Wrestling: 'Liners roll past Howell; Gill at 499 wins

Kittatinny's wrestling team bounced back in a big way on Saturday with three wins, including a 35-27 victory over host Delaware Valley in the nightcap of a quad in Alexandria Township.

The Cougars (13-1), who dropped a 48-18 decision to archrival High Point on Friday night, also scored independent wins over West Morris (48-21) and Westfield (59-16) -- raising coach John Gill's career victories total to 499. Kittatinny, ranked No. 11 in the state by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers, can deliver No. 500 at home on Monday night against Jefferson in a match that will likely decide this season's Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division champion.

Against No. 17 Delaware Valley (15-3), Nick Klinger's 10-3 win over Ryan Erwin at 126 pounds and Andrew Simpson's pin of Brian Baehr at 220, sparked Kittatinny to its seventh straight win in the series with the Hunterdon County school. Kittatinny leads 9-4 overall dating to 1992. Terriers' last win was 31-24 on Feb. 13, 1999.

Stateliners pin down Rebels

Sophomore Brandon Paetzell started it off with a major at 106 and freshman Drew Horun's decision win at 285 capped No. 4 Phillipsburg's 33-15 win over No. 13 Howell at The Pit.

Paetzell (20-1) rolled to a 12-3 decision over Peter Dee (20-2) in the evening's first bout to set the tone, as sophomore Tyler Agans followed suit with a 7-6 upset-win at 113 pounds. The 'Liners won nine bouts in all, including Corey Zinsmeister's 9-5 win over Jack Rada at 138. Junior Max Elling decked Nick Lurski at 160 for his 70th career win, while Joe Maso's 5-1 decision at 220 pounds sealed the victory, as P'burg improved to 5-2 all-time vs. Howell dating to 2004, including last year's 33-18 win on the road and a 28-27 win at The Pit in 2012.

Howell won back-to-back meetings in '05 (39-19 at The Pit) and '06 (38-21 at home). P'burg's other wins came at home in '04 (38-26) and '07 (36-29). The schools did not meet from 2008-11.

PHILLIPSBURG 33, HOWELL 15

106 -- So. Brandon Paetzell (20-1), P, md. So. Peter Dee (20-2), 12-3.
113 -- So. Tyler Agans (5-11), P, d. Jr. Mikey Sisolak (18-5), 7-6.
120 -- Sr. Jimmy Slendorn (21-2), H, d. So. DJ Wissing (14-8), 4-2.
126 -- So. Anthony Gagliano (16-4), H, d. Sr. Tylor Petchonka (8-9), 6-2.
132 -- So. Kris Lindemann (18-5), H, d. Jr. Steve Friedman (9-10), 6-1.
138 -- Jr. Corey Zinsmeister (14-4), P, d. Sr. Jack Rada (14-7), 9-5.
145 -- Jr. Jimmy Schuitema (14-3), P, md. Jr. Anthony Pozsonyi (7-7), 12-1.
152 -- Sr. Garrett Wolfinger (7-3), P, d. Jr. David Nocks (6-10), 3-0.
160 -- Jr. Max Elling (19-4), P, p. Jr. Nick Lurski (13-6), 3:12.
170 -- Sr. Joey Schultz (21-0), H, d. Sr. Broderick Bupivi (16-8), 8-6.
182 -- Sr. Jake Kocsis (21-2), P, md. Jr. Austin Silverstein (10-7), 9-0.
195 -- Sr. Stephen Boncimino (18-4), H, d. Jr. Tim Hinkle (5-7), 5-0.
220 -- Jr. Joe Maso (12-5), P, d. Sr. Kyle Cocozza (18-4), 5-1.
285 -- Fr. Drew Horun (12-6), P, d. Sr. Nathan Litowsky (17-5), 5-3.
Records -- Howell 20-3; Phillipsburg 8-0.

Here and there

Newton went 2-3 over the weekend to finish 11th in the Jack Welch Duals at Moorestown High School.

Coach Eric Bollette's Braves on Saturday defeated Holy Cross, 60-14 and Steinert, 48-30, in addition to a 40-31 loss to Camden Catholic. Junior 113-pounder Trevor Morales went 5-0 overall to raise his season record to 18-4.

On Friday, Newton opened the tournament with a 49-22 loss to Christian Brothers Academy before a 51-12 defeat to Cherokee.

Hunterdon Central, the No. 1 seed, fell 30-20 to Long Branch in the championship match.

After its big win on Friday, High Point hosted two of the top two teams in the state on Saturday -- falling 55-12 to No. 1 Bergen Catholic and 41-24 to No. 3 Bound Brook in a tri-meet. In the opening match, Bergen Catholic cemented its No. 1 ranking with a 37-16 win over Bound Brook.

Voorhees knocked off Lenape Valley (49-16) and host Belvidere (45-18) in a tri-meet on Saturday. Senior 145-pounder Christian Okulicz went 2-0, including a 7-2 win over Lenape's Glenn Haines, a Region 1 runner-up in 2012, for his 80th career win.

The County Seaters knocked off the Patriots, 37-27, as Kevin Merle recorded a 14-5 major of Region 1 qualifier Joe LaBell at 170.