Sunday, December 30, 2018

Wrestling: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex rankings

As we close the books on the holiday tournaments, it's worth noting that we're less than two weeks away from the 10th annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

This year's event on Saturday, Jan. 12 at Phillipsburg, should feature several brutal weight classes, and we'll take an early weight-by-weight look later this week.

We have a few interesting dual meets on tap this week as North Hunterdon hosts Voorhees in their annual rivalry showdown on Wednesday, while Warren Hills travels to Phillipsburg for the 73rd meeting in that series (check back here on Tuesday for a match preview).

North Hunterdon takes on Voorhees on Wednesday.
North Hunterdon (4-1) has made some early-season noise and is coming off a first-place finish at the 61st annual John Goles Invitational. The Lions received a boost as junior Nathaniel Fossett (head injury) was in the lineup for the first time this season at 170 pounds for Saturday's 39-24 win over West Morris.

Fossett joins what's looking to be a pretty solid group of upper weights, as sophomore James Holder (8-4 at 182), junior Ian Gaburo (6-2 at 195) and senior Lorenzo Becerril (8-4 at 220) all placed top three at the Goles. Holder, a 152-pounder last season, has shown the most improvement.

"[Holder] wrestled all offseason, got 60-something matches plus lifted weights," said Chris Hrunka, a Warren Hills alum now in his second season as the Lions' head coach. "They all worked hard just to get better. [Fossett] would have placed top three [at the Goles] easy."

North figured to be solid down low coming into the season, while junior Drew Doscher (8-3), who won his first John Goles title with a 9-5 come-from-behind win in overtime against Delaware Valley's Gage Crater, has helped solidify the middle weights at 132.

"He keeps moving and scores points," Hrunka said of Doscher. "He's not flashy. He takes advantage of opportunities."

Phillipsburg (2-0) has been busy with two big tournaments (King of the Mountain and Bethlehem Holiday Classic) and opens the home dual meet season against Warren Hills. In fact, the Stateliners will be home for the next two weeks, including matches vs. Raritan (Thursday), Monroe (Saturday), Montgomery (Jan. 9) and Kittatinny (Jan. 10 at The Pit) leading up to the HWS Tournament.

Now, onto this week's rankings:

1. Hunterdon Central (5-0) -- Sophomore Brett Ungar (113) and senior Ryan Joyce (285) finished first in the 62nd annual Hunterdon Central Invitational on Thursday, the nation's oldest consecutive holiday tournament (beating John Goles by one year). Seniors Jack Bauer (126), Pasquale Vizzoni (145), Vincent Romaniello (152) and sophomore Norman Cella (160) were all runners-up. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team, which earned the program's 900th win earlier this season against North Hunterdon, squeaked out a 37-31 win over Raritan on Saturday without several starters in the lineup, including Vizzoni, who lost by injury default in Thursday's finals.

Up next: Delaware Valley at home on Thursday; Delran, Woodstown at Robbinsville on Saturday.

2. Pope John (4-1) -- Lions dropped a 44-23 decision to Delbarton in an NJAC American Division clash on Friday, a stark reversal of their 47-29 win over the Green Wave at the Kingsway Duals on Dec. 15. Coach Mark Piotrowsky's team was without several starters, including state placewinner Eddie Ventresca (120), along with Matthew Garcia (145) and Robert Garcia (152).

Up next: Mendham at home on Thursday; at Sam Cali Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.

3. Phillipsburg (2-0) -- Stateliners finished eighth in the Bethlehem Holiday Classic this weekend, which was won by host Liberty (Pa.) High School. Senior Travis Jones, who finished second at 132, was among seven placewinners for coach Dave Post's team. Freshman James Day (106) placed fifth, while senior Bryce Parenti (126) placed sixth and senior Austin Roth (195) seventh. Sophomore Logan Maczko (113), senior Kyle Tino (145) and senior TJ Abode (160) were eighth-place finishers. Senior Cody Harrison (152) did not compete due to stitches over both eyes.

Up next: Warren Hills at home on Wednesday; Raritan at home on Thursday; Monroe at home on Saturday.

4. High Point (3-0) -- Wildcats finished third in the Mustang Classic at Brick Memorial on Friday as senior Devin Flannery (120) and junior Billy Talmadge (132) were runners-up. Freshmen Clayton Utter (106) and Brian Soldano (160) were third-place finishers, while senior Andrew Lewis (220) placed fourth. Coach John Gardner's team was minus a five starters for the tournament, including junior Devon Liebl (113), sophomore Josh Gervey (126) and senior Brandon LaRue (132) due to bout restrictions with the Cheesehead and Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex tournaments on tap.

Up next: at Cheesehead Invitational in Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday.

5. North Hunterdon (4-1) -- Lions rolled to the team title in the 61st John Goles Invitational on Thursday behind champions Doscher (132) and Gaburo (195), while seniors Connor Robinson (126), Michael Wilson (160) and sophomore James Holder (182) were runners-up for North, which capped the week with a 39-24 win over West Morris, which finished second in the Goles, on Saturday.

Up next: Voorhees at home on Wednesday; Raritan, West Essex at Wayne Valley on Saturday.

6. Newton (2-1) -- Braves finished a solid third in the 61st John Goles Invitational on Thursday -- crowning three champions in sophomore Nathan Fitt (106) and seniors Wyatt McCarthy (152), a two-time winner, and Luke Fischer (220). It's the most champs for the Sussex County school since 2009, when it had four. Coach Eric Bollette's team, which hosts Jefferson on Thursday, should be hungry to avenge a 30-28 loss to the Falcons in the North 1, Group 2 sectional semis last season.

Up next: Jefferson at home on Thursday; Henry Boresch Duals at home on Saturday.

7. Warren Hills (5-0) -- Blue Streaks, who finished fifth in their own John Goles Invitational on Thursday, as senior Duro Ajayi (285) was the lone champion -- extending the program's run of at least one winner to 16 straight years. Runners-up were freshman Jared Lee (106), junior Greg Slivka (120) and senior Nick Galka (220), a three-time finalist and champ in 2017. Coach Dave Sbriscia's team puts its unbeaten mark in dual meets to the test against Phillipsburg on Wednesday.

Up next: at Phillipsburg on Wednesday; at Lenape Valley on Thursday; Governor Livingston, New Brunswick at Montgomery on Saturday.

8. Kittatinny (6-2) -- Cougars ran away with the team championship in their Linn Crawn Memorial Classic on Thursday as seniors Mike Nelson (120) and Zach Mafaro (182) won titles, while Shane Nelson (106), Nile Mattar (132) and Brycen Mafaro (285) finished second. Saturday's quad marked the return of junior Jacob Mafaro (220) to the lineup, as coach John Gill's team went 1-2 with a win over Piscataway (42-33) and losses to Rumson-Fair Haven (36-30) and host Seton Hall Prep (52-16). Zach Mafaro dropped an 17-11 decision to Rumson's Nick Addison in a match between state placers.

Up next: Pingry, Sayreville at Old Bridge on Saturday.

9. Delaware Valley (3-1) -- Terriers finished fourth in the 61st John Goles Invitational on Thursday with A.J. DeRosa (138), a four-time finalist, becoming just the 39th wrestler in tournament history to win at least three titles. DeRosa (9-0), now 107-22 overall, also earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Gage Crater (132) and Shawne Ramsby (170) were runners-up. Coach Andy Fitz's team split a pair of duals on Saturday with a 63-15 win over Pingry and a 54-12 loss to South Plainfield.

Up next: at Watchung Hills on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central on Thursday.

10. Voorhees (6-2) -- Vikings finished second in the Lenape Valley Tournament on Thursday behind champions Aidan Taylor (120) and Lewis Fernandes (285), who enters the week with a career mark of 119-22, just two wins shy of passing coach Eric Hall (120-19 from 1992-96) for third place on the school's all-time wins list. The Hunterdon County school capped the week by sweeping a quad with North Warren (67-9), Newark Academy (83-0) and Sparta (36-35). Senior Hunter Rinehart needed a pin in the final bout at 126 pounds to beat the Spartans.

Up next: at North Hunterdon on Wednesday; Brearley-Dayton, Bridgewater-Raritan, Piscataway at home on Saturday.
Posted by Mike Weilamann at 9:21 PM

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