Monday, December 20, 2021

Wrestling: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex rankings

It's looking like déjà vu all over again on the high school wrestling front. The season began in earnest over the weekend, but the COVID-19 interruptions have started to resurface.

Newton High School paused all athletic programs on Monday morning, with wrestling shut down for at least a week. The Braves, who can resume next Monday the earliest, are slated to participate in the 63rd John Goles Invitational on Tuesday, Dec. 28. In addition, Phillipsburg's dual-meet opener at Livingston that was originally scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.

Expect this to continue over the next few weeks as it appears we are back to being day to day like last season. This is surely what 2021 would have looked like had the season started on time. Tournaments could very well be the next to go by the wayside as dual meets involve less participants, coaches and fans, who also may have to watch from afar. Stay tuned.

Warren Hills celebrates first place in Bayonne.
Warren Hills, which has designs on the program's first Group 3 state championship since 1997, was one of five local teams to win team tournaments over the opening weekend, as the Blue Streaks won eight individual titles in the Battle on the Bay on Saturday at Bayonne High School.

The hype surrounding Warren Hills is the highest in quite some time as fans are already pointing to the home date against Phillipsburg on Jan. 14. The school is selling "Beat the Burg" T-Shirts in advance of that anticipated clash. Still, the Streaks can't look that far ahead with matches against Group 4 title contenders Mount Olive (Dec. 30) and North Hunterdon (which hasn't lost a dual meet since 2019) on Jan. 17 leading up to the Stateliners.

"There are expectations and we haven't wrestled yet," Streaks coach Dave Sbriscia said prior to his team's performance on Saturday. "We're healthy and good to go."

Warren Hills hasn't beaten Phillipsburg in over three decades -- a 34-30 win in the North 2, Group 3 sectional final after a 32-31 victory in a regular-season clash at The Pit during that No. 1 season in 1989-90, which featured current assistant coach Marty White, a 1991 state champion, on that team. 

It's great to see that match back on the schedule after a two-year hiatus -- the first interruption in the series since the 1964-65 season. P'burg, which owns a 59-14 edge overall dating to 1948, has won 33 straight meetings, including a 49-12 victory on Jan. 2, 2019.

"I'm very happy to get [Phillipsburg] back on the schedule," said Sbriscia, a two-time district champion for the Streaks in 2005 and '06. "I always thought it was important to wrestle Phillipsburg. I think it's going to be an awesome atmosphere. I think we match up very well and I think they match up very well. It will come down to whoever is hot that night."

Following a pandemic-shortened campaign in 2021, which resembled nothing close to a normal high school season, there are questions abound in the area and statewide.

Warren Hills, which features seven starting seniors, was among the many teams shut down for a period of time last season, and as a result, the returning sophomores will get their first taste of a full campaign.  

"We're trying to figure out where the sophomores are [this early in the season]," Sbriscia said. 

Senior Kevin Riedinger (113) and junior Michael Drazek (157) are among the team's most improved wrestlers, according to Sbriscia, while returning state medal winners Jarett Pantuso (215) and Tyler McCatharn (285) anchor things up top.

Warren Hills begins its dual-meet season at Raritan on Wednesday before hosting the 63rd John Goles Invitational. Voorhees replaces longtime participant North Hunterdon (Sam Cali Tournament), while Delaware Valley, East Stroudsburg North (Pa.), Hopewell Valley, Manville, Newton, Verona and West Morris return to the 12-team field. The newcomers are Hillsborough, Monroe and Secaucus. 

Match of the week

Mount Olive at Delaware Valley -- Del Val, which is eyeing a Group 1 title, hosts Group 4 contender Mount Olive in an independent clash at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Terriers coach Andy Fitz was pleased with what he saw from his team over the weekend and this will be the first big test. Mount Olive, which won the 2020 North 1, Group 4 sectional title and finished third behind Southern and Delsea at the Robin Leff Tournament on Saturday, features 2021 state qualifiers -- Jack Bastarrika (126), a sixth-place medalist, and Hunter Perez (175), along with 2020 region placers David Ryerson (144) and Anthony Moscatello (190).

Now, onto our first set of area team rankings:

1. Phillipsburg (0-0) -- Stateliners, who enter the week sitting on 998 victories as a program, finished eighth in the rugged King of the Mountain Tournament. Senior James Day (fourth at 126) was the team's highest finisher and reached 80 career wins in the process. Freshman Gavin Hawk (sixth at 120), senior Joey Innamorato (seventh at 138), sophomore Caleb Rivera (sixth at 189) and senior David Pierson (seventh at 215) also earned medals.

Up next: Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty (Pa.) on Dec. 28-29.

2. North Hunterdon (0-0) -- Lions crowned six champions en route to easily winning the team title at the Rick Iacono Memorial Tournament at Governor Livingston on Saturday. Winning titles were Ben Makaritis (120), Nick DeLorenzo (132), Daniel Delusant (138), Alex Uryniak (190), Brendan Raley (215) and Liam Akers (285). Shane Wysocki (106), Logan Wadle (113), John Van Doren (126), Tucker Lewis (157) were runners-up, while Luke Yager (175) placed third.

Up next: at Bound Brook on Wednesday; St. Peter's Prep at home on Thursday.

3. Warren Hills (0-0) -- Blue Streaks crowned eight champions in winning the team title in the Battle on the Bay at Bayonne on Saturday. Kevin Riedinger (113), Shawn Redfield (132), Jared Lee (144), Stephen Malia (165), Owen Frizzell (175), Ryan Galka (190), Jarett Pantuso (215) and Tyler McCatharn (285) finished first, while Josh Lee (120), Tyler Redfield (126), Cody Miller (150) and Michael Drazek (157) were runners-up.

Up next: at Raritan on Wednesday.

4. Hunterdon Central (0-0) -- Red Devils, with 10 wrestlers in the lineup, opened their season at the prestigious two-day Beast of the East Tournament in Delaware. Returning state placewinner Tanner Peake (5-3) lost his first match and battled back to finish eighth at 160 to earn Central's lone medal. Sophomore Anthony Rossi (4-2), a returning state qualifier, fell in the Blood Round at 106. 

Up next: Hillsborough at home on Wednesday.

5. High Point (0-0) -- Wildcats, who were without several starters, including three-time state qualifier Clayton Utter, finished sixth in the Robin Leff Tournament at Southern on Saturday. Two-time state champion Brian Soldano (190) recorded three pins en route to winning a title, giving him 92 career victories. Sophomore Ty Woods (132) finished third and junior Shane Woolf (157) was fourth.

Up next: at Hackettstown on Tuesday.

6. Kittatinny (0-0) -- Cougars, who had 10 wrestlers place in the top four at their respective weight classes, cruised to the Caldwell Tournament team championship on Saturday. Senior Ty Eldred (285) was the lone champ, while Shane Nelson (126), Chris Casale (132), Anthony Ferrari (138), Avery Yeager (144), Steven Dalling (157) were runners-up. Bryce Coesfeld (150), Tyler Holste (190) and Jay Martin (215) placed third and freshman Ethan Dalling (165) was fourth. Interestingly, veteran coaches John Gill and Stan Woods of Emerson-Park Ridge were honored prior to the championship round for their 99 combined years of service, though neither is thought to be retiring anytime soon.

Up next: Hackettstown at home on Wednesday; Northern Highlands and Wayne Valley at West Milford Duals on Thursday.

7. Delaware Valley (1-0) -- Terriers opened the season with a 74-0 win over Bridgewater-Raritan on Friday before rolling to the team championship with 239 1/2 points in their own Wendy Pandy-Leh Tournament on Saturday. Winning titles were Owen Kucharski (106), Jake Taylor (113), Sam Kirkpatrick (132), Noah Sheeley (165), while Robert Groogan (120), Ben Levy (144) and Matt Schneider (190) finished second.  

Up next: at Hopewell Valley on Tuesday; Mount Olive at home on Thursday.

8. Pope John (0-0) -- Lions -- with only seven wrestlers in the lineup -- opened their season in the 29th annual Beast of the East of the East Tournament in Delaware. Senior state placewinner Jack Stoll claimed the only medal with a sixth-place finish at 220. Talented freshman Carson Walsh fell one round shy of placing at 113.

Up next: Sam Cali "Battle for the Belt" Invitational at Farleigh Dickinson University on Dec. 27-28.

9. Lenape Valley (0-0) -- Patriots produced five finalists, including champions Daniel Haws (126) and Joshua Valencia (285), in winning the Dover Tournament on Saturday. Marcus Bullock (106), Tyler Gaboda (120) and Jacob Cuttito (215) were runners-up. Freshman Gage Graziano (132), Justin Peterson (144), Andrew Grant (150) and John Riedener (165) placed third.

Up next: Hanover Park and West Morris at Randolph quad on Thursday.

10. Hackettstown (0-0) -- Tigers finished fourth in the Morris Knolls Tournament on Saturday behind champions Aiden Scherringa (106) and Nicholas Balella (132). Matthew Francis (138) and Joey Bencivengo (150) were runners-up.

Up next: High Point at home on Tuesday; at Kittatinny on Wednesday.

On the bubble

Voorhees (1-0) -- Vikings cruised to a 69-12 victory over Rutgers Prep on Friday before a sixth-place finish in the seventh annual Wendy Pandy-Leh Tournament at Delaware Valley on Saturday. Logan Wiecoreck (144), Mike Mosier (150), Jack Mosier (215) and Cameron Baumann (285) placed third.

Belvidere (0-1) -- County Seaters dropped a 42-27 decision to Bangor (Pa.) on Friday in their dual-meet opener before finishing seventh in the inaugural Mike Dessino Invitational at Middlesex on Saturday. Four of their eight entrants made the finals, including champs Patrick Horvath (113), who won the Outstanding Wrestler Award, Deven Pagach (138) and Jacob Hachtmann (215). Russell Pantuso (285) was a runner-up.

Posted by Mike Weilamann at 5:41 PM

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