Wrestling: Turner sparks NH rout; P'burg, DV cruise

CLINTON TWP. -- North Hunterdon senior James Turner doesn't often get the chance to play the hero role, but the second-year wrestler sure got the Lions Den jumping on Friday night.

Turner's 53-second pin at 285 pounds opened the floodgates as North reeled off eighth consecutive victories en route to a 61-12 romp over Toms River South in a Group 4 state semifinal -- setting the stage for a rematch with Phillipsburg in Sunday's 2:30 p.m. championship clash at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena. The Stateliners also cruised in a 50-10 win over Long Branch in the other semifinal.

North won G3 titles in 1982, '84, '94 and 2002

North Hunterdon (16-6), which is seeking the program's seventh state title overall and third in five seasons after winning Group 4 championships in 2020 and '23, is looking forward to another meeting with P'burg, which dropped a 34-24 decision here in a Skyland Conference match on Jan. 29. 

"I have the upmost respect for P'burg," said veteran coach Dave Bell, whose Lions had to claw back for a 32-31 win over Middletown North in the North 2 sectional final. "P'burg is the most storied program in my estimation. P'burg is wrestling. For us to beat them like we did in the first match, we wrestled hard and we beat them. From the articles I'm reading, it seems like our win was an anomaly. We had a win, but they were down, and that may be the case. Now, we have to come back and show that we're for real."

Delaware Valley (Group 1) and Pope John (Non-Public B) make it four Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex teams vying for trophies. Del Val (18-3), which advanced to its fifth straight state final with a 66-3 waxing of New Milford, will square off against Hanover Park in a bid for the program's Hunterdon County-best 11th championship. High Point came up short in a 38-30 loss at Caldwell in a Group 2 semifinal.

P'burg is seeking the program's 24th state title

Turner (6-10), whose bouts have all ended in pins sans a 9-3 loss in a December tournament, is a feel-good story for North. The popular heavyweight, who recently came back from a knee injury, surrendered a takedown before rolling Toms River South junior Austin Reed to his back for the stunning pin. Turner even had a group of female fans waiting to congratulate him after the match.

"I wanted to set the tone tonight," said Turner, who aggravated the injury in practice and was out from Jan. 16 until the start of Monday's sectional round. "I've been out for half the season and haven't been feeling like myself lately. Tonight, I felt it. It's very special. I got to give a shout out to coach [James Brock who is Bell's stepson]. No one really knows him, but he's an amazing coach."

"J.T. was awesome tonight," Bell said. "He's doing a great job for us."

North senior Joshua Joubert, who added a first-period pin with a cradle at 165, was also proud of Turner's effort that got the ball rolling.

"He worked hard in the offseason," Joubert said of his teammate. "He tried new things. He wrestled Greco-Roman. He's comfortable up top and he's willing to take shots. We love that about him." 

The eight-bout run, which was capped by sophomore Matthew Esposito's match-clinching pin at 144, gave North an insurmountable 44-3 lead. In all, the Lions won 11 bouts -- all on the bonus side with seven pins, three technical falls and a major decision, while dominating from the neutral position with a 23-5 edge in takedowns. Joseph Celentano (120), Esposito and Joubert all pinned with cradles.

Del Val will face Hanover Park in the G1 final at noon

"Starting out at 215, we knew they were pretty decent up top so we didn't know what to expect," Bell said. "Anthony [DeSimone] had a good match, even in loss [5-4 in the opening bout at 215]. When J.T. got the fall, it got us going. That started the momentum."

Junior Reid Buzby (126), a returning state qualifier, also logged one of five first-period pins for North, which yielded a fall and two regular decisions. Buzby (25-8) wasn't surprised by the lopsided result against Toms River South (19-2), which had won four in a row since a 45-25 loss to Point Pleasant Boro on Feb. 1, and logged just three takedowns vs. North after the first two bouts..

"I never doubt we can do this against any team," Buzby said. "We work hard every day in and out of the [practice] room. We do this every day and we showed it tonight."

Now, the focus shifts to Phillipsburg, which holds a 59-12-1 edge in a series dating to 1961. However, North does own two postseason wins at neutral sites (32-31 in the Group 3 final at Randolph in 1982; 26-21 in the Group 3 final at Lakewood in '84).

"I'm excited," Joubert said. "I have a lot of friends on that team. They have a lot of good wrestlers, but I really like our chances. We did it once. I'm confident in my guys' ability to do it again."

"Everyone fights hard. Everyone goes out there with a purpose," Buzby said. "I think we can do it again."

"I'm looking forward to it," Turner said. "I'm always looking forward to another match."

NORTH HUNTERDON 61, TOMS RIVER SOUTH 12
215 -- Jr. Brett Rankin (19-3), TRS, d. So. Anthony DeSimone (8-17), 5-4.
285 -- Sr. James Turner (6-10), NH, p. Jr. Austin Reed (8-3), :53.

106 -- So. Cayden Wadle (24-8), NH, md. Fr. Vincent Pedalino (21-5), 10-0.
113 -- Fr. Owen Fol (20-14), NH, tf. So. Jonathan Correa (11-13), 19-4, 5:13.
120 -- Sr. Joseph Celentano (19-13), NH, p. So. Alex Park (14-5), :37.
126 -- Jr. Reid Buzby (25-8), NH, p. Sr. Ian Torres (15-10), 1:01.
132 -- So. Aidan Yarussi (29-4), NH, tf. Jr. Owen Beneciuk (23-7), 19-4, 5:22.
138 -- So. Kieran Raley (18-16), NH, p. Fr. Cullen Burr (16-10), :43.
144 -- So. Matthew Esposito (13-9), NH, p. Sr. Aiden Hanlon (18-8), 2:59.
150 -- Fr. Jake Gallagher (20-7), TRS, d. Sr. Vincenzo Darrow (12-10), 6-2.
157 -- Sr. Caden Langan (24-3), TRS, p. So. Dylan McGuinness (10-17), 1:11.
165 -- Sr. Joshua Joubert (21-13), NH, p. Sr. Shane Smith (11-11), 1:41.
175 -- Sr. Evan Kinney (27-3), NH, tf. So. Finn Devrous (16-10), 15-0, 1:43.
190 -- Jr. Owen Dandeo (19-11), NH, p. Sr. Mike Devivi (22-8), 3:50.

Records -- Toms River South (19-2); North Hunterdon (16-6).

Officials -- Mike Internoscia and Dave Marotta.

PHILLIPSBURG 55, LONG BRANCH 12

106 -- So. Jordan Vieira (19-8), LB, d. Fr. Zack Swingle (23-7), 4-3.

113 -- So. Anthony Pettinelli (27-6), P, p. Jr. Dominic Lugo (3-18), 1:08.

120 -- Fr. Matthew Velez (12-17), P, tf. So. Justin Ramos (3-13), 17-1, 4:25.

126 -- Jr. Massimo Gonzalez (25-9), P. Sr. Aiden McVey (11-13), 1:45.

132 -- So. Owen Garriques (23-8), P, p. Fr. Tristen Hepburn (13-12), 3:19.

138 -- Sr. Anthony Ashford (9-12), P, tf. Sr. Matthew Munson (16-12), 19-4, 5:21.

144 -- Sr. Luke Geleta (29-1), P, p. Sr. Pedro De Souza (17-9), 1:48.

150 -- Jr. Javier Guzman (20-7), d. Jr. Gavin Geleta (24-6), 7-4.

157 -- Sr. Gavin Hawk (29-1), P, p. Sr. Devon Smith (23-8), 2:33.

165 -- Sr. Benny Mendoza (11-7), P, d. Sr. Evan Tracey (14-15), 12-9 SV.

175 -- Jr. Tornick Kajaia (28-1), LB, d. Sr. Derek Stone (20-9), 10-4.

190 -- Sr. Jesus Alfaro (16-16), P, p. Sr. Jesus Marino-Quionones (6-8), :28.

215 -- Sr. Tyler Taylor (26-3), LB, d. Jr. Kevin Buonocore (16-11), 10-3.

285 -- Jr. Ben Ellis (19-12), P, p. So. Nickolas Soria (15-12), 3:09.

Records -- Long Branch 14-9; Phillipsburg 17-3.

Group 1 semifinal

DELAWARE VALLEY 66, NEW MILFORD 3

106 -- Jr. Tristan Fawthrop (16-9), DV. d. Fr. Stelios Psarianos (17-6), 7-2.

113 -- Fr. Tanner Donaruma (9-5), DV, p. So. Jacob Maldonado (7-11), 2:13.

120 -- Jr. Julian Bednar (17-4), DV, p. So. Aramis Hernandez (14-6), :53.

126 -- Sr. Jaden Perez (29-1), DV, tf. Sr. Devin Ryan (27-3), 17-2, 2:24.

132 -- Jr. Tye Falkenstein (22-8), DV, tf. Sr. Matthew Mulligan (13-9), 15-0, 3:07.

138 -- Sr. Jerzey Ryan (20-2), NM, d. Jr. Michael Hasson (23-8), 14-11.

144 -- Sr. Sutter Totaro (22-1), NM, d. Jr. Jacob Edwards (9-3), 4-1.

150 -- Sr. Jackson Bush (26-4), DV, p. Jr. James Collins (0-9), :47.

157 -- Sr. Luke Sinkewicz (24-5), DV, p. Sr. Joseph Langschultz (19-4), 2:33.

165 -- So. Marcus Gary (10-5), DV, p. Jr. Robert Bianchi (9-11), 1:05.

175 -- Jr. Olivier Paul (21-7), DV, tf. Sr. Asher Yu (6-12), 19-4, 1:44.

190 -- So. Matthew Sencher (8-9), DV, p. Sr. Cole Totaro (11-9), 3:14. 

215 -- Sr. Branden Sozanski (14-4), DV, p. Sr. Kristoffer Dunne (15-5), 1:16.

285 -- Jr. Luken Alberdi (23-7), DV, p. Jr. Thomas Cebe (9-9), 1:00.

Records -- New Milford 18-2; Delaware Valley 18-3.

Group 2 semifinal

CALDWELL 38, HIGH POINT 30

285 -- Jr. Gavin Mericle (27-3), HP, forfeit.

106 -- So. Matt Ruane (26-7), C, p. Fr. Logan Takach (17-10), 2:41.

113 -- Jr. Carmine Sipper (32-2), C, p. Jr. Brady Conklin (8-10), :56.

120 -- So. Carter Drouin (23-10), HP, d. Sr. Dom Holler (25-5), 8-5.

126 -- Jr. Yankee Mabee (19-8), C, d. Sr. Colton Jaust (18-13), 6-3 SV.

132 -- Fr. Anthony Barrett (29-4), C, tf. Sr. Sean Licata (19-14), 23-7, 5:55.

138 -- Jr. Solomon Soriente (26-6), C, tf. Sr. Michael Tidona (18-16), 23-7, 3:02.

144 -- Sr. Jesse Huelbig (20-9), HP, p. Jr. Rocco Conforti (20-12), 1:11.

150 -- Sr. Nick Clayton (25-3), HP, p. So. Nicco Capaldo (23-8), 1:29.

157 -- Sr. Ben Lattimer (27-7), C, tf. Fr. Gerard Empirio (10-5), 20-5, 3:52.

165 -- Jr. Jayden Ruplall (18-12), HP. md. Sr. Andrew Fonseca (23-10), 8-0.

175 -- Jr. Giovoughni Dureny (16-9), HP, forfeit.

190 -- Sr. Jake Simone (29-3), C, md. Jr. Jack Kithcart (18-14), 10-2.

215 -- Sr. Michael Mignone (24-2), C, md. Sr. Donald Weiss (25-7), 9-0.
Note: High Point had one team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct after 126.

Records -- High Point 19-6; Caldwell 24-1.