Wrestling: Two-time placers fuel HWS medal count

It would have been interesting to see a Hunterdon-Warren rematch rematch at 215 pounds in Atlantic City. 

Though we didn't get one, North Hunterdon's Brendan Raley and Warren Hills' Jarett Pantuso closed out their fine high school careers in style with a second state medal on Saturday in the 90th State Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall.

Raley (fourth), who beat Pantuso (fifth) 6-3 in the Hunterdon-Warren Sussex Tournament finals, joined North's Alex Uryniak (fifth) and Pope John's Carson Walsh (fifth at 126) as two-time state placewinners as the area produced a total of nine medals for a second straight season. 

Hackettstown junior Aiden Scheeringa (sixth at 106), Delaware Valley's Matt Roche (eighth at 126) and Phillipsburg's Luke Geleta (sixth at 138) and John Wargo (seventh at 285) were all first-time medalists.

North's trio stands alone

Raley (36-5), who moved up four spots on the podium after an eighth-place finish at this weight a year ago, had to rally from a tough 2-1 overtime loss to Southern's Riley O'Boyle in Friday night's semifinals. He opened the consolation semifinals with a 3-1 victory over St. Joseph-Montvale's Aidan Schlett before dropping another OT affair -- 2-1 in a rematch with two-time Clifton state medalist and No. 1 seed Joseph Abil, who lost 7-4 to Raley (81-15 career) in the quarterfinals.

"Raley was a heartbreaker," coach Chris Hrunka said of losing that one to O'Boyle [Southern's first champ since 2009] and being right there in the title hunt. "We knew he could've been in [the final] match."

Uryniak (2nd from left) is in NH's 14-member 100 wins club

Uryniak (38-4), who was seventh at 190 as a sophomore, capped his career by decking Howell's D.J. Henry with an armbar in 3:03. A four-year starter, Uryniak, a three-time state qualifier and twice a semifinalist who ranks fourth on North's career wins list (111-19) behind only Ryan Pomrinca (155), Ricky Frondorf (124) and Beau Vrancken (112), helped lead the Lions to their first unbeaten season (23-0 in 2020) and a four-year dual meet record of 59-10 to go with three sectional and two Group 4 championships (2020 and '23).

North Hunterdon finished with the two highest placers and an area-best three overall -- three in 2022 as well -- as senior Logan Wadle (34-2) snapped the program's title drought with a 3-12 win over Bergen Catholic freshman Nathan Braun at 106. Wadle, who finished 109-17 overall and is the first at North to win three medals (second in 2021 and third in '22) since Ryan Pomrinca (2012, '14 and '15). 

"We've been a little spoiled with the talent we've had," said Hrunka, whose teams have produced 11 medals since he took over the program in 2017. "It's awesome. It's great. It's not easy to do nowadays [competing] with the Non-Publics."

Senior Daniel DeLusant (32-5) went 1-2 and did not place at 144, but he was among North's HWS-best four qualifiers. DeLusant finished with 83 career wins.

Stateliner duo deliver

Phillipsburg waited four years for another state medalist and got two as Geleta snapped the skid in Friday's Blood Round. 

Geleta (37-9), who went 4-3 overall in his first AC appearance, was involved in one of the most entertaining bouts of the tournament in a 14-12 sudden-victory loss to Raritan's Zach Reilley. The epic fifth-place bout featured five lead changes and a 15-point second period that saw both on their backs late. The third period was also wild as Reilley secured a go-ahead takedown with just nine seconds on the clock before Geleta's buzzer-beating escape to force OT. 

Reilley (43-3), a first-time region champion who picked up his school's 11th medal and first since Pat Toal's fifth in 2014, got the winning takedown 36 seconds into the one-minute tiebreaker. Reilley dropped a tough 3-1 decision in overtime to Long Branch fourth-place finisher Joey Giordano in the quarters.

Wargo (38-4), who stuck Delsea's Rocco Bennett with a good-looking throw in 1:25 for seventh, made a little program history as the junior became just the fourth P'burg heavyweight to medal and first in 25 years -- joining state champions Blair Miers (1972) and Greg Troxell (1989-90) and Zach Miers (seventh in 1998). 

P'burg has earned 61 medals since AC became host in 1992

To clarify, Steve Kempinski (second in 1999 and fourth in '98 at 215), Robert Melise (second in 2016, fifth in '17 and '15 at 220) and Brandon Hull (first in 2012 at 220 and eighth in '11 at 215) were not technically heavyweights since the 215- and 220-pound weight classes did not exist prior to '95.

The three-year medal drought was the longest in Phillipsburg history and only the sixth time since 2005, which snapped a run of 26 straight tournaments with at least one since missing in 1978. P'burg, which became a varsity program in 1947-48, came up empty for the first time in '50 as well as '55. The 2021 tournament marked the first time that the 'Liners went back-to-back without a medal since 1961-62 and 1964-65.

Back points

Roche, who fell 5-0 to Camden Catholic's Jackson Young in the seventh-place bout, gave Hunterdon County four medals and ended Delaware Valley's five-year skid without a placewinner since 2017 --when Kyle Lightner won the 195-pound title and Matt Kolonia finished seventh at 138. The Terriers have collected nine medals overall (including runner-up Bobby Stevely in 2010, one fourth, two fifths, and three eighths) under 16-year head coach Andy Fitz, who was fifth for Del Val at 160 pounds in 1990. Fitz (266) will enter the 2023-24 season 18 wins shy of his father, Vince, who is the program's all-time leader with 284.

Pantuso is the 28th to medal for WH since 1990.

Scheeringa and Pantuso, who is Warren Hills' highest finisher in 13 years (Jon Slack was third at 285 in 2010) gave Warren County a semifinalist for the first time since 2019 and third in the last 11 tournaments. Pantuso (38-4) capped his career by rallying for a 7-5 decision in sudden-victory over St. Joseph-Montvale's Aidan Schlett -- his 90th career win.  

Andrew Pacheco (sixth at 285 in '14) had been the last to reach the semifinals for Warren Hills, which has not produced a state champion or finalist since Justin Colaluce went back-to-back in 1997-98. Cody Harrison (third at 152 in '19) is the last to reach the semis for Phillipsburg, while Hull (220 in '12) is still last of 46 boys champions for the 'Liners and the county. Jewel Gonzalez became the county and P'burg's first by going back-to-back in 2019-20.

Scheeringa (34-8), who hung tough in a 4-2 semifinal loss to Wadle, came up short in his bid to become Hackettstown's fourth finalist and first since 1979, when Hank Deibel was a runner-up at 122 pounds. The Tigers' only state champion is two-time winner and county legend Doug Blake (1967-68), who died at age 70 in 2021. Scheeringa, a junior, is the school's 12th medal winner and first since Alex Carida placed third at 145 in 2018. Scheeringa also is the first for second-year coach and longtime assistant Jimmy Berringer, a seventh-eighth place finisher in 1999 for Hopatcong. 

Walsh (37-4), who was fourth as a freshman at 113 and Sussex County's lone medalist this season, finished with a 9-3 win over Kingsway's Nathan Taylor in their fifth-place bout. Freshman Dalton Webber, one of five qualifiers for Pope John, was a win shy of a medal with his loss in the Blood Round.