Wrestling: Warren Hills at P'burg preview, lineups

What: Warren Hills Blue Streaks at Phillipsburg Stateliners.

Where: Phillipsburg High School, Lopatcong Township.

When: Monday, 7 p.m.

Conference: Skyland cross-divisional.

Livestream: Statelinersports.com

Records: Warren Hills 5-0 (W-Somerville, 72-5; W-Raritan, 32-26; W-Mount Olive, 37-22; W-Ridge, 53-10; W-Voorhees, 72-6); Phillipsburg 5-0 (W-Hillsborough, 43-17; W-Bridgewater-Raritan, 56-12; W-Middletown South, 59-12); W-Cranford, 32-30; W-Old Bridge, 48-22).

State rankings (New Jersey Wrestling Writers): Warren Hills No. 13; Phillipsburg No. 10.

Coaches: Dave Sbriscia (63-18, fifth season, 1-1 vs. P'burg); Brad Gentzle (21-1, second season, 0-1 vs. WH). 

Series history: Phillipsburg leads 59-15 dating to 1948, including a 35-15 loss in the last meeting on Jan. 14, 2022, which snapped Warren Hills' 33-match skid in the series dating to 1990 and was its most lopsided win over the Stateliners since the former Washington High School cruised to a 32-8 victory in 1954. P'burg's last victory was 49-12 on Jan. 2, 2019, in Lopatcong Township. Hills is seeking back-to-back wins in this series for the first time since the 1989-90 season (32-31 at The Pit and 34-30 at home in the 1990 North 2, Group 3 sectional final -- one of only three losses for P'burg in sectional history (the others were against Hunterdon Central in 2013 and North Hunterdon in 2020).

Probable lineups (Warren Hills wrestlers listed first with season records in parentheses):

106 -- Fr. Augie Szamreta (8-2) vs. Fr. Massimo Gonzalez (9-6).

113 -- Fr. Davey Rhinehart (10-1) vs. Jr. Dawson McWilliams (10-6).

120 -- So. Charlie Piccione (8-2) vs. Fr. Gavin Geleta (5-7).

126 -- So. Tyler Redfield (7-3) vs. So. Kyle Beenders (2-8).

132 -- Jr. Josh Lee (7-3) vs. So. Gavin Hawk (13-3).

138 -- Sr. Shawn Redfield (9-1) or So. Ethan Drazek (2-3) vs. So. Luke Geleta (13-4).

144 -- So. Tyler O'Neill (3-4) or Drazek or Redfield vs. Jr. Johnathon Roth (6-6).

150 -- Sr. Ryan Lundy (7-4) or Fr. Ryan Hisko (4-4) or O'Neill vs. Jr. Patrick Day (7-6).

157 -- Hisko or Lundy or Fr. Dominic Dorsch (0-2) vs. Jr. Liam Packer (12-5).

165 -- Sr. Cody Miller (8-2) vs. Sr. Hunter Cleaver (5-3).

175 -- Sr. Michael Drazek (9-1) vs. Sr. Connor Hille (9-3).

190 -- Sr. Chris Whitehead (7-4) vs. Jr. Caleb Rivera (14-4).

215 -- Sr. Jarett Pantuso (9-0) vs. Sr. Logan Kries (8-6).

285 -- Jr. Anthony Ferroni (4-6) or Jr. Paul Hamas (1-1) vs. Jr. John Wargo (13-2).

Breakdown: The 75th meeting of this series does not factor into the divisional standings with P'burg in the Delaware Division and Warren Hills in the Raritan Division, but it figures to be a barnburner and the biggest of the four scheduled home duals in the regular season for the Stateliners. After a two-year hiatus, Warren Hills steamrolled P'burg last season -- winning the first 11 bouts and owning a 22-1 advantage in takedowns (24-14 for the evening) during the first 10 -- to end the program's long drought. I'm sure that was discussed a time or two among the Stateliners and their coaches leading up to this one. As was the case a year ago, bonus points figure to be scarce (Hills won 11 bouts and scored 35 points last season) in the rematch. In fact, one could make a case that the Streaks win eight bouts in this one and still come up short on the scoreboard

P'burg hasn't lost two straight to WH since 1990.

. There is the potential for a handful of tossups (straight up) as Warren Hills has a clear edge at 120, 126, 150 or 157 (with Lundy), 175 and 215. Give P'burg the nod at 132, 150 or 157, 165, 190 and 285. That leaves 106, 113, 138 (S. Redfield vs. L. Geleta) and 144 as the tosses, though I'd lean Hills in the first two weights. A featured bout would be at 138, with Redfield scoring a wild 7-6 win over Geleta in last year's dual on a takedown in the final seconds. It really doesn't seem like either team has many lineup moves, but my hunch is that rematch probably doesn't come off as Hills needs to get one of the two (the Streaks probably feel they could get both) at 138 and 144, and one of two at 150 and 157, which may depend on the flip. The 106 and 113 matchups are especially huge as the visitors have the potential to win the first four weights. Szamreta and Gonzalez and have gone back-and-forth on the youth level, while Rhinehart's size and strength advantages are hard to ignore despite McWilliams' edge in experience in big matches. On the P'burg side, getting one of two at 106 and 113 would be a big swing in its favor, while limiting the potential to give bonus at 120 and 126. The 'Liners will need to do so and get a few of their own, particularly at 190 and 285. The starting weight could also play a role as we saw last season with Hills getting on an early role. Hills could get off to a great start in the lower weights, while P'burg wouldn't mind starting, at say, 190. This one looks extremely tight any way you slice it. The 'Liners, who are coming off a tight two-point win against Cranford on Saturday, may be hard-pressed to win seven bouts, but they could get eight and the home-mat advantage is usually worth a few points. Warren Hills is wrestling with a ton of confidence after the win over Mount Olive and I think the Streaks find a way to win eight bouts (a 7-7 split likely goes the other way), along with enough bonus, to pull it off.

Prediction: Warren Hills, 28-26.