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.