Where: Hunterdon Central Field House.
When: Saturday, 9:15 a.m. (continuous wrestling)
Teams: Belvidere, Delaware Valley, Hackettstown, High Point, Hopatcong, Hunterdon Central, Kittatinny, Lenape Valley, Newton, North Hunterdon, North Warren, Phillipsburg, Pope John, Sparta, Vernon, Voorhees, Wallkill Valley, Warren Hills.
Returning champions (this year's weights): Brandon Paetzell, Phillipsburg (106), Ryan Pomrinca, North Hunterdon (126), Dylan Nace, Hunterdon Central (2012 winner, 132), Max Nauta, Warren Hills (138), Gary Dinmore, Hunterdon Central (152), Jake Kocsis, Phillipsburg (170), Kyle Stoll, High Point (195), Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills (285).
Open Mike's picks for the top four in each weight class (seeds may change before Saturday's action):
106 -- 1. Brandon Paetzell, Phillipsburg; 2. Paul Robinson, North Hunterdon; 3. Joe Aumann, Hopatcong; 4. Peter Nace, Hunterdon Central.
Notes -- Potential finals rematch here. Paetzell is 4-0 all-time against Robinson -- including a 13-5 win in last year's title match to become only the second freshman to win a championship -- with two pins. He decked Robinson in a dual encounter on Thursday. Robinson, a District 17 champ scored a 2-0 win over Aumann, a Region 1 qualifier in last year's quarterfinals. Nace is a tough freshman, but he's in the upper half with Paetzell, a fifth-place finisher in AC and a state title contender.
113 -- 1. Austin Sisco, Pope John; 2. Kyle DiNapoli, Voorhees; 3. Matt Kolonia, Delaware Valley; 4. Trevor Morales, Newton.
Notes -- Wide open class. Sisco and DiNapoli are region qualifiers up from 106 last season. They finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in last year's HWS tourney. Morales, fourth in District 3 last season, is down for the first time this season. Kolonia is one of two very talented freshmen here, with Warren Hills' Matt Valli. The Blue Streak finished higher at the John Goles Invitational, but is the No. 7 seed and should get a rematch with DiNapoli, who won, 7-3, when they met on Dec. 20. Kolonia's only loss is to No. 9 seed Luke Approvato of North Hunterdon.
120 -- 1. Nick Klinger, Kittatinny; 2. Cody Ihling, Voorhees; 3. John Fluck, Warren Hills; 4. Joe Renne, Hackettstown.
Notes -- Solid weight class. Calling our first upset, according to seeds. Klinger really came on late last season and already has a 12-5 win over Renne. The Cougars sophomore is going to a real good one. Ihling, a District 17 champion and fourth at HWS, is solid. He squeezed out a 3-1 win over Fluck on Dec. 20, thanks to a first-period takedown. Fluck was a Region 1 qualifier two years ago and is wrestling well. Upset alert: Keep an eye on Phillipsburg's DJ Wissing, the No. 8 seed.
126 -- 1. Ryan Pomrinca, North Hunterdon; 2. Matt Ritchie, North Warren; 3. Christian Silva, Kittatinny; 4. Austin Pidoto, Warren Hills.
Notes -- Pomrinca, a returning champ and two-time finalist, is the class of the field. It's a shame that High Point's Jared Kobis (broken hand) can't compete. Those two waged a classic battle in last year's finals at 120, with Pomrinca winning a 3-2 decision in OT. Ritchie, a senior, has never reached the finals, finishing fourth as a freshman. This could be his year to do so, though Silva, who was third last year at 113, is a tough customer. Ritchie prevailed, 2-1, when they met on Dec. 27.
132 -- 1. Mike Derin, High Point; 2. Dylan Nace, Hunterdon Central; 3. Steve Friedman, Phillipsburg; 4. Austin Scrivani, Kittatinny.
Notes -- Tough weight at the top. Derin, who finished eighth in last year's state tournament, was a runner-up here two years ago. He's one of the best pure talents in this event. Nace, who won a title in 2012, is chasing HWS history in looking to become the first four-time finalist since the event's inception in 2010. It would be quite a feat considering only nine freshmen have ever made the finals. Nace (10-0) also enters the tourney with 99 career wins. Friedman, the No. 3 seed and a two-time fourth-place finisher, is eyeing redemption in the quarters should he face No. 6 Eric Martin of North Hunterdon, who earned a 10-4 win in their encounter on Thursday.
138 -- 1. Max Nauta, Warren Hills; 2. Ian Burke, Sparta; 3. Corey Zinsmeister, Phillipsburg; 4. Derek Ciavarro, North Hunterdon.
Notes -- Could be some movement of seeds here. Lenape Valley's Glenn Haines, the No. 2 seed and runner-up at 132 last year, is nursing a shoulder injury and is questionable for this weekend. He'd be our pick to reach the finals, but we're assuming Haines will be out. Zinsmeister is up top with Nauta regardless if Haines withdraws, and that would be an entertaining semifinal. Ciavarro, who is currently the No. 4 seed, dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 5 Zinsmeister on Thursday. Ciavarro would drop into the bottom bracket if Haines does not compete. Nauta, a two-time finalist won it at 113 last year, beating Ciavarro, 5-3 in the quarters, while Burke was third at 126.
145 -- 1. Jimmy Schuitema, Phillipsburg; 2. Collin Boylan, Hunterdon Central; 3. Brian Smolinsky, North Hunterdon; 4. Christian Okulicz, Voorhees.
Notes -- Schuitema is down a weight after finishing second at 152 last year -- unable to compete in the final due to a shoulder injury. He tuned up for this one by beating North Hunterdon's Mike Ciavarro, 2-1, on Thursday. Boylan was third at 132, and is unbeaten this season. That would shape up an excellent final. Okulicz is a two-time fourth-place finisher.
152 -- 1. Gary Dinmore, Hunterdon Central; 2. Mike Ciavarro, North Hunterdon; 3. Max Elling, High Point; 4. Dominic LaBell, Lenape Valley.
Notes -- Dinmore clearly the one to beat here. The two-time state runner-up is seeking his second straight county title and third trip to the finals. He could get a rematch with Ciavarro, the champion at this weight last year. Dinmore prevailed, 5-0, when they met last Tuesday. Elling, a state qualifier who was fourth at 138 last season, won't be an easy out in the bottom half. LaBell was fourth at this weight a year ago.
160 -- 1. Broderick Bupivi, Phillipsburg; 2. Joey LaBell, Lenape Valley; 3. Mike Sicola, North Hunterdon; 4. Tommy Hooker, High Point.
Notes -- Tough weight to call. Bupivi was fourth in Region 1 at 170 last year, while LaBell finished fourth in the HWS tourney at 160. Sicola has really improved and is a title threat here as well. He should have a tough one against Luke Zehnbauer of Delaware Valley, who was fourth last year at 170, in a 5-4 matchup in the quarters. Hooker ran into Schuitema in last year's 152-pound quarterfinals and finished fifth.
170 -- 1. Jake Kocsis, Phillipsburg; 2. Kieran Gerrity, Kittatinny; 3. Joe Guzzo, North Hunterdon; 4. Nour Mays, Delaware Valley.
Notes -- Should be a heckuva final here. Kocsis won the 160-pound title last year and finished third in Region 1. He's been impressive in the early going this season. Top-seeded Gerrity is looking to get off the schneid here with runner-up finishes in 2012 and '13. Guzzo (13-1), who was sixth at 160 a year ago, also is on a roll and put in a lot of time during the offseason. He's on a collision course with Kocsis in the semifinals.
182 -- 1. Kody Eichlin, Delaware Valley; 2. Dylan Wunder, Kittatinny; 3. D.J. Barrett, Lenape Valley; 4. Antonio Porraspita, High Point.
Notes -- Eichlin was second last year at 160, while Wunder was fourth at 195. Eichlin's season was delayed by a forearm injury he sustained in the fall, so he hasn't had a lot of mat time. We'll see if that's a factor. He is on target to meet Barrett, the No. 3 seed, in the semifinals. Wunder, a runner-up in 2012, dropped a 3-1 decision to Barrett on Wednesday, giving up a late takedown. Porraspita, who was the No. 5 seed, is now the No. 4 after Warren Hills' Steve Cleaver withdrew due to an injury.
195 -- 1. Kyle Stoll, High Point; 2. Garrett Armstrong, Kittatinny; 3. Nick Suk, Hunterdon Central; 4. Gavin Lally, Sparta.
Notes -- Stoll was impressive last year in winning his first county title at this weight class. He also won a Region 1 title and finished sixth in the state tournament. Armstrong, who was a runner-up at 220 a year ago, lost twice to Stoll when they were sophomores -- 5-1 and by fall. Suk will likely have to get past Phillipsburg's Joe Maso in a 5-4 matchup to reach the semifinals and that won't be an easy task.
220 -- 1. Bobby McDonnell, High Point; 2. Gus Protogeropoulos, Newton; 3. Andrew Simpson, Kittatinny; 4. Ryan Witner, Warren Hills.
Notes -- McDonnell was third here last year, dropping a tough 2-1 decision to Armstrong. Though he's the No. 2 seed, McDonnell, a Region 1 runner-up, is the one to beat. Protogeropoulos was a quarterfinalist at 195 last year and moved up to 220 for this one. He owns a win over top-seeded Witner -- 5-0 in the 2012 John Goles Invitational. Newton is looking to keep its streak going -- producing at least one finalist in the four previous HWS tourneys. Simpson is off to a good start in his first varsity campaign. P'burg freshman Drew Horun, who may win a few of these in the future, has a tough draw as the No. 7 seed.
285 -- 1. Andrew Pacheco, Warren Hills; 2. Marek Tomanek, Delaware Valley; 3. Noa Merritt, Pope John; 4. Tom Smith, Kittatinny.
Notes -- Pacheco gave us all quite a thrill in last year's finals -- defeating Phillipsburg's Jarrett Williams, 12-10 in OT. The Blue Streak will be even more motivated this time around to repeat, as he dropped a 3-2 decision to Tomanek in the John Goles Invitational finals on Dec. 27. Tomanek will likely have to get past Merritt, who finished third in Region 1 last year, in the bottom half of the draw. Smith is much improved and could lock up with High Point's Gunny Wassong in the quarters.
Team champion: Phillipsburg.
Team champion: Phillipsburg.
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