Wrestling: Cruts caps P'burg win in Pin Cancer event

WASHINGTON TWP. -- The Pin Cancer matchup provides an opportunity for teams to gauge where they may stack up come this winter during the high school season.

Safe to say that Phillipsburg liked what it saw in a convincing 48-6 win over Washington in the seventh annual event under the lights on Thursday night at Warren Hills School District Stadium. P'burg won 12 of the 14 bouts and finished with an 18-8 advantage in takedowns, while improving to 6-1 all time in this event.

Junior Cody Cruts capped the victory with a mild upset at 285 pounds -- 7-5 over Washington senior Duro Ajayi, a Region 3 fifth-place finisher, in the final bout.

Cruts, who went 10-12 as a sophomore for the Stateliners and was giving away about 70 pounds and six-to-seven inches in height to Ajayi, surrendered the first two takedowns before rallying back to tie it a 4 with a late takedown in the first period. It was all Cruts from that point on as he escaped in the second period and converted another takedown to go up, 7-4, before yielding a late escape in the third.

"I was trying to outmaneuver him and stay to the outside, keep that big frame off me," said Cruts, who weighs around 220.

The upper weights figure to be a question mark for a Phillipsburg team that will be strong down low and through the middle as it seeks a sixth straight Group 4 championship in 2018-19. P'burg won three of the final four bouts on Thursday, including wins from junior Jacob Wicks at 180 and senior Austin Roth at 200.

Wicks, a junior varsity wrestler the past two years, scored a 7-0 decision over Tyler McCarthern. Wicks is the son of Delaware Valley legend Jamie Wicks, who won state titles for the Terriers in 1987 and '88.

"If these guys up top wrestle like they did tonight, we're going to be OK," said P'burg coach Dave Post, who had eight wrestlers in the lineup with 12 or fewer career varsity bouts. "We'll make our hay down low and through the middle. Cody's been in our lineup and has taken his lumps for two years. We hope he's learned from it. He has good mat wrestling, but he's put himself in dangerous positions. Stay in good position, that's what it's all about."

As expected P'burg raced out to a 27-0 lead by winning the first six bouts, including a pins by talented freshman Joey Innamorato (120), along with seniors Bryce Parenti (130) and Travis Jones (135). Sophomore Jason Tino (125) also scored an impressive 8-6 win over Region 3 qualifier Greg Slivka.

"We have a lot of faith in [Tino]," Post said. "He would have been a varsity wrestler for us [last year], but he was stuck behind Jones."

Senior Cody Harrison (167) and Roth became the fourth and fifth three-time Pin Cancer winners for P'burg, joining Stephen Friedman, Max Elling and Brian Meyer, who all went 3-0. Harrison actually got his first win in a P'burg singlet, 10-0 over Nick Hildebrant, having won twice with Washington before transferring prior to his sophomore season. No wrestler has gone 4-0 in the seven-year history of this event.

Jones trailed early against Logan Nauta in one of the most entertaining bouts of the night. Nauta took a 2-0 lead with a first-period takedown. Jones, one of the most dangerous mat wrestlers around, got a reversal and a one count with a turk before the second period expired.

Nauta took down to start the third period and it worked out well for Jones, who turned Nauta again for the pin in 3:47. The periods were 1 1/2 minutes in length.

"I don't know if we go [on bottom] during the season, " said first-year Washington coach Dave Sbriscia, "but this is a charity event, and we wanted to find out how we were on bottom. We are much improved on our feet and on top."

Senior Thomas Abode also impressed with his 4-3 win over Washington senior Chris Ostir, a two-time Region 3 qualifier, at 155. Abode, who was 3-6 in spot duty on varsity last season, is one to watch, according to Post.

"I'm very impressed with TJ," Post said. "He wrestles with Cody [Harrison], a two-time state placewinner and a state title contender this season, every day. We were very confident in that one."

Junior Nick Gorab (140) and senior Nick Galka (215) were the lone winners for Washington. Galka, a Region 3 runner-up last season and one of the team's captains this season, liked some of what he saw from his teammates.

"No one likes to lose, but I'm happy with some of our efforts," said Galka, who joined Matt Valli as the only Washington wrestlers to go 3-1 in Pin Cancer matches. "P'burg is one of best teams in the state and [five-time] Group 4 champions. But I liked the way we fought in some matches and it brought my hopes up for this season."

Sbriscia agreed with Galka's assessment of the team.

"I liked our toughness in some matches," said Sbriscia, a former standout for the Blue Streaks and an assistant coach prior to taking over for Jarrett Hosbach at the end of last season. "I liked the way Logan wrestled for 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Nick [Gorab] is a kid who's always worked hard. He's finally developed into a varsity wrestler. He's spent a lot of time in weight room and he's hard to score on. Offensively, we have some work to do, but he's somebody I'm excited about."

Galka should be among the area's best chances to earn a state medal in Atlantic City next March after getting his first taste of Boardwalk Hall as a junior.

"I've been working hard, wrestling four times a week," he said. "I'm just trying to improve on everything. I want to place in states. That's my goal."

PHILLIPSBURG 48, WASHINGTON 6
107 -- Fr. James Day, P, d. Fr. Jared Lee, 5-0.
113 -- So. Logan Maczko, P, d. Fr. Noah DiNapoli, 6-0.
120 -- Fr. Joey Innamorato, P, p. Fr. Max Pagano, :40.
125 -- So. Jason Tino, P, d. Jr. Greg Slivka, 8-6.
130 -- Sr. Bryce Parenti, P, p. Fr. Stephen Malia, 1:53.
135 -- Sr. Travis Jones, P, p. Jr. Logan Nauta, 3:47.
140 -- Jr. Nick Gorab, W, d. Sr. Luke Hardin, 2-1 OT (rideout).
145 -- Sr. Kyle Tino, P, md. Jr. Geir Nemeth, 13-1.
155 -- Sr. Thomas Abode, P, d. Sr. Chris Ostir, 4-3.
167 -- Sr. Cody Harrison, P, md. Jr. Nick Hildebrant, 10-0.
180 -- Jr. Jacob Wicks, P, d. Fr. Tyler McCatharn, 7-0.
200 -- Sr. Austin Roth, P, md. So. Logan Polcari, 8-0.
215 -- Sr. Nick Galka, W, d. So. Gage Horvath, 7-1.
285 -- Jr. Cody Cruts, P, d. Sr. Duro Ajayi, 7-5.
Officials -- Chip Castner, Frank Letiner and Joe Benvenuto.

Wrestling: Hopatcong or P'burg for HWS in '19?

Why mess with a good thing?

That's the big question as it seems a few of the Sussex County athletic directors are pushing for the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament to rotate back to Hopatcong High School for next season.

Phillipsburg, which has a superior new facility and did a marvelous job as first-time host in 2018, was by all accounts poised to become the event's permanent site. Apparently, some ADs in Sussex, many of whom have never been to a tournament and were not in attendance last year at P'burg, have pointed to HWS Association bylaws that events must remain in their county every other year.

It's an unpopular opinion among many coaches, fans and media members, as well as some of the nine Sussex County ADs.

"It makes no sense," said High Point athletic director Todd Van Orden, who serves on the four-person HWS executive committee. "It's foolish not to keep it at Phillipsburg. I've voiced my opinion on it."

Phillipsburg's setup for the early rounds of the 2018 HWS Tournament.

Van Orden said the executive committee met on Tuesday and is in favor of keeping the tournament at Phillipsburg. A vote to determine the site for 2019 will take place among all athletic directors in September.

"Myself, [Newton AD Ryan Hashway] and [Wallkill Valley AD Daryl Jones] are all in favor of keeping it at P'burg," Van Orden said in a recent interview.

Hunterdon Central and Hopatcong had shared hosting duties since the tournament's inception in 2010. Prior to that, Central was the lone site of the former Hunterdon-Warren Tournament. Central last hosted in 2016, and deferred to P'burg when its spacious new gym was opened for the 2016-17 school year.

"I don't have a problem with Phillipsburg being a permanent site," said longtime Kittatinny coach John Gill, whose team will travel to P'burg for its annual dual meet with the Stateliners in January. "They have the nicest facility around. [Last year's event] was well done."

Hopatcong was the site in '17. Under former AD Tom Vara, the event was a two-day format and was well received by all three counties. Vara retired in 2014 and the school went to a one-day tournament two years ago for the first time with Chris Buglovsky as AD. But using two gyms, along with the lack of room in and outside the facility, makes it less than ideal now that there's a superior option. Hopatcong has been a fine host, but to go back to that when Phillipsburg can put six mats down with plenty of room to roam and the space to facilitate faster weigh-ins for the wrestlers and accommodate fans both in the cafeteria and in the bleachers -- the second gym at Hopatcong was standing room only -- is simply not in the best interest of the tournament.

High Point's John Gardner and Newton's Eric Bollette are among the Sussex coaches who strongly agree with Gill that the tournament should remain at Phillipsburg.

"The facilities are second to none and the gym is incredible," said Bollette, who brought his team to P'burg for a dual meet prior to the HWS Tournament last season. "Plenty of locker rooms and a great atmosphere. Hopatcong and Hunterdon Central have done a great job in the times they have hosted the tournament, but as this tournament continues to grow, the only place that can comfortably hold the HWS is Phillipsburg."

If this event goes back to Hopatcong, it will be a colossal mistake. Problem is you have some ADs who have never stepped foot into Phillipsburg High School or observed this tournament in person making this decision. Van Orden and North Warren AD John Simonetti, who have been very vocal about keeping the tournament at P'burg. HWS bylaws apparently call for rotating sites, however, cross country and other events such as baseball, which has been held at P'burg for awhile, don't follow that guideline.

"I feel a rotation should be maintained whenever possible," Kittatinny AD Chris Carroll said in a phone message. "Hopatcong is certainly a viable candidate, but I don't know if they are still interested in hosting. I know P'burg has a great facility and their people are extremely competent [in running the event]. If my coach is not opposed to staying at P'burg, I'm not either."

If travel is a concern, which I have heard is a contention for alternating sites, that's another absurdity. There is more travel in high school sports than ever with nonsensical conference alignments that send some teams on the road 40 minutes or more from home just to play a division contest.

As for wrestling, teams travel far distances every Saturday during the season. Several if not all ADs will likely vote according to what their coaches want to do. Most coaches at last year's event stated they were very pleased with P'burg as the new host.

"The old [Sussex County Interscholastic League ADs] feel it should be rotated, but if we have a vote to move it at our next meeting, I'd probably vote the opposite of where I've been in the past [on moving the wrestling event]," Carroll said.

This wrestling tournament was designed in theory to be a showcase for the athletes and to be run that way. It's easily the premiere event on the HWS calendar.

Here is hoping that the ADs who insist on going back to Hopatcong will come to their senses this fall and keep it at Phillipsburg. If they want to do what's in the best interest of the wrestlers, it's a no-brainer.

"It's the best of everything. I'd imagine most coaches feel that way," Gill said. "It's better for the fans and the athletes. That's what it's supposed to be about."

Wrestling: 'Liners-Streaks set for Pin Cancer clash

The premiere high school wrestling event of the summer in our area is on tap for Thursday, July 26 as the seventh annual Pin Cancer match between Phillipsburg and Washington will be held on the turf at Warren Hills School District Stadium.

There will be a junior high match starting at 6 p.m., with the high school match to follow at 7 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. Ticket price is $5. All proceeds go to cancer research and development. Check out http://www.pincancer.org/ for more information about this tremendous organization.

Phillipsburg defeated Warren Hills, 53-14, when the teams met during the 2017-18 high school season.

P'burg won the first four Pin Cancer matches before Washington ended that run with a 28-24 in 2016 at Warren Hills' auxiliary gym. The event was moved indoors for the first time due to rain, as was the case again for last year's event at Phillipsburg -- a 54-10 win for the Stateliners.

"We have a good freshmen class and we've looked awesome this summer," said P'burg coach Dave Post, whose team had a very successful run at the Lycoming Summer Camp.

This is the first Pin Cancer match for Dave Sbriscia as a head coach for Washington after he took over the reigns from Jarrett Hosbach in April.

"It's an awesome experience for the kids, that's what it's about, and raising money for a great organization," said Sbriscia, a former standout wrestler and assistant coach for the Blue Streaks who said 32 of his wrestlers attended summer camp at Penn State. "There will be a lot of great wrestling. People from both communities really come out and support the teams. There will be some great matchups to see."

This year's clash features four New Jersey state qualifiers in Phillipsburg's Travis Jones (135), Kyle Tino (145) and Cody Harrison (167), along with Washington's Nick Galka (215).

Jones (41-6) -- one of the most dangerous mat wrestlers around -- is a two-time district champion and captured his first region title this past season as a junior, placing seventh in the state tournament at 120 pounds, while Tino (25-11) was a district champion and region runner-up at 132.

Harrison (37-5), who did not compete in this event last year because of an injury, is a two-time state placewinner, finishing fourth at 138 pounds as a junior. He will enter his senior season with 85 career wins.

Galka (25-6), who battled foot issues last season, won a district title and finished second in Region 3 as a junior.

Sbriscia is looking forward to seeing his team, which lost a total of 77 varsity wins to graduation, in action.

"This [event] gives us an idea of what's going to happen in the season to come," he said. "I'm pretty excited about our incoming class. We'll have 12 to 13 freshmen. It's one of our biggest in five, six years. We have nine who were wrestlers coming up and three or four first-year wrestlers. We're hoping to have around 40 [total wrestlers in the program when the season starts]."

P'burg has two talented freshmen -- both grade school league champions in James Day and Joey Innamorato -- and six other wrestlers with 12 or fewer career varsity bouts in its Pin Cancer lineup.

"We're just excited to get some of our young guys bouts, just to see them against real competition," Post said. "One characteristic we always look for is if they wrestle more for each other than they do for themselves. They fight tooth-and-nail for every point. They don't necessarily have varsity experience, but they've all wrestled together for years and have wrestled so many bouts."

Post also provided a sneak preview of what the 2018-19 lineup may be at this mid-summer stage for his five-time defending Group 4 champions.

106 -- Fr. James Day; 113 -- So. Logan Maczko; 120 -- Fr. Joey Innamorato/So. Jason Tino; 126 -- Sr. Bryce Parenti; 132 -- Sr. Travis Jones; 138 -- Fr. Nate Zastowny/Sr. Luke Hardin; 145 -- Sr. Kyle Tino; 152 -- Sr. Cody Harrison; 160 -- Sr. Thomas Abode; 170 -- Jr. Ryan Mitzak; 182 -- Jr. Jacob Wicks; 195 -- Sr. Austin Roth; 220 -- So. Gage Horvath; 285 -- Jr. Cody Cruts

Tentative Pin Cancer matchups (Phillipsburg listed first)

107 -- Fr. James Day vs. Fr. Jared Lee
113 -- So. Logan Maczko vs. Fr. Noah DiNapoli
120 -- Fr. Joey Innamorato vs. Fr. Max Pagano
125 -- So. Jason Tino vs. Jr. Greg Slivka
130 -- Sr. Bryce Parenti vs. Fr. Stephen Malia
135 -- Sr. Travis Jones vs. Jr. Logan Nauta
140 -- Sr. Luke Hardin vs. Jr. Nick Gorab
145 -- Sr. Kyle Tino vs. Jr. Geir Nemeth
155 -- Sr. Thomas Abode vs. Sr. Chris Ostir
167 -- Sr. Cody Harrison vs. Jr. Nick Hildebrant
180 -- Jr. Jacob Wicks vs. Fr. Tyler McCarthern
200 -- Sr. Austin Roth vs. So. Logan Polcari
215 -- So. Gage Horvath vs. Sr. Nick Galka
285 -- Jr. Cody Cruts vs. Sr. Duro Ajayi

(Box from last season's high school dual)

PHILLIPSBURG 53, WARREN HILLS 14

182 -- Jarod Ostir, WH, d. Austin Roth, 5-2.
195 -- Shamyr Brodders, P, p. Logan Polcari, 1:19.
220 -- Cody Cruts, P, forfeit.
285 -- Duro Ajayi, WH, d. Patrick Sharpe, 3-1 SV.
106 -- Logan Maczko, P, forfeit.
113 -- Cullen Day, P, d. Greg Slivka, 3-0.
120 -- Travis Jones, P, forfeit.
126 -- Codey O'Rourke, WH, md. Brenden Fox, 9-1.
132 -- Kyle Wulff, WH, md. Thomas Abode, 10-2.
138 -- Kyle Tino, P, p. Nickolas Gorab, 1:38.
145 -- Cody Harrison, P, md. Chris Ostir, 17-7.
152 -- Brian Meyer, P, forfeit.
160 -- Josh Ramos, P, md. Nick Hildebrant, 14-4.
170 -- Lance Wissing, P, forfeit.

(2017 Pin Cancer results)

PHILLIPSBURG 54, WARREN HILLS 10

Logan Maczko, P, p. Walker Heller, :26.
Cullen Day, P, p. Greg Slivka, 4:27.
Luke Hardin, P, p. Shane Reynolds, 1:29.
Travis Jones, P, d. Logan Nauta, 12-6.
Kyle Wulff, W, md. Tyler Marason, 12-4.
Chris Ostir, W, d. Jared Kukor, 5-2.
Kyle Tino, P, d. Cameron Nauta, 8-4.
Jayson Zinsmeister, P, md. Geir Nemeth, 9-1.
Brian Meyer, P, p. Pedro Cruz, 3:27.
Lance Wissing, P, p. Logan Polcari, :25.
Shamyr Brodders, P, d. Nick Hildebrant, 6-5.
Austin Roth, P, tf. David Shafer, 16-1, 2:40.
Nick Galka, W, d. Cody Cruts, 10-5.
Patrick Sharpe, P, p. Brandon Prados, 1:13.

Jones set to be named new Warren Hills AD

Warren Hills Regional High School has chosen one of its own to run its athletic department.

Former star athlete Mike Jones is expected to be named the new athletic director during Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.

Jones, who graduated from the Warren County school in 1998, was a candidate three years ago when Geri McKelvey was hired to replace Peter Lubrecht as the Blue Streaks' AD. Jones' prorated salary as AD will be $110,000 per year.

McKelvey, who was not rehired this past spring after serving two years on the job, is on Tuesday's agenda for approval to return to the classroom as a Health and Physical Education teacher as well as joining Josie Potter's field hockey staff as an assistant coach.

Jones, a star quarterback for Warren Hills under former head coach and AD Bob Lockhart, now an assistant coach at North Hunterdon, has recently been serving as chief administrator in the Hampton school district. A four-year letterwinner, Jones threw for 1,843 yards -- second most on the Streaks' all-time list -- his senior season in 1997. He still owns the school's career marks of 4,118 yards and 32 touchdowns. Jones was inducted into the Blue Streak Wall of Fame in May.

Jones will become the fifth athletic director at Warren Hills since Nick Holgash retired after 33 years at Warren Hills (15 as AD) in 2010.

Lubrecht succeeded Lockhart, who after two years as AD at his alma mater took the same position at Summit High School for the 2013-14 school year. Lubrecht, who had previously been the AD at Roselle Park from 2011-13, was not rehired following the 2015-16 school year.

Wrestling: Phillipsburg sets schedule for 2018-19

Phillipsburg coach Dave Post confirmed on Monday that his team's schedule for the 2018-19 season is just about complete. 

Phillipsburg celebrates its fifth straight Group 4 title in February.

The Stateliners, who finished 17-2 this past season and won their fifth straight Group 4 title (the program's 22nd state championship overall), will open next season by returning to the King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain (Pa.) High School.

In addition to its mandated four dual meets against Skyland Conference Raritan Division opponents, Phillipsburg, which is 129-20 overall in Post's eight seasons, will again face Newton, Raritan, Kittatinny, Hanover Park, Southern and Ocean Township in independent matchups. Three of those teams appeared in the final New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 25 poll for 2017-18, as well as Hunterdon Central, which travels to P'burg on Jan. 24, 2019. In addition, Monroe Township and P'burg will meet for the first time on Jan. 5.

Hunterdon Central, Delaware Valley and Warren Hills are now non-divisional matchups under the new conference alignment for the next two seasons. Voorhees, which had wrestled P'burg almost continuously since the 'Liners -- 26-0 all time against the Vikes -- joined the Skyland Conference for the 1995-96 school year, is no longer on the dual meet schedule. However, the schools are now both in Region 4.

Sadly, a renewal of the series with High Point, the defending Group 2 champion, did not come to fruition despite attempts on both sides to find an agreeable date. P'burg owns a 17-1 edge all time against the 'Cats, including a 62-6 rout in their last matchup at The Pit in 2015. High Point's lone victory was 30-22 on Jan. 31, 2009, at The Pit.

"I feel pretty good about how the schedule worked out," said Post, who only has Thursday, Dec. 20 open for a potential match. "Only wish would be to restart the High Point match, but it really has to be on a weekend because of the [travel] distance, and that's tricky."

Newton, which owns a 9-7-1 edge overall against P'burg dating to 1947, will host the 'Liners for the first time since 2008 on Dec. 22. The Braves, who dropped a 38-29 decision after leading with two bouts left in last season's meeting, are the only program in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area that leads in a series vs. P'burg, which is 264-53-3 against HWS teams in its 72-year history.

P'burg, which returns seven full-time starters, including senior state medalists Travis Jones (seventh at 120) and Cody Harrison (fourth at 138), will square off against Ocean Township in its final dual meet of the regular season on Feb. 2, 2019. The 'Liners, who are 44-15 all time vs. Shore Conference schools, posted a 50-21 win at home last season in the first meeting between the schools.

Notably the only match against Pennsylvania's District 11 is against Easton (Jan. 19). The 'Liners had won three of the previous four matchups before a 28-26 loss to the Red Rovers last season. Easton owns a 64-17 advantage in the series since 1947.

"One less match with Pennsylvania will help us from having to scramble with regard to the NJ minimum [of 10 in-state matches before the cutoff for sectionals]," Post said.

Here's the schedule for 2018-19:

Dec. 14-15 -- at King of the Mountain Tournament (Mill Hall, Pa.)
Dec. 19 -- at Hillsborough
Dec. 20 -- TBA
Dec. 22 -- at Newton
Dec. 28-29 -- at Bethlehem (Pa.) Holiday Classic (Liberty High School)
Jan. 2 -- Warren Hills
Jan. 3 -- Raritan
Jan. 5 -- Monroe Township
Jan. 9 -- Montgomery
Jan. 10 -- Kittatinny
Jan. 12 -- Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament (site TBD)
Jan. 16 -- at North Hunterdon
Jan. 17 -- Hanover Park
Jan. 19 -- Easton (Pa.)
Jan. 23 -- at Ridge
Jan. 24 -- Hunterdon Central
Jan. 26 -- at Southern
Feb. 1 -- at Delaware Valley
Feb. 2 -- at Ocean Township
Feb. 4 -- Sectional first round
Feb. 6 -- Sectional semifinals
Feb. 8 -- Sectional finals
Feb. 10 -- Group championships at Toms River North
Feb. 16 -- District 13 Tournament (site TBD)
Feb. 20, 22-23 -- Region 4 Tournament at Union
*March 1-3 -- State Tournament at Atlantic City

Notes: Bold indicates Skyland Conference Raritan Division matches. State tournament dates in AC are subject to change should the state approve a proposed Thursday-Saturday format.