Author: njwrestle

Delsea has won back to back Group 3 championships and is looking to make it three in a row.

The Crusaders return two state placers, Jamar Dixon (7th place) and Rocco Bennett (7th place) along with state qualifiers Gage Summers (Consolation round 3), Blaise Verdino (Consolation round 1) and Riley Boos (Consolation round 1). with more than a third of the lineup having state tournament experience it is hard to imagine they won’t be in the Group 3 finals again.

106 – Greyson Petit
113 – Blaise Verdino
120 – Gage Summers
126 – Amari Vann
132 – Ramon Alfonso
138 – Zavier Stokes
144 – Michael Stokes
150 – Jamar Dixon
157 – Riley Boos
165 – Salvatore Marchese
175 – Charles Six
190 – Greg Sawyer
215 – Joel Anderson
285 – Rocco Bennett

Paulsboro comes into the 23-24 season as the runner up and a two year drought without winning group 1. That has only happened twice for Paulsboro in the history of the group 1 championships.

The Red Raiders return a state place winner Roman Onorato (8th place) and three state qualifiers Hayden Holmes (Consolation round 1), Logan Sichelstiel (Consolation round 1) and Chase Bish (Consolation round 2) to lead a team with lots of experience and depth.

History tells us that Paulsboro won’t be runner for a third year in row.

106 – William Cruz
113 – Hayden Holmes
120 – Aundre Hill
126 – Angelo Dipol
132 – Logan Sichelstiel
138 – Chase Bish
144 – Kyle Harvey
150 – Keros Cooper
157 – Roman Onorato
165 – Sawyer Cabanas
175 – Luke Metz
190 – Austin Willetts
215 – Frank Damminger
285 – Jared Hazel

Del Val enters the 23-24 wrestling season trying to pull off the Group 1 Three-peat. They beat NJ powerhouse Paulsboro the last two year in the finals.

The team returns state placer Matt Roche (8th place) and three other state qualifiers Jake Taylor (Consolation round 2), Jackson Bush (Consolation round 2) and Anderson Olcott (Consolation round 1). Add in a plethora of returning varsity experience and it seems that the probability is high that the Terriers repeat.

Del Val is one of the few Northwest NJ powerhouse teams that did not have/possibly have a coaching change this offseason or the end of this year.

106 – Tristan Fawthrop
113 – Lucas Beyers
120 – Jake Taylor
126 – Jaden Perez
132 – Marcus Gary
138 – Matt Roche
144 – Jackson Bush
150 – Ben Levy
157 – Sebastion Dabak
165 – Mitchell Sutter
175 – Kevin Roman
190 – August Savacool
215 – Andeson Olcott
285 – Kyle Cooke

Hunterdon Central returns all their state qualifiers, Ryan Sherlock (Consolation round 2), Anthony Rossi (Consolation round 3), William Cella (Consolation round 2) and Rhett Washleski (Consolation round 3) from last year. They also return Region 5 place winners Evan Thompson (6th), Jacob Saus (6th) and Thomas Brunetti (5th) to solidify a solid lineup that will cause problems for most teams in the state.

The one unknown as of the posting of this preview is the status of Head Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm who has allegedly applied for the Phillipsburg job and is considered a front runner for the job. Stay tuned to find out more.

106 – Michael DeGloma
113 – Ryan Sherlock
120 – Anthony Rossi
126 – Michael Bet
132 – Ahmed Hussain
138 – Evan Thompson
144 – William Cella
150 – Rhett Washleski
157 – Jakob Saus
165 – Jackson Call
175 – Thomas Brunetti
190 – Danny Internoscia
215 – Ryan Seemon
285 – Tyler Suk

Paul Kenny is the NJWrestle.com August Wrestler of the Month after winning a U17 World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey earlier in August.

Paul is know as the Iceman here at NJWrestle.com Headquarters. In his semifinal match against Sam Sayer of Iran he scored an exposure in the closing seconds of the match to earn the win and then in finals used incredible defense and positioning to fight off a flurry of attempts by Japan’s Yamato Furusawa to secure the gold medal.

Every NJWrestle.com Wrestler of the Month will be given a free t-shirt. Please have your parents/guardians or coach contact us with shirt size and shipping info.

23-24 Howell Preview/Possible Lineup

Howell heads into the 23-24 season as one of the top teams in group 5. They always seems to be in contention for the title when the end of the year rolls around no matter how the season started for them. 

Howell will be led by returning state qualifiers Xavier Ortega (consolation round 4), Sebastian Ortega (consolation round 4), Giovanni Scafidi (consolation round 3) and Kylie Gudewitz (3rd Girls States). Numerous wrestlers with varsity matches under their belt also return to the Howell lineup.

Newcomer to watch is Tanner Hodgins who was a 23 Tulsa National Champion. We expect to see Tanner in the lineup around 165.

You can bet the house that Coach Jon Gagliano will use the season to get the team ready for an end of season run.

106 – Mason Haultman

113 – Kylie Gudewitz

120 – Manuel Laurido

126 – Xavier Ortega

132 – Sebastian Ortega

138 – Giovanni Scafidi

144 – JJ Machnik

150 – Aidan Grant

157 – Dylan Maghan

165 – Tanner Hodgins

175 – Ray Purreli

190 – Jason Willey

215 – Dane Colfer

285 – Jaxson Campese

Phillipsburg heads into the 23-24 school year with no head coach as Brad Gentzle stepped down unexpectedly at the end of the summer. Lots of rumors about who is interested and who wants the job but nothing solid so we will not post names yet.

Even with no head coach Phillipsburg has an experienced lineup returning which is lead by two returning state place winners Luke Geleta (6th), John Wargo (7th) and Gavin Hawk who made it to consolation round 4. Other returning starters include Massimo Gonzalez, Dawson McWilliams, Gavin Geleta, Kyle Beenders, John Roth, Patrick Day, Liam Packer and Caleb Rivera

Newcomer to watch is freshman Owen Garriques who is the son of Centenary University Head Coach John Garriques.

We like Phillipsburg to contend like always for the Group 5 championship.

106 – Anthony Pettinelli
113 – Massimo Gonzalez
120 – Owen Garriques
126 – Dawson McWilliams
132 – Gavin Geleta
138 – Kyle Beenders
144 – Luke Geleta
150 – John Roth
157 – Gavin Hawk
165 – Patrick Day/Liam Packer
175 – Patrick Day/ Liam Packer
190 – Caleb Rivera
215 – Nathan Smith
285 – John Wargo

Southern comes into 23-24 after a season for the ages in 22-23. They had a state champ, a state finalist and four other state place winners. They dominated group 5 which included handing perennial power Phillipsburg one of their worst losses in history.

Southern lost a lot high quality wrestlers to graduation but they still are loaded with returning talent and incoming freshmen. Below is the projected lineup for the start of the season.

106 – Anthony Mason
113 – Sam Pari
120 – Scottie Sari
126 – Attila Vigilante
132 – Jacob Chambers
138 – Wyatt Stout
144 – Owen Parker
150 – Hayden Hochstrasser
157 – Matt Henrich
165 – Tyler Chase
175 – Levi Foote
190 – Mitch Bivona
215 – Collin French
285 – Anthony Bonacasta/Caleb Counts/Anthony Marcano

Boys Wrestler of the Month

Jayden James

Jayden went 7-0 at Fargo outscoring his opponents 79-13 to win his title. He beat current nationally ranked* wrestlers Dean Anderson (20) 8-0 in the semifinals and Manny Saldate (19) 13-7 in the finals.

Girls Wrestler of the Month

Ava Rose

Ava went 5-2 at Fargo and placed 7th. Sadly injury prevented us from seeing Ava wrestle nationally ranked** Emma Albanese (2 @ 112) in the 7th place match.

Congratulations to both wrestlers! Every NJWrestle.com Wrestler of the Month will be given a free t-shirt. Please have your parents/guardians or coach contact us with shirt size and shipping info.

*Matscouts current rankings

**Flowrestling July 7, 2023 rankings

Junior Boys Freestyle

120 – Leo Deluca – 1st place
145 – Cross Wasilewski – 2nd place
160 – William Henckel – 2nd place
170 – Jordan Chapman – 4th place
170 – Ryan Burton – 6th place
220 – Aiden Schlett – 6th place
285 – Rocco Dellagatta – 4th place

16U Boys Freestyle

88 – Edward George – 2nd place
100 – Cameron Sontz – 5th place
100 – Jordan Segal – 8th place
106 – Michael Batista – 7th place
132 – Jayden James – 1st place
145 – Gabe Logan – 3rd place
145 – Luke Geleta – 4th place
152 – Brandon Dean – 7th place

Junior Girls Freestyle

117 – Ava Rose – 7th place
122 – Kira Pipkins – 6th place
132 – Kayla Vazquez – 8th

16U Girls Freestyle

106 – Charlie Wylie – 3rd place

Junior Boys Greco

182 – Aidan Squier – 4th place

16U Boys Greco

145 – Gabe Logan – 1st place
152 – Brandon Dean – 5th place