Saturday, December 15, 2018

Wrestling: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex rankings

We're off and running in the 2018-19 high school wrestling season and we have several interesting dual meets on tap this week.

One of the area's most storied rivalries takes place on Tuesday when Kittatinny travels to High Point for a key Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division matchup at 7 p.m.

It's really a shame this one is so early in the season. The Cougars were without a few starters at the Caldwell Tournament on Saturday, most notably senior Zach Mafaro, who finished sixth in the state tournament last season at 182 pounds, while junior Jacob Mafaro (220) has still not joined the team coming off a fine football season.

Meanwhile, High Point, behind a strong contingent of lower weights, rates as a heavy favorite even with Kittatinny at full strength. We will preview that match here on Monday, as the 'Cats have a huge week with Southern, last season's Group 5 runner-up, slated to make the long trek to Wantage next Saturday.

It was great to see tradition being celebrated on Friday night as Warren Hills rolled to a 44-21 win over North Warren in a match held at the Warren Hills Middle School (the former Washington High School where legendary coach John Goles and his teams made New Jersey history). First-year coach Dave Sbriscia is making a huge effort to get the Blue Streaks alumni and community involved with the storied program, which had fallen off a bit in recent years.

"This is Washington-Warren Hills. We're a wrestling school," Sbriscia said after picking up his first win. "We need to get back to that toughness, and I think we showed that tonight. It was an awesome environment to wrestle in."

Lewis Fernandes on top of the podium at 285 pounds last season.
Warren Hills will host Voorhees on Wednesday night in a matchup that should give the winner a leg up in the new-look Skyland Conference Valley Division race.

The Vikings feature returning state champion Lewis Fernandes at heavyweight, as he bids to become the school's first two-time winner and its all-time leader in victories this season.

The Streaks will also unveil their new mat and an updated banner commemorating the program's seven 100-match winners -- Dave Richmond (124-17 from 2002-06), Max Nauta (123-29 from 2011-15), Ryan Kanewski (110-31 from 1993-97), Andrew Pacheco (105-22 from 2011-15), Matt Valli (105-23 from 2013-17), Sean Smith (101-40 from 2003-07) and Doug Detrick (100-7-1 from 1988-92).
On Friday, one of Hunterdon County's long-running rivalries renews as Hunterdon Central travels to North Hunterdon. The Red Devils are loaded for a run at the Group 5 championship with one of the most balanced lineups around. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team will be a tough out this season.

Rounding out the week is Phillipsburg traveling to Newton for an independent matchup at Henry Boresch Memorial Gymnasium. The Braves, who own an 8-7-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 31-27 win early in the 2009-10 season in the last meeting at Newton, gave the Stateliners a scare in a 38-29 loss at P'burg last season in a match that came down to the final two bouts.

Now, onto our first set of area rankings:

1. Hunterdon Central (0-0) -- Red Devils opened the season with a first-place finish at the Caldwell Tournament on Saturday behind six champions -- Brett Ungar (106), Jack Bauer (126), Pasquale Vizzoni (145), Vincent Romaniello (152), Norman Cella (160) and Lukas Bakerian (220). In addition, Colton Washleski (120) and Dan Furmato (170) finished second.

Up next: Franklin at home on Wednesday; at North Hunterdon on Friday; Hillsborough at Middletown North on Saturday.

2. Pope John (4-0) -- Lions impressed in their four wins at the rugged Kingsway Duals -- handing Delbarton a 47-29 loss in the championship match to avenge a 41-29 loss to the Morris County school last season. Coach Mark Piotrowsky's team also rolled to a 50-22 win over St. Joseph-Montvale, while beating Brother Martin (La.) (37-30) and Sun Valley (Pa.) (65-12).

Up next: at Beast of the East Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 23.

3. Phillipsburg (0-0) -- Stateliners finished fourth in the tough King of the Mountain Tournament, as seniors Travis Jones (second at 132) and Cody Harrison (third at 152) were the highest finishers, while James Day (fifth at 106), Kyle Tino (sixth at 145) and Gage Horvath (sixth at 220) also placed for P'burg.

Up next: at Hillsborough on Wednesday; at Newton on Saturday.
4. High Point (0-0) -- 'Cats crowned six champions in rolling to the team championship at the Colt Classic, as Clayton Utter (106), Devon Liebl (113), Devin Flannery (120), Brandon LaRue (126), Billy Talmadge (138) and Brian Soldano (160) won titles, while Josh Gervey (132) was second. Coach John Gardner's team was without starters -- Grayson Sabo (195) and Andrew Lewis (220).

Up next: Kittatinny at home on Tuesday; Roxbury and Southern at home on Saturday.

5. Newton (0-0) -- Braves finished second behind Mendham in the Battle of the Bay Tournament at Bayonne on Saturday. Senior Wyatt McCarthy claimed the 152-pound title and became the ninth wrestler in program history to reach 100 career wins, while Michael Freda (138) and Luke Fischer (285) also won titles. Danny Cleary (113) and Matthew Rosa (132) were runners-up.

Up next: at Sparta on Tuesday; Hackettstown at home on Thursday; Phillipsburg at home on Saturday.

6. North Hunterdon (0-0) -- Lions, led by champions Frank Diesso (113) and Evan Klimas (138), finished third in the Neptune Classic behind Jackson Memorial and Long Branch. Finishing in third place were Drew Doscher (132), Luke Hanlon (145), Michael Wilson (160) and Lorenzo Becceril (220).

Up next: Ridge at home on Wednesday; Hunterdon Central at home on Friday; Emerson-Park Ridge at Pascack Valley on Saturday.

7. Voorhees (0-0) -- Vikings finished fifth at the Morris Knolls Tournament. Fernandes was the lone champion and registered three pins in a total time of 54 seconds, including an 8-second fall in the opening round. Aidan Taylor (126) and Sam Huff (220) were third-place finishers.

Up next: at Warren Hills on Wednesday; New Providence at home on Friday; Pequannock and Secaucus at Randolph on Saturday.

8. Warren Hills (1-0) -- Blue Streaks followed up a 44-21 win over North Warren on Friday night with a fifth-place finish at the Nottingham Tournament on Saturday. Senior Duro Ajayi won the title at 285 and Nick Hildebrant was second at 160, while Greg Slivka (120) and Logan Nauta (138) were third-place finishers.

Up next: Voorhees at home on Wednesday; Demarest and Mahwah at Cresskill on Saturday.

9. Kittatinny (0-0) -- Cougars, who are a little short-handed to start the season, finished fourth at the Caldwell Tournament. Sophomore Jackson Crawn (220) and freshman Brycen Mafaro (285) were the lone finalists and finished second. Shane Nelson (106) and Brian Hanna (145) placed third. Coach John Gill's team needs four wins to reach 600 as a program.

Up next: at High Point on Tuesday; Kinnelon and Wayne Valley at West Milford; at Wayne Hills on Saturday.
10. Delaware Valley (0-0) -- Terriers finished second in their own Wendy Pandy-Leh Tournament, just one point behind behind Ocean Township. A.J. DeRosa won the 138-pound title and collected his 100th career win, while Gage Crater (132) and Anthony DeRosa (152) also won titles.

Up next: at Hopewell Valley on Tuesday; Somerville at home on Wednesday.
Posted by Mike Weilamann at 11:09 PM

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