Wrestling Top 20 for Jan. 26: State’s best separate themselves as cutoff nears

Riley Boos of Delsea (top) wrestles Tyler ONeill of Warren Hills during the NJSIAA Group 3 Wrestling Final between Delsea and Warren Hills at Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway on Sunday, February 12, 2023.

It was an eventful week of grappling around the Garden State as several of the state’s top teams like Delbarton, St. Joseph (Mont.) and CBA all raced to reach the 10-match minimum required for the team state tournament ahead of Saturday’s cutoff.

While many of the teams got there, there are still some that won’t reach 10 matches until Friday or Saturday, meaning some of this weekend’s duals, tris and quads could have major bearing on postseason seeding.

And while the teams looking for 10 matches garnered much of the attention, there was plenty of quality wrestling throughout the state, like in the Skyland Conference where Phillipsburg continues to assert its dominance or in South Jersey where a triangle of head-to-head led to a shakeup in the rankings.

Find out how the state’s best stack up heading into the cutoff in this week’s Top 20.

1-Delbarton (13-3)

Last week: No. 1

The Green Wave have reached the 10-match limit to qualify for the NJSIAA postseason thanks to wins over Newark Academy (84-0), Newark East Side (81-0), Southern (53-9) and Summit-Chatham (62-9). Monster matches against nation No. 2 Blair and Mount Olive await, but Delbarton will look to keep a long streak alive in the county on Saturday.

Up next: Friday & Saturday at the Morris County Tournament at Mount Olive

2-St. Joseph (Mont.) (9-0)

Last week: No. 2

Like the Green Wave, the Green Knights were also racing for the 10-match limit and come Friday night, they will hit it. Wednesday was the big day for head coach Tom Farinaro and company. They scheduled Lyndhurst-North Arlington for a 4 p.m. dual and then took a bus ride to Old Tappan for a 7:30 start. They came away with respective wins of 57-20 and 45-36. St. Joseph’s week began with individual success – a record nine county champions on Sunday at Garfield Middle School. We should see this team in its healthiest form of the season thus far on Friday.

Up next: Friday vs. Bergen Catholic, 7

Xavier Williams of Paramus Catholic wrestles Ethan Mendel of Northern Highlands during the 215 pound boys wrestling Bergen County Tournament Final at Garfield Middle School in Garfield, NJ on Sunday, January 21, 2023.

3-St. Peter’s Prep (9-4)

Last week: No. 3

The Marauders tacked on three more wins this week. They defeated Hoboken (61-12), Cliffside Park-Ridgefield (48-30) and Red Bank Catholic (56-12). Junior 132-pounder Caedyn Ricciardi is back in the lineup and head coach Anthony Verdi has the healthiest version of his team since the beginning of the season. St. Peter’s Prep will hit its ninth and 10th matches of the year on Saturday at its tri-meet with Donovan Catholic and St. John Vianney in Jersey City.

Kingsway’s Nate Taylor wrestles Camden Catholic’s Jackson Young in the 120-pound final of the NJSIAA South Region Wrestling Championships at Cherry Hill East High School, Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Up next: Saturday tri-meet vs. Donovan Catholic and St. John Vianney

4-Christian Brothers (8-1)

Last week: No. 4

The Colts had a slow week, after losing dual meet and a tournament in Connecticut to the inclement weather last weekend. CBA clinched a tie for the Class A North title with a 61-15 victory over Marlboro on Wednesday. In the win over Marlboro, CBA won 11 bouts — five by forfeit. The Colts reached the 10-match minimum required for state team tournament qualification with a 40-18 victory over Shore on Thursday. A win over Freehold Township on Saturday will clinch the divisional title outright.

Up next: Saturday at Toms River East vs. Long Branch and Freehold Township

5-Southern (8-2)

Last week: No. 5

For the second season in a row, the Rams were bested by Delbarton, 53-9. Southern, which wrestled without starters Bryce Manera, Wyatt Stout and Mitch Bivona, won only three bouts against No. 1-ranked Delbarton. Last Saturday, Southern hosts its first Shore Conference Duals and stormed past Old Bridge, 55-21, winning 10 bouts. It appears Southern will be the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group 5.

Ben Garcia of Don Bosco Prep is all smiles after winning 165 pound boys wrestling Bergen County Tournament Final by medical forfeit at Garfield Middle School in Garfield, NJ on Sunday, January 21, 2023.

Up next: Saturday vs. Cranford, Haddonfield, Shawnee

6-Phillipsburg (12-0)

Last week: No. 6

One of the state’s few remaining undefeated teams, the Liners are off to one of their best starts in program history and have been tested at nearly every juncture. They got past archrival Easton 28-27 on criteria thanks to a pin by heavyweight John Wargo and picked up a resounding 39-22 win over then-No. 11 Delaware Valley, giving Tim Longacre’s group five ranked wins on the season and only bolstering their resume as they look to make yet another Group 5 final.

Up next: Saturday vs. Ocean Township

7-Don Bosco Prep (10-3)

Last week: No. 7

The Ironmen got two county champions in freshman 150-pounder Joey Monticello and senior 165-pounder Ben Garcia. The Army commit in Garcia won by medical forfeit over Paramus Catholic senior John Quinonez while Monticello edged Leonia-Palisades Park senior Auggie Hibler in a 1-0 decision in his final. Don Bosco Prep wrestled its 10th in-state match on Tuesday against Wayne Hills, which it defeated 56-21. Its next matchup won’t come until next week when it takes a long bus ride to South Jersey.

Up next: Sunday at Camden Catholic, 2

8-Paramus Catholic (7-2)

Last week: No. 8

The Paladins started the week with seeing two of their best wrestlers win titles at the Bergen County Tournament in senior 190-pounder Dan Rella and junior 215-pounder Xavier Williams. They got a handful of runner-up finishers sophomore 126-pounder Nick Barone, sophomore 132-pounder Nicky Pallitto, junior 144-pounder Abe Zaretsky, senior 165-pounder John Quinonez and senior 175-pounder Eddie Terrieri. Paramus Catholic added a win over DePaul in a 59-24 final and will wrestle its 10th match of the year on Friday.

Up next: Friday at North Hunterdon, 6

9-Camden Catholic (10-1)

Last week: No. 9

The Irish flexed their muscle against the second-best team in the Olympic Conference when they defeated Seneca, 48-27. Sammy Spaulding returned to the lineup this week after suffering an injury in his third-place match at at the Escape the Rock to deliver a pin up two weight classes against Seneca and another fall up one weight class versus Moorestown. Camden Catholic is set to host Don Bosco in a rare Sunday matinee that will be a battle of Top-10 teams.

Up next: Sunday vs. Don Bosco Prep

10-St. John Vianney (9-0)

Last week: No. 10

The Lancers ran their unbeaten streak to nine matches on Wednesday with a solid, 44-26, victory over divisional rival Rumson-Fair Haven. Vianney won nine bouts and picked up bonus points in seven of those wins. Patric O’Keefe, a 132-pound junior, had a 10-second pin for SJV. The win over RFH clinched Vianney’s third-straight divisional championship. The Lancers also took care of Holy Cross 63-18) and then swept a quad from Pope John (64-12) and Toms River East (51-25) last Saturday. Also on Wednesday, Vianney’s two-time state champ, Anthony Knox, confirmed he will wrestle at 120 pounds in the postseason.

Up next: Saturday vs. Donovan Catholic at St. Peter’s Prep.

11-Bergen Catholic (6-5)

Last week: No. 12

The Crusaders didn’t sent their full team to Sunday’s Bergen County Tournament, but they did finish seventh in the team standings and see five medalists, including senior 138-pound runner up Noah Kochman. They improved to 6-5 as a team with a 62-15 win over Passaic Tech on Wednesday. Friday is Bergen Catholic’s last chance at a signature victory before the postseason.

Up next: Friday at No. 2 St. Joseph (Mont.), 7

12-Delaware Valley (11-1)

Last week: No. 11

The Terriers couldn’t pull off another upset over Phillipsburg as they did last year when Andy Fitz’s squad was dealt its first loss 39-22 earlier this week. After getting off to an 10-0 start where they won nearly 80 percent of the bouts they wrestled in, their schedule only gets tougher and is majorly backloaded. An encouraging sign is that Del Val rebounded nicely from the Phillipsburg loss with a 34-28 win over a ranked Hunterdon Central squad, just the third win for Del Val against the Red Devils in the last 10 years. Still the likely Group 1 favorites, Del Val travels to Warren Hills and North Hunterdon before hosting Raritan next week in what should be another test of just how this squad stacks up.

Up next: Saturday at Warren Hills

13-Hunterdon Central (13-2)

Last week: No. 16

The Red Devils move up after going 4-1 over the last week with the one loss coming on the road by six to Del Val. But also among their wins were a ranked win over No. 14 Mount Olive by one while also beating St. Thomas Aquinas and Sayreville as part of the same quad. Add in a win over county rival North Hunterdon by 25 and Jon Cantagallo-Rohm’s squad is doing some inspired wrestling. Another test is upcoming when a ranked Delsea squad and Watchung Hills come to Flemington.

Up next: Saturday vs. Delsea and Watchung Hills

14-Mount Olive (11-3)

Last week: No. 14

The Marauders went 2-1 since our last Top 20 release with the loss coming to No. 13 Hunterdon Central in a 35-34 final. The two wins came over Sayreville (67-12) and St. Thomas Aquinas (47-21). It will be the last dual match until Jan. 31 against Roxbury as Mount Olive will host the Morris County Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Up next: Friday & Saturday at the Morris County Tournament at Mount Olive

15-Kingsway (7-1)

Last week: Unranked

The Dragons dropped out of the rankings because of a close loss to Washington Township this season but this is a much-different Dragons’ team. Three-time region champion and two-time state placewinner Nate Taylor returned from offseason knee surgery Wednesday, recording a pin as Kingsway stunned Delsea, 36-31, on Wednesday night. The victory – arguably one of the Dragons’ biggest in years – included wins in as many as five toss-up matches to shock a team that was wrestling as well as any in the state. The victory forged what will likely end up with Kingsway, Delsea and Washington Township finishing as tri-champions in the Tri-County Conference Royal Division.

Up next: Saturday tri-meet vs. Absegami and Ocean City

16-Delsea (11-3)

Last week: No. 15

The Crusaders saw a 10-match winning streak end with an unexpected 36-31 loss to rival Kingsway. Delsea was missing 106-pounder Greyson Pettit in the match, which saw several toss-up matches go to the Dragons’ way. Delsea’s Jamar Dixon, a two-time state placewinner, won his 100th match while just a junior. Prior to the loss, the Crusaders won a tri against sectional-title contenders Shawnee and Lower Cape may decisively on Monday.

Up next: Saturday at tri-meet at Hunterdon Central vs. High Point

17-Rumson-Fair Haven (8-1)

Last week: No. 13

The Bulldogs had their eight-match unbeaten streak ended by St. John Vianney, 44-26, on Wednesday night. Rumson-Fair Haven could not match Vianney’s bonus-point muscle. Last Saturday, RFH smashed Middletown South 66-9. The Bulldogs have a comfortable lead on Raritan for the top seed in Central Jersey Group 2.

Up next: Saturday at quad-meet at Hillsborough vs. Immaculata and Pope John

18-St. Joseph (Met.) (12-3)

Last week: No. 17

The Falcons dropped in the rankings to make room for Kingsway and but they went 2-0 since losing to Delsea 36-32 as part of a quad meet. Among the wins were a rout over out-of-state foe Monsignor Farrell and a 47-25 win over Old Bridge to clinch the GMC Red Division for the second year in a row as they’ve emerged as the preeminent team in Middlesex County. Their GMC supremacy will be put on the line at this weekend’s conference tournament where they have several wrestlers who could all make some deep runs and take home titles.

Up next: Friday and Saturday at GMC Tournament at Piscataway

19-West Deptford (15-1)

Last week: No. 18

The Eagles had to dig deep to avoid an upset bid from Gloucester on Wednesday. Trailing 33-27 with two weights to go, West Deptford pikced up pins from Owen Entrekin and Trevor Lundfelt to win the match, 39-33. Talen Terinoni (113) and Anthony Catando (120) also delivered pins to help dig the Eagles out of an early hole. The win clinched the Colonial Conference Liberty Division – typically dominated by Paulsboro – for the Eagles, who will be the favorite to win South Jersey Group 2. They have won 11 straight matches.

Up next: Friday at Gateway

20-West Essex (12-0)

Last week: No. 19

Through no fault of their own, the Knights move down in the rankings to make room for Kingsway’s entrance. In addition to their performance last week where Mike Markey’s squad beat two reigning state champs in North Hunterdon and High Point, they also turned in a standout performance at the 2024 Essex County Tournament where they crowned four champs, the most of any team in the field, marking the fifth year in a row where the Knights crowned multiple champs.

Up next: Tuesday vs. Kittatinny

Dropped Out

Then-No. 20 Cranford

NJ.com wrestling writers Bill Evans, Jake Aferiat and Joe Zedalis contributed to this report.

Jake Aferiat can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at @Jake_Aferiat.

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