr. Kelly Dunnigan, Don Bosco Prep; Sr. Danny Gaffney, Indian Hills; Jr. Julian Garcia, Pequannock; Jr. Sid Hamburger, Cresskill; Sr. Luke Hughen, Jefferson; Sr. JoJo Lotruglio, Newton; Jr. Shawn Mastropierro, New Milford; So. Louden Mazzeo, Emerson-Park Ridge; So. Mateo Sgambellone, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Peret Shed, Manchester Regional.

So. Anthony Barra, West Essex; Sr. Eric Checinski, DePaul; Sr. Steve Ciambrone, Paramus; Jr. Joe Fongaro, Boonton; So. Riley Halal, Bergen Catholic; So. Adam Hamdeh, Passaic Tech; Jr. Dante Imperiose, Parsippany; So. Karl Monaco, Montville; Fr. Daniel Rella, Paramus Catholic; Jr. David Ryerson, Mount Olive;  Jr. Jake Sheiner, Fair Lawn; Jr. Carlos Sierra, Clifton; Jr. Alex Silva, Roxbury; Jr. Attila Valy, Wayne Valley.

138 pounds

Jr. Alex Almeyda, St. Joseph-Montvale; So. Logan Garcia, Don Bosco Prep; Sr. Josh Gervey, High Point; Jr. Tim Greff, Pequannock; So. Sean Hali, Ramsey; Jr. Logan Hurwitt, Northern Highlands; So. Ray Kohan, Pascack Valley; Jr. Myles Leonard, Waldwick-Midland Park; Sr. Liam McAllister, Hawthorne; So. Thaylor Sibblies, Newton; Sr. Alexander Talbot, Kinnelon; Fr. Jake Wacha, Demarest.

So. Christopher Bacchioni, Bergen Catholic; Fr. Tyler Bienus, Mount Olive; Sr. Justin Carro, Morris Hills; Jr. Ricky Cassidy, West Essex; Jr. Justin Ciliotta, Montvile; Sr. Joshua Diaz, Passaic Valley; Jr. Laith Hamdeh, Passaic Tech; So. George Hufnagel, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Shane Perry,, Morris Knolls; Sr. Vincent Sciacca, DePaul; Sr. Drew Scuilla. Hasbrouck Heights.

145 pounds

So. Gustavo Alcaron, Don Bosco Prep; Jr. Gabe Case, River Dell; Sr. Michael Cetta, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Vincent DeMaria, Northern Highlands; Sr. Patrick Franco, Kittatinny; Jr. David Hammerlee, Lakeland; Sr. Austin Jack, Jefferson; Fr. Nicholas Laccitiello, Pompton Lakes; Sr. Matias Murillo, Pascack Hills; Jr. Collin Neal, Pope John; Fr. Jeremy Pitcock, Tenafly; Sr. James Sgarella, Dumont; Sr. Anthony Simone, Wayne Hills; Sr. Declan Smith, Hawthorne.

Sr. Carson Barry, West Essex; So. Eric Broadie, Bergen Catholic; So. Dominic DelleMonache, Morris Knolls; Sr. Jordan Diab, Hackensack; Sr. Blaine Hammond, Mount Olive; Sr. Frank Mastroeni, Hopatcong; So. Matthew Murri, Fair Lawn; Jr. Gabriel Nunez, Bogota-Ridgefield Park; So. Kyle Reiter, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Sander Silva, Roxbury; Jr. Jason Smith, Boonton; Fr. Omar Tarecky, Passiac Tech; Jr. Austin Yalowitz, Fort Lee-Palisades Park.

152 pounds

Sr. Nicolino Berlingeri, Northern Highlands; Sr. Austin Collett, North Warren; Jr. Steven Dalling, Kittatinny;  Fr. Frank DiBella, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Nicky Eboli, Westwood; Jr. Nick Hwang, Sparta; Sr. Kenneth Langenmayr, Lakeland; Jr. Jack Oseback, Wayne Hills; Sr. Tyler Pizzi, Pascack Valley; Sr. Charlie Racine, River Dell; Sr. Brandon Rivera, Dumont; Sr. Jonathan Siemsen, Ramsey; Sr. Carson Wells, Pequannock.

Jr. Brian Bienus, Mount Olive; So. Liam Bostrom, Boonton; Sr. Nathaniel Camiscioli Bergen Catholic; Jr. Matthew Field, Paramus; So. Mike Maglione, West Essex; Fr. Frankie Martino, Passaic Tech; Jr. Kostantinos Mavrikidis, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Charlie Sabino, Mountain Lakes; Sr. Daniel Salzano, Montville; So. Danny Smith, Wayne Valley; Sr. Chris Stathopoulos, Clifton; Sr. Nicholas Vasta, Passaic Valley.

160 pounds

Sr. Robert Anzelloti, Emerson-Park Ridge; Sr. Luke Ciampa, Jefferson; Sr. Nick Costa, Newton;  Sr. Emre Gormus, Wayne Hills; Sr. Thomas Lee, Demarest; Sr. Kyle Link, River Dell; So. Hunter Morton, Pascack Hills; Sr. Max Oliver, Ramsey; Jr. Roberto Padilla, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Luke Petaccia, Pascack Valley; Sr. Michel Ritacco, Pope John; Sr. Troy Schmitzer, Sparta; Sr. Lucas Steenstra, Butler.

Sr. Andrew Costa, Hopatcong; Jr. Joey DelleMonache, Morris Knolls; Sr. Nicholas Franco, Paramus Catholic; Jr. Eric Freeman, Paramus; Jr. Jacob Gerish, DePaul; Sr. Daniel Govin, Fort Lee-Palisades Park; Sr. Thomas LaScala, Montville; So. Matt Leslie, Morris Hills; So. Anthony Lombardi, West Essex; Sr. Nick Stathopoulos, Clifton; Jr. Abraham Tarecky, Passaic Tech; So. Jake Zargo, Bergen Catholic.

170 pounds

Sr. William Barna, Lakeland; Jr. Dylan Connors, West Milford; So. Michael Dellagatta, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Lawrence DiBiase, Jefferson; So. Jimmy Dolan, Pequannock; Sr. Michael Grisoni, Westwood; Jr. Zachary Maksimiak, Pompton Lakes; Sr. Joseph Sogabe, Mahwah; Jr. Troy Tiger, High Point; Sr. Romel Vazquez, New Milford.

Sr. Aaron Ayzerov, Paramus; So. Mike Cocchia, Wayne Valley; Jr. Luca DiGiacopo, Boonton; Sr. Alfred Faison, Teaneck; Sr. Luca Flammia, Morris Knolls; Jr. Hunter Freschi, Hasbrouck Heights; Sr. William Hales, Morris Catholic-Newark Academy; Jr. Michael Mastroeni, Hopatcong; So. Justin Onello, Bergen Catholic; Jr. Hunter Perez, Mount Olive; Fr. Edward Terrieri, Paramus Catholic; Jr. Luke Tully, Passaic Tech; Jr. Andrew Vargas, Bogota-Ridgefield Park; Jr. Matt Zaccaria, West Essex.

182 pounds

Brian Soldano is seeking his second state title.

Jr. Melkart Abou-Jaoude, Newton; Sr. Casey Allen, Emerson-Park Ridge; Sr. Justin Chrostowski, Butler; Sr. Peter Delaportas, Pope John; Sr. Jack Farinaro, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Michael Gould, Jefferson; Sr. Dylan Hauver, Ridgewood; Sr. Jake Leonard, Ramapo; Jr. Brycen Mafaro, Kittatinny; Jr. Drew Petaccia, Pascack Valley; Sr. Norman Rubinsky, West Milford; Jr. Brian Soldano, High Point.

Sr. Christian Andres, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Anthony Asencio, Lodi-Immaculate Conception; Jr. Rennato Febbi, Mountain Lakes; So. Anthony Forte, Morris Knolls; Sr. Stephano Hadoulis, Fort Lee-Palisades Park; Jr. Sebastian Jusma, Teaneck; Jr. Xavier LaCorte, Boonton; Sr. Nicholas Lagreca, West Essex; Jr. Jacob Maldonado, Clifton; So. Anthony Moscatello, Mount Olive; Sr. Justin Palumbo, Lenape Valley; Fr. Pantaleo Varga, Bergen Catholic.

195 pounds

Sr. Peyton Chang, Pascack Valley; So. AJ Fricchione, St. Joseph-Montvale; Sr. Tommy Goodwin, Pequannock; Sr. Sean Kelly, Ramsey; Sr. Alex Kostantas, Pascack Hills; Sr. Nick Lodato, Pope John; Sr. Daniel Malkinski, Pompton Lakes; Jr. Andrew Morzetta, Hawthorne.

Jr. Riley Camoia, Mount Olive; Jr. Mathew Carvajal, Bogota-Ridgefield Park; So. Max Castro, Hasbrouck Heights; Sr. Matthew Ciarlo, Passaic Valley; Sr. Darin Donellan, Paramus Catholic; Jr. John Fiore, Bergen Catholic; Sr. Roberto Garcia, Passaic; Sr. Matthew Knapp, Roxbury; Sr. Kyle McLemore, Morris Knolls; Sr. AJ Stark, Parsippany Hills; So. Luke Struss, West Essex; Fr. Brandon Veneziano, DePaul.

220 pounds

Jr. Joe Boyle, River Dell; Fr. Jaydon Brown, Don Bosco Prep; Sr. Jackson Crawn, Kittatinny; So. Xavier Delgado, Ramsey; Sr. Brandon Gilligan, Pompton Lakes; Sr. Justin Klass, High Point; So. Nate Lewis, Pascack Valley; Jr. Dylan Patscher, Jefferson; Sr. Angelo Piazza, Glen Rock; Jr. Domonic Schinina, Lakeland; Jr. Jack Stoll, Pope John; Sr. Dylan Toback, Pequannock; Sr. Michael Toranzo, Sr. Joseph-Montvale; So. Tyler Wisnewski, West Milford.

Jr. Remy Brancato, Bergen Catholic; Sr. Taha Diricanli, Parsippany; Jr. Michael Grant, Hackensack; Jr. Dylan Maier, Mountain Lakes; Fr. Alex Marte, Wayne Valley; Sr. Enrique Montero, Clifton; So. Matthew Murray, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Ghazi Mustafa, Passaic Valley; Fr. Josh Turner, DePaul; Sr. Kevin Walter; Morris Knolls; Jr. Hugo Wang, Bogota-Ridgefield Park; Sr. Nick Wickkiserr, Morris Hills.

285 pounds

Sr. Luis Abreu, Cresskill; Jr. Nolan Clark, Glen Rock; Fr. Timothy Connolly, Jefferson; Sr. Joe Duffy, Pascack Valley; Jr. Ty Eldred, Kittatinny; Jr. Justin Gradzki, Northern Highlands; Jr. Connor Haroutunian, Waldwick-Midland Park; So. Jack Moritz, North Warren; Jr. Jake Rubin, Pope John; So. George Tzoulafis, Demarest; Sr. Anthony Vaccarella, Ridgewood; Sr. Ian Van Riper, River Dell.

So. Joseph Abill, Clifton; So. Max Acciardi, Paramus Catholic; Sr. Edward Brandon De Oliveira, Morris Hills; Jr. Dominick Brogna. Bergen Catholic; Jr. Robby Chetirkin, Wayne Valley; Jr. Arthur Edmonds, Paterson Eastside; Sr. Gaetano Fontana, Passaic Valley; Jr. Mohammad Gaber, Montville; Sr. Yosue Gomez, Passaic Tech; Jr. Tyler Kario, Elmwood Park; Sr. Christiano Santos, Mount Olive; Sr. Nicholas Sullivan, Morris Knolls; Fr. Paul Vidal; DePaul.   

Wrestling: Shutdowns for dual meets creating a stir

Is it worth the risk? That's what Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area coaches and throughout New Jersey have been grappling with regarding dual meets in this late stage of a pandemic wrestling season.

With the girls state tournament on tap for Saturday and the boys regions slated to follow a week later at Phillipsburg High School, some teams have already pulled the plug on male starters -- with forfeits in as many as half the weight classes in duals -- who may be in the mix to make the Top 16 or be set as alternates for the regional events. 

P'burg will host the girls and boys state tourneys.

Girls now competing in the postseason tournaments have been ineligible to wrestle on the guys teams in order to not risk potential infection to themselves or teammates. Boys seeded this week for regionals, also by rule, will not compete after Monday in dual meets and only then after postseason elimination.

"My whole thing coming into the season was you only get 15 matches," said Phillipsburg coach Dave Post, whose team is 8-1 following a 61-9 win at Watchung Hills on Tuesday in which 27 bouts were contested between varsity and JV. "You get 15, and kids only get so many opportunities. As a coach my job is to fill them. But I had a change of heart [following the Watchung Hills match]. 

"I was going to wrestle all the way through to High Point [which was slated to take place on Saturday prior to the season until P'burg was designated the site for girls and boys state finals]. We're basically shutting our JV kids down to avoid cross-contamination [in the practice room]."

Phillipsburg, ranked No. 3 among public schools by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association, are one of just seven HWS programs (out of 17) not to have undergone a COVID-19 pause to date. North Hunterdon (5-0) shut down following a 54-18 victory at Delaware Valley on March 25. We are on Day 15 of what was hoped to be a 10-day pause, but the Lions opted not to schedule any more dual meets.

High Point (1-1) is in the midst of a second shutdown and will resume on Monday, while Hunterdon Central and Warren Hills recently returned to action. Vernon/Wallkill Valley (1-2), a combined program for the first time this season, ended the campaign shortly after a 45-24 loss to Boonton on March 23. North Warren is another team battling COVID-19 exposure for the second time, while Belvidere is due to get back on the mats next week. 

Compounding the issue for P'burg is the absence of one starter due to contact tracing following a recent match and several other injuries to wrestlers, according to Post.

Many area teams have multiple dual meets scheduled for the final two weeks. For P'burg, which figures to have as many as 12 region qualifiers and perhaps an alternate (those seeded 17-24), that presents a serious numbers problem. In addition, the Stateliners are sitting on 998 wins, with only two duals now tentatively remaining on the schedule -- Mendham at home on April 20 and at Hanover Park on April 21. A Skyland Conference cross-divisional match at Delaware Valley on Thursday was canceled via Skyland Conference officials this week.

"We were heading to Watchung and I said to [assistant coach] Scott [Silvis], 'I think I'm making a mistake,'" Post said of his decision to shut things down through boys regions, also canceling a match at River Dell for Saturday, and reassess from there. "Staying sharp is important and it's a big part of why we're wrestling well now because we got so many matches. But to push any further is being foolish.

"It's one of the more difficult decisions I've dealt with in season. It was not an easy call."

Delaware Valley beat Lenape Valley for No. 800.

Post said his school reached out to Del Val in an attempt to push the match back a week -- informing officials that they would likely have only have a few wrestlers in the lineup. But the Terriers originally had four duals scheduled for that final week until matches against Bernards (April 19) and Roselle Park (April 21) were canceled on Friday. A fourth against Ridge was bumped up to April 14, leaving Montgomery (April 20) as Del Val's only remaining date. Teams are permitted to wrestle four in a given week.

Del Val coach Andy Fitz, whose team recently logged wins No. 800 and 801 for the program, was not happy with the late cancellation of the P'burg match -- one of the staples in the HWS area. The 'Liners own a 38-6 edge all-time in the series dating to 1975, and have won 13 straight meetings, including a 45-3 victory at home on Feb. 6, 2020. We've lost too many of these traditional area matchups -- North Hunterdon and Warren Hills will not wrestle for just the fourth time since the series began in 1957 -- but now with several open dates for Del Val that final week, perhaps there remains a chance it gets P'burg back on the schedule after all.

"It's unfortunate that we are not wrestling this season," Fitz said via text message. "The match was on the calendar since Day 1, and could have been moved earlier in the season if P'burg was going to shut down the rest of their team at this point. But I'd be happy to wrestle that final week."

Part of the problem has been that this season is unique and fraught with constant change, so it's hard to put too much blame on coaches, school officials or the NJSIAA for how things were mapped out. Duals were put in place for the last two weeks in advance of the season in case there were no individual championships -- something that did not happen in the other winter sports. 

In addition, it was not known until weeks into season that individuals competing in the region and state tournaments would be ineligible for duals after April 12, and not permitted to return to lineups until those wrestlers were eliminated from further advancement.

For now, Post said his remaining two duals are still on and he has been in touch with both coaches (Mendham's Steve Baig and Hanover Park's Tyler Branham). Post has also discussed the situation with his seniors, who are well aware that the program is within striking distance of the 1,000 milestone, something only three other New Jersey programs -- Paulsboro, Roselle Park and Hunterdon Central -- have reached. Of course, all dates at this point are subject to change down the stretch.

"Basically every hour, a half dozen emails [circulate from teams] looking for matches," Post said. "Our guys know that we'd have to win both [to hit 1,000]."

While that would be a special event for Phillipsburg and its wrestling-crazed community, those kinds of numbers have never been a driving force.

"We went the entire season last year with the wrong number of total wins by a lot," said Post, who guided the program to No. 900 -- a 62-6 win over High Point at The Pit on Jan. 30, 2015. "We had to call [Open Mike] to figure out that we were wrong. There is only one win that our kids care about and that's No. 23 [a 13th Group 4 team championship to go with nine in Group 3 for the 'Liners]." 

For teams that figure to not have many wrestlers or none in the postseason, dual meets make sense in that you want to get kids, especially the JVs, as many bouts as you can. But for teams with individuals, like returning state champion Brian Soldano of High Point, who have a great chance to go deep into the postseason, why chance it?  The last thing any coach should want to do is to jeopardize a wrestler's eligibility or health.

"Everyone knew there was an inherent risk entering the season," said Hunterdon Central coach Jon-Cantagallo-Rohm. "I've been beating myself up over that decision. Do you sit guys and risk them not being competition ready for regions? Or do you push forward?

Remaining HWS schedule (37 duals subject to change, check dates and times on school sites):

Saturday, April 10

(All matches 10 a.m.)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Boonton at Lenape Valley

Independent

Warren Hills at West Morris
Hopatcong at Voorhees

Monday, April 12

(All matches 4:30 p.m., unless noted

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Jefferson at Hackettstown
Sparta at Kittatinny, 6 p.m.

Skyland Conference

Warren Hills at Voorhees, 5:30 p.m.
Manville at Belvidere, 7 p.m.

Independent

Elizabeth at Hopatcong, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, April 13

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

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

High Point at North Warren, 4 p.m.
Sparta at Morris Knolls
Pope John at Newton, TBD
Kittatinny at Kinnelon, 6 p.m.
Hopatcong at Boonton, 5 p.m.

Skyland Conference

Watchung Hills at Warren Hills
Manville at Belvidere

Independent

Bayonne at Voorhees, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 14

(All matches 4 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Newton at High Point

Skyland Conference

Delaware Valley at Ridge, 5:30 p.m.

Independent

Kittatinny at Wayne Hills, 6 p.m.
Pope John at Paramus Catholic, 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 15

(All matches 5:30 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Sparta at North Warren, 6 p.m.
Lenape Valley at Randolph

Skyland Conference

Manville at Voorhees
Bridgewater-Raritan at Warren Hills, 7 p.m.
Belvidere at Rutgers Prep

Friday, April 16 

(All matches 6 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Mendham at Lenape Valley, 7 p.m.
Morris Hills at North Warren

Monday, April 19

(All matches 5:30 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Sparta at Roxbury, 7 p.m.
Morris Catholic at Lenape Valley

Tuesday, April 20

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

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Randolph at Sparta

Skyland Conference

Mendham at Phillipsburg
Bound Brook at Voorhees, 5:30 p.m.
Montgomery at Delaware Valley, 6 p.m.

Independent

North Warren at Belvidere, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 21

(All matches 6 p.m.)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

North Warren at Morris Hills

Independent

Phillipsburg at Hanover Park

Thursday, April 22

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

High Point at Sparta, 7 p.m.

Wrestling: Central debuts in NJWWA public poll

Hunterdon Central resumed its season just in time to claim a spot in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association's public school Top 10 rankings.

The Red Devils (3-0), who end their COVID-19 pause today with a home match against Delaware Valley at noon, entered at No. 10. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team saw its season halt following a 64-10 win over St. Joseph-Metuchen on March 20.

In all, four teams represent the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area in this week's state rankings, with North Hunterdon (5-0), also on a COVID-19 pause, and Phillipsburg (7-1), which is sitting on 997 victories, checking at Nos. 2 and 3 on the public side, while Pope John (3-2) holds steady at No. 9 in the non-public Top 10.

The best dual meet of the season produced a change in the public school Top 10 rankings. 

Kingsway, which gave Delbarton, the No. 1 team among non-publics, all it could handle in a 29-24 defeat on Thursday, jumps ahead of North Hunterdon, which had been No. 1 public program for the first two weeks of the season and finished on top in 2020. 

Kingsway (7-1) had a chance to knock Delbarton off right to the final seconds of the 14th bout before Cross Wasilewski defeated Joey Miranda, 1-0, at 126 pounds to enable the Green Wave to secure the win. 

The two powerhouses had a 7-7 split in bouts. 

Kingsway has defeated three other teams that are either ranked or have spent time in one of the two polls this season, including a 62-9 win over St. Augustine, the No. 7 non-public school. 

Christian Brothers Academy and Paramus Catholic made the big moves in the non-public rankings. Both moved up two spots to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. 

CBA went 2-0 last week. Paramus Catholic scored an impressive 52-20 win at Delsea. 

Camden Catholic, which dropped a 34-31 decision to Cherokee last week, dropped two spots to No. 6 in the non-public poll. St. Augustine also dipped two spots to No. 7. 

Top 10 Public Schools
Ranking	School	Record
1	Kingsway	(7-1)
2	North Hunterdon	(5-0)
3	Phillipsburg	(7-1)
4	South Plainfield	(7-0)
5	Southern	(8-2)
6	Brick Memorial	(7-1)
7	Howell	(8-1)
8	Mount Olive	(8-1)
9	Paulsboro	(8-0)
10	Hunterdon Central	(8-0)
Others receiving votes: Kittatinny, Delsea, Ocean Township
Top 10 Non-Public Schools
Ranking	School	Record
1	Delbarton	(6-0)
2	St. Joseph-Montvale	(5-0)
3	Bergen Catholic	(1-0)
4	Christian Brothers	(8-2)
5	Paramus Catholic	(3-0)
6	Camden Catholic	(5-1)
7	St. Augustine	(3-2)
8	St. Peter's Prep	(5-1)
9	Pope John	(3-2)
10	Don Bosco Prep	(2-2)
Others receiving votes: St. Joseph-Metuchen, St. Thomas Aquinas

Listed in alphabetical order: Donald J. Brower (gardenstatehswrestling.com); Frank D’Esposito (theshoreconference.com); Steven Falk (Asbury Park Press and APP.com); Sean Farrell (The Record and NorthJersey.com); Jane Havsy (Daily Record and DailyRecord.com); “Screwy” Louie Lazzari (New Jersey wrestling historian); John Lewis (Burlington County Times and phillyburbs.com); Ron Mazzola (NJWWA president and Region V ranking chairman); Tom McGurk (Courier Post and courierpostonline.com); Andy Mendlowitz (Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com); Andrew Tredinnick (New Jersey Herald and njherald.com); Greg Tufaro (Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com); Michael Weilamann (Open Mike and mikeopen.blogspot.com), Brad Wilson (The Express Times and lehighvalleylive.com).

Wrestling: DV shares in 800 history (HWS rankings)

Delaware Valley added another chapter to its storied wrestling history on Saturday in an odd season that's now marked several milestones in the Hunterdon-Warren Sussex-area.

Del Val celebrates 800 (Courtesy of DV/Anna Mihalik).

The Terriers (6-2) picked up win No. 800 with a 49-15 victory over Lenape Valley in an independent clash at Hutchins Gymnasium. Coach Andy Fitz's team celebrated the accomplishment, just as it has leading up to it, with a number-changing ceremony on the board that hangs in the Vince Fitz practice room which tabulates the total number of victories for the Hunterdon County school.

"These kinds of moments often work out for us over the years," said Andy Fitz, who enters this week 228-86 overall in his 14 seasons at the helm. "To be able to get the win at home, and to be able to change the number with the entire team there, is very meaningful. And while we couldn't bring the parents in for this as we normally would, we were able to keep our [school livestream] broadcast going and all the parents could watch in the main gym. It was just a wonderful day for the program."

Previously this season, longtime Kittatinny coach John Gill earned his 600th victory and Eric Bollette (254-202-1 in 20 seasons) surpassed the legendary Henry Boresch (250-44-8 from 1926-64) for the most coaching wins at Newton.

Naturally, Del Val's milestone victory means even more to Andy Fitz, who grew up in the program and wrestled for his father, Vince, considered one of the best coaches in New Jersey history. They now have accounted for 512 of the program's 800 wins as coaches, as Vince's teams went 284-60-3 over his 19 seasons from 1971-90. The Terriers, now in their 59th season, went 57-49-1 under two previous coaches in the first nine seasons before Vince Fitz took the reins and turned them into a state power.

Only Hunterdon Central (1,003 in 65 seasons), Phillipsburg (997 in 73 seasons) and Newton (823 in 95 seasons) have more wins among HWS schools. North Hunterdon (781), Warren Hills (766) and High Point (752) are next in line.

Mike Taylor puts up the No. 8 on the board.

Andy Fitz also incorporated some history when it came time to change the numbers on the board, as former district champion and longtime youth coach Mike Taylor (1994) was on hand to help out. Taylor's son, Jacob, is a promising freshman on the current team (4-4 at 113 pounds).

"In addition to our normal selection process in picking kids on the team to change the number, we honored our past in process as well," Fitz said. "[Taylor] put the '8' on the board. Diane Pona, who has been our trainer since 1993, put the first '0' on the board. And then, Phil Hutchins, who has been with us for his entire life, put the final '0' on the board with the help of the team. Just a great moment for all of us."

With no sectional or state team championships to be contested this season, Delaware Valley won't be looking forward to making a run at a third straight North 1, Group 1 title. But this memory will last a lifetime.

"It was nice to be able to have something we could come together for," Fitz said. "We treasure the team aspect of the sport, so winning 800 was special for us. This team now has a major milestone to remember their year with."

Now, onto this week's rankings:

1. North Hunterdon (5-0) -- Lions are on a COVID-19 pause and have no dual meets scheduled for the remainder of the season. Coach Chris Hrunka's team, ranked as the top public school in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association, has not competed since a 54-18 win at Delaware Valley on March 25. Sophomore Logan Wadle (5-0 at 106 pounds), senior James Holder (4-0 at 170), sophomore Alex Uryniak (4-0 at 182) and junior Liam Akers (5-0 at 285) bear watching in the individual postseason.

Up next: TBD.

2. Phillipsburg (7-1) -- Stateliners looked sharp last week in independent wins over Southern (37-13 on Tuesday) and Kittatinny (43-18 on Thursday), giving the program 997 victories. Juniors James Day (8-0 at 120 pounds) and Joey Innamorato (8-0 at 126) have looked real good this season as they prepare for the upcoming regional tournaments. 

"I would be shocked if anybody over quarantine [in the offseason] wrestled more bouts than Joe did," coach Dave Post told Mike Moore of Stateliner Sports on Thursday. "His parents took him all over the country in any state that was allowable on the list that had wrestling. Every weekend they were traveling to make sure Joey wrestled as many matches as he could. He's a machine."

Up next: at Watchung Hills on Tuesday; at River Dell on Saturday.

3. Hunterdon Central (3-0) -- Red Devils return to action this week following their COVID-19 pause. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team had been idle since a 64-10 win vs. St. Joseph-Metuchen on March 20. Central's lineup features three hammers -- seniors Colton Washleski (3-0 at 160 pounds) and Norman Cella (3-0 at 170), and junior Tanner Peake (3-0 at 152). But keep an eye on freshmen -- Anthony Rossi (3-0 at 106), Evan Thompson (3-0 at 126) and Thomas Brunnetti (3-0 at 132).

Up next: Delaware Valley at home on Tuesday; at Voorhees on Thursday; Warren Hills at home on Friday.

4. Warren Hills (1-1) -- Blue Streaks came off a COVID-19 quarantine with an impressive 47-16 win over Delaware Valley on Friday in the season opener for coach Dave Sbriscia's team, which dropped a 41-21 decision to a ranked Mount Olive squad on Saturday. Juniors Stephen Malia (2-0 at 160), who picked up his 50th career win on Saturday, and Tyler McCatharn (2-0 at 285) are off to strong starts, along with sophomores Michael Drazek (2-0 at 132) and Jarett Pantuso (2-0 at 220).

Up next: Roxbury at home on Tuesday; Bound Brook at home on Thursday; at Hunterdon Central on Friday: at West Morris on Saturday.

John Gill and Tyler Branham after their match.

5. Kittatinny (8-1) -- Cougars bounced back from a 43-18 loss at Phillipsburg on Thursday with a 51-24 victory over Hanover Park on Friday, as coach John Gill beat one of his former wrestlers in Hornets coach Tyler Branham, who logged 108 victories and was a three-time district (2003-05) and a region champion in '05 for the Sussex County power. Senior Jackson Crawn (9-0 at 220) is three wins shy of joining the 100-wins club. Thursday's match at Jefferson will likely decide this year's NJAC Freedom Division champion.

Up next: North Warren at home on Tuesday; at Jefferson on Thursday; at Mount Olive on Saturday.

6. High Point (1-1) -- 'Cats remain on a COVID-19 pause through this week with no duals scheduled until April 13. Coach John Gardner's team was shut down for a second time following a 43-25 win against Paramus on March 25. Junior state champion Brian Soldano (2-0 at 182) and senior Josh Gervey (2-0 at 138), a state medal winner last season, along with junior state qualifier Clayton Utter (2-0 at 113), are eyeing postseason runs.

Up next: at North Warren on April 13.

7. Pope John (3-2) -- Lions dropped a 39-31 decision to Mount Olive following their 36-24 win over Montville last Tuesday. Senior Shane Percelay, who entered the season with 95 career victories, has not been in the lineup thus far, while the Non-Public North B champions last season forfeited two weights in the first five dual meets. Junior Jack Stoll (4-1 at 220) will be one to watch in the postseason.

Up next: St. Peter's Prep at home on Tuesday; at Don Bosco Prep on Wednesday; at Bergen Catholic on Thursday.

8. Delaware Valley (6-2) -- Terriers were denied in their bid for No. 800 in a 47-16 loss to Warren Hills on Friday before reaching the milestone with a 49-15 win over Lenape Valley on Saturday at Hutchins Gym. Junior Matt Schneider (8-0 at 195) is having a breakout season, while senior Corey Crater (7-1 at 138) looks to make noise in the postseason.

Up next: at Hunterdon Central on Tuesday; at Watchung Hills on Thursday.

DV 49, Lenape Valley 15

Win #800!!!!

Congrats to Owen Kucharski, Sam Kirkpatrick, and Cooper Gill for assisting our guests and removing the 7,9,9

And we were honored to have Mike Taylor, Diane Pona, and Phil Hutchins place the 8,0,0 on the board!!! pic.twitter.com/4xkK4WqyNw

— Del Val Wrestling (@DVRWrestling) April 3, 2021

9. Hackettstown (6-2) -- Tigers capped a 2-0 week with a 58-15 waxing of Lenape Valley on Thursday as blue-chip freshmen Aiden Scheeringa (7-1 at 106) and Nicolas Balella (6-1 at 126), and junior Austin Zellars (7-1 at 113) continued their fine campaigns. Senior Matthew Bremner (7-1 at 285) is another to keep an eye on in the postseason.

Up next: Whippany Park at home on Tuesday; at North Warren on Thursday; DePaul at home on Friday.

10. Newton (4-5) -- Braves are coming off a pair of tough losses last week -- 47-15 to rival Kittatinny on Tuesday and 37-36 to Hanover Park on criteria (most first points) on Thursday. Coach Eric Bollette, now 6-17 vs. his former high school coach John Gill in the Kittatinny series, is gearing up for the home stretch as seniors Nathan Fitt (9-0 at 132 and 93 career wins) and JoJo Lotruglio (7-2 at 138) prepare for a final run in the region and state tournaments. 

Up next: Lenape Valley at home on Tuesday; at North Warren on Friday.

Worth noting

Belvidere (4-3) -- County Seaters became the 10th out of 17 programs in the area to hit a COVID-19 pause last week following a 45-32 win over Montgomery on Tuesday. Coach Dan McIntyre expects his team to resume next Monday. Junior Patrick Horvath (7-0 at 106) and senior Hunter Lensi (6-1 at 126) will be tough outs in the postseason.

North Warren (2-1) -- Patriots, a 40-24 winner over Lenape Valley on March 30, will next be in action against Kittatinny on Tuesday as third-year North coach Kellen Bradley, a region champion (2003) and state placewinner ('05) for the Cougars, seeks his first victory in three meetings against his former coach John Gill, whose teams prevailed in the past two North 1, Group 1 semifinal matchups -- 45-27 in 2019 and 38-28 in '20.

Sparta (2-3) -- Spartans enter the week riding a two-match win streak, including a 45-35 victory over Montville on Thursday. Senior Spencer Stewart (115-19 career), a HWS Tournament champion last season and a state placewinner in 2019, is not on the roster.

Voorhees (2-5) -- Vikings, who feature just one senior in their lineup, are led by juniors Josh Evers (5-1 at 113) and Hunter Cryan (5-2 at 120) and promising freshman Logan Wiecoreck (5-2 at 132).

Lenape Valley (2-6) -- Junior state qualifier Daniel Haws (6-0 at 120) picked up his 70th career win with his sixth straight pin in the Patriots' 49-15 loss to Delaware Valley.

Hopatcong (0-6) -- Senior region qualifier Andrew Costa earned his first win of the season (No. 61 overall) with a pin at 160 pounds in the Chiefs' 30-24 loss to Parsippany on Saturday in a match that consisted of only two contested bouts and seven forfeits.

Wrestling: HWS schedule for April 5-10

Tuesday, April 6 

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

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Morristown at Sparta
Lenape Valley at Newton, 6 p.m.
North Warren at Kittatinny, 6 p.m.
Whippany Park at Hackettstown, 2 p.m.
Mountain Lakes at Hopatcong, 9 a.m.

Skyland Conference

Phillipsburg at Watchung Hills
Voorhees at Bridgewater-Raritan, 5:30 p.m.
Delaware Valley at Hunterdon Central, noon

Independent

St. Peter’s Prep at Pope John, 11 a.m.
Roxbury at Warren Hills, 9 a.m.

Wednesday, April 7

Independent

Pope John at Don Bosco Prep, 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 8

(All matches 6 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Hackettstown at North Warren, 3:30 p.m.

Skyland Conference

Hunterdon Central at Voorhees, 10:30 a.m.
Delaware Valley at Watchung Hills
Bound Brook at Warren Hills

Independent

Pope John at Bergen Catholic, 4 p.m.

Friday, April 9

(All matches 4 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Newton at North Warren, 3:30 p.m.

Skyland Conference

Warren Hills at Hunterdon Central

Saturday, April 10

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

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Boonton at Lenape Valley

Independent

Warren Hills at West Morris, 10:30 a.m.
Hopatcong at Voorhees

Wrestling: Streaks surge to deny Del Val of 800

Warren Hills sure didn't show any ill-effects from an extended layoff to open the 2021 season.

Warren Hills is 20-31 all-time vs. Del Val since 1963.

The Blue Streaks won 10 bouts, including four pins and two major decisions, in an impressive 47-16 victory over Delaware Valley on Friday morning in a key Skyland Conference Valley Division clash at Hutchins Gymnasium.

Coach Dave Sbriscia's team, which had to quarantine for 14 days due to COVID-19 exposure and did not have two-time region qualifier Jared Lee (day to day with an injury) in the lineup, finally got back on the mat and looked pretty sharp in all phases.

"I thought the kids wrestled well," Sbriscia said. "Obviously there were a few spots where we could have wrestled better. We wrestled a team that's been wrestling since March 1, and we've wrestled for basically four days."

Warren Hills (1-0, 1-0 division), which picked up its first road win at Del Val since capping a four-match win streak in the series in 1998, dominated from the neutral position, finishing with a 19-5 edge in takedowns, including two from sophomore Michael Drazek in a surprising 10-0 major of region qualifier Cooper Gill in the second bout at 132 pounds.

"We pride ourselves [on takedowns]," said Sbriscia, whose team was also tough on top in this one with bars, tilts and cradles. "I thought the kids looked pretty good on top today. They rode very well. We've spent a lot of time on our ground game. It's nice to see it's being reflected on the mat."

Drazek, who was 4-3 in a fill-in role last season, turned Gill, who had been sidelined by a preseason ankle injury, twice with hazard tilts for a total of five back points. That win followed junior Max Pagano's thrilling 9-7 decision in sudden-victory overtime to start the proceedings at 126.

"He's done all the right things in the offseason, lifting and and practicing," Sbriscia said of Drazek. "He puts the work in. He doesn't have an ultra-ton of experience. He basically a middle-school-type kid who's gotten a lot better very quickly. For us to get a major there was huge."

Del Val (5-2, 2-1 division), which was seeking the program's 800th win after knocking off the Streaks here for No. 700 in 2015 and has won three of the last five meetings, has dropped two straight in the series, including a 49-16 road loss in 2020, for the first time since 1995-98. Coach Andy Fitz's team, which is in rebuilding mode with eight freshmen and sophomores in today's lineup, seized its only lead four bouts in, when sophomore Chris Colasurdo edged Cody Miller, 5-3, with two back points in the closing seconds of a tight contest at 145.

"I think if that match happens in two weeks, Cody wins," Sbriscia said of his promising sophomore, who went 2-1 last season before sustaining a season-ending knee injury. "We lost two tossups [Michael] Galka had a few things go wrong [including giving up a penalty point for locked hands and an escape in the final second of a 5-4 loss at 195]. And we won [two tossups]."

Warren Hills reeled off the next three, including a pin from state qualifier Stephen Malia at 160 and a 2-0 decision junior Owen Frizzell over Tyler Lagun with a third-period reversal in a battle of district champions at 170. Jarett Pantuso added another pin at 220 to give the Streaks a 25-16 lead through four bouts before state qualifier Tyler McCatharn was awarded a forfeit at 285.

Talented freshman Josh Lee sealed the win at 106, when he cradled up Owen Kucharski for a pin in 2:48 to give Hills an insurmountable 37-16 edge. Kevin Riedlinger followed with a pin at 113 and Ryan Lundy's 13-3 major at 120 capped the match.

The victory puts Warren Hills in the driver's seat for a second straight division title and the program's third conference championship since 1989-90. The Streaks will get their first big test of the season at Mount Olive, ranked No. 7 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Public School Top 10, on Saturday at 10 a.m.

"We didn't sit all this time not to be tested," Sbriscia said. "Warren Hills doesn't shy away -- we usually schedule five to 10 Top 20 teams each year."

Del Val will go for No. 800 at home against Lenape Valley on Saturday at 11 a.m.

WARREN HILLS 47, DELAWARE VALLEY 16

126 -- Jr. Max Pagano (1-0), WH, d. Fr. Matt Roche (2-2), 9-7 SV.
132 -- So. Michael Drazek (1-0), WH, md. Sr. Cooper Gill (0-1), 10-0.
138 -- Sr. Corey Crater (6-1), DV, forfeit.
145 -- So. Chris Colasurdo (6-1), DV, d. So. Cody Miller (0-1), 5-3.
152 -- Jr. Ryan Galka (1-0), WH, d. So. Brayden Schneider (2-4), 9-3.
160 -- Jr. Stephen Malia (1-0), WH, p. Sr. Ben Brown (4-2), 1:25.
170 -- Jr. Owen Frizzell (1-0), WH, d. Sr. Tyler Lagun (5-1), 2-0.
182 -- Fr. Anderson Olcott (6-1), DV, md. So. Chris Whitehead (0-1), 12-0.
195 -- Jr. Matt Schneider (7-0), DV, d. Jr. Michael Galka (0-1), 5-4.
220 -- So. Jarett Pantuso (1-0), WH, p. So. Jake Lagun (0-1), 2:36.
285 -- Jr. Tyler McCatharn (1-0), WH, forfeit.
106 -- Fr. Josh Lee (1-0), WH, p. So. Owen Kucharski (4-3), 2:48.
113 -- So. Kevin Riedlinger (1-0), WH, p. Fr. Jake Taylor (3-4), 1:25.
120 -- So. Ryan Lundy (1-0), WH, md. Fr. Jared Leeds (3-2), 13-3.
Records -- Warren Hills 1-0, 1-0; Delaware Valley 5-2, 2-1.
Official -- Doug Hesse.

Wrestling: P'burg 'takes' it to Kittatinny for 997

Steady improvement. It's expected to happen with each match in the Phillipsburg wrestling program.

The Stateliners seem to be rounding into form after turning in a pair of impressive performances this week, including a 43-18 victory over Kittatinny in an independent clash on Thursday night in Lopatcong Township.

Phillipsburg is now three wins shy of 1,000.

P'burg (7-1), coming off a 37-13 drubbing of Southern on Tuesday in which it won 11 of 14 bouts, has now reeled off four in a row since a 32-23 loss to North Hunterdon on March 23. That includes back-to-back victories over two ranked teams in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association public Top 10, with Southern entering the week at No. 5 and Kittatinny (7-1) at No. 10.

"We've been trying to emphasize to the guys that our P'burg fans don't come to matches and they don't watch on Stateliner Sports -- they don't want to watch a wrestling match, they want to watch guys fight as hard as they can," said coach Dave Post, whose 'Liners are No. 3 in the NJWWA public poll and have won 11 straight in the series with Kittatinny.

"We just emphasized that to [our wrestlers] to be physical in every position you can be. No easy scores -- turn it into as physical a wrestling match as possible."

Kittatinny, which hasn't beaten Phillipsburg since 2010 and is 6-20 all-time in a series dating to 1994, was simply overmatched in the neutral position. Veteran coach John Gill, who recently went over 600 career wins, could not have been happy about the fact his Cougars lost the takedown battle by a 36-6 margin.

In the featured bout between unbeaten junior wrestlers, P'burg state qualifier James Day (8-0) racked up six takedowns in a 12-4 major of Shane Nelson, a 2020 Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament runner-up, at 120 pounds. 

"That was a match that [Kittatinny] wanted to see and we kind of emphasized that with James, too," Post told Mike Moore of Stateliner Sports. "This is a match that they think is going to be close and they want to see that bout. James wanted to make sure there was no doubt that he was the better wrestler."

Junior Joey Innamorato (8-0) followed with a technical fall win at 126 to close out the match as the 'Liners won the last four bouts and nine total on the night. Eight of those victories resulted in bonus points, including pins by junior Nate Zastowny (170) and senior Gage Horvath (195).

"We looked good on our feet tonight," said Post, now 11-0 against Kittatinny. "We purposely wrestled a little bit more on our feet and opted not to go [on bottom] in certain scenarios. We found with some of our guys that they're so good on their feet that even the 30 seconds that it takes to get an escape sometimes is just too much to sacrifice. We'd rather give up a point and let our guys have more time on their feet to wrestle."

With P'burg holding a 17-9 lead through six bouts after Zastowny's pin, freshman Caleb Rivera gave state qualifier Brycen Mafaro all he could handle in a 5-3 loss at 182. Mafaro, a region runner-up in 2020, converted a takedown with 26 seconds left in the third period to tie and turned Rivera, who led, 2-1, after two periods, with a cradle in the closing second for two decisive back points.

"We looked pretty good," Post said. "We had a couple [potential wins] that we left out there. There's going to come a time where Caleb Rivera starts beating those guys. [Mafaro] is one of the best guys in the state at his weight class and for 5 minutes and 50 seconds, [Rivera] controlled the whole match. It was just one bad scramble. I wasn't really certain that those were back points, but we told Caleb, 'You can't put yourself in that position. You had him on the ropes and one more takedown would have polished off the match. The second [Rivera] realizes he can beat those best guys in the state and he doesn't have to keep it close ... when he turns that corner, he's not going to lose to those guys again."

Zastowny (5-3), a state qualifier last season, has now reeled off four straight wins after a slow start.

"He's figured it out," Post said. "We talked about some things and we figured them out. We had never known in his whole career that he has asthma. Just found out recently that he has an inhaler and he's never brought it to a match before. He's started taking it and ever since then we've seen a different Nate Zastowny. Like a lot of our other guys, they looked a little rusty in the beginning because we kind of take for granted what our schedule does for our kids. He's going to wrestle himself into Nate Zastowny form. If he wrestles like he's been wrestling, he'll be a very dangerous out in the postseason."

Phillipsburg, sitting on 997 wins as a program and 59-16-1 all-time vs. Sussex County teams, will again need to revisit the schedule after High Point was shut down for a second time due to COVID-19 exposure. As a result, the 'Liners now have open dates on consecutive Saturdays starting this weekend as the Hunterdon Central match was scrubbed with the Red Devils on a COVID-19 pause until early next week.

Unless Post finds another opponent in the interim, his team will next be in action at Watchung Hills on Tuesday before a nine-day gap in the schedule until Delaware Valley (away on Thursday, April 15). The only other remaining dates are Mendham (at home on April 20) and Hanover Park (away on April 21).

PHILLIPSBURG 43, KITTATINNY 18

132 -- So. Chris Casale (6-2), K, p. Jr. Sean Stasiulaitis (4-4), 3:51.
138 -- Sr. Jason Tino (6-2), P, md. Fr. Bryce Coesfeld (3-5), 12-2.
145 -- Sr. Logan Maczko (6-1), P, d. Sr. Patrick Franco (6-2), 9-5.
152 -- Jr. Steve Dalling (8-0), K, d. So. Hunter Cleaver (5-3), 11-7.
160 -- Jr. Matt D'Onofrio (7-1), P, md. Sr. Connor Hanna (5-2), 19-8.
170 -- Jr. Nate Zastowny (5-3), P, p. Jr. Jack Merrill (0-8), 1:00.
182 -- Jr. Brycen Mafaro (8-0), K, d. Fr. Caleb Rivera (6-2), 5-3.
195 -- Sr. Gage Horvath (7-1), P, p. Sr. Tyler Sweatt (2-6), 1:59.
220 -- Sr. Jackson Crawn (8-0), K, d. Jr. David Pierson (6-2), 5-1.
285 -- Jr. Ty Eldred (3-2), K, d. Sr. Jordan Kiley (5-3), 2-1.
106 -- Jr. Miguel Lopez (5-3), P, forfeit.
113 -- Fr. Dawson McWilliams (4-4), P, tf. Fr. Dylan Zupkay (1-7), 18-3, 5:18. 
120 -- Jr. James Day (8-0), P, md. Jr. Shane Nelson (7-1), 12-4.
126 -- Jr. Joey Innamorato (8-0), P, tf. Fr. Jacob Savage (5-3), 22-4, 6:00.
Records -- Phillipsburg 7-1; Kittatinny 7-1.
Official -- Chris Rebels.