Express-Times Individual Wrestling Rankings

Week of March 2nd

 

by Express-Times staff

103

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Anthony Cabrera

31-4

Liberty

So.

2

Randy Cruz

36-4

Beth. Catholic

Fr.

3

Jamie Welsh

30-7

Pen Argyl

So.

4

Mike Fake

27-9

Parkland

So.

5

Ryan Nicotra

33-5

Hackettstown

So.

PIAA state qualifier: Jr. Dylan Long (28-12) Northwestern.

Notes: New No. 1 among lightweights again. Cabrera, who lost 19-7 to Blue Mountain's Corey Keener in PIAA Class AAA Northeast Region final, returns to top position. Cruz moves to second spot after avenging District 11 final loss to Welsh with 6-4 win in PIAA Class AA Southeast Region final. Cabrera defeated Cruz 3-2 in dual meet. Welsh drops from first to third. Fake and Nicotra flip-flop at four-five as Fake advanced to PIAA state tournament with third-place finish in AAA region and Nicotra lost in NJSIAA Region 1 semifinal then consolation bout. Long finished third in AA region.

112

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Zach Horan

31-3

Nazareth

So.

2

Anthony Marino

33-2

Liberty

Jr.

3

Alex Shaffer

35-0

Hunterdon Central

Fr.

4

Justin Mazza

30-4

Pius X

Jr.

5

Brandon Davis

17-4

Parkland

Jr.

Notes: Status quo. Horan is hitting his stride and maintains top spot by beating Marino for second straight week -- this time 11-5 in AAA region final. Shaffer kept perfect season alive with NJSIAA Region 5 crown, beating Perth Amboy's Heriberto Quintana 8-6 in final. Mazza went 1-2 in AA region; Davis was 3-2 in AAA tourney.

119

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Corey Kozimor

25-2

Hackettstown

Jr.

2

Mitch Minotti

31-8

Easton

Fr.

3

Franco Ferraina

25-10

Nazareth

So.

4

Adam Phillippi

34-6

Saucon Valley

Jr.

5

Jason Stephen

30-15

Northampton

Fr.

Notes: Top four remain intact. Kozimor claimed Region 1 title with 4-0 win over Hopatcong's Dan Haines. Minotti reached AAA final then suffered third loss of season to Tyler Rauenzahn of Blue Mountain, 7-2 this time. Ferraina lost 4-3 to Minotti in semifinals, then was denied opportunity to wrestle for state berth with 6-4 defeat to Pleasant Valley's Matthew Yanovich. Stephen returns to top five after defeating Yanovich 11-5 in crucial third-place bout. Ferraina stays ahead of Stephen based on 3-0 head-to-head record. Phillippi, who lost to Ferraina 16-9 but beat Stephen 1-0 this season, took third in AA.

125

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Evan Yenolevich

34-1

Northwestern

Sr.

2

Joey Rizzolino

28-9

Easton

So.

3

John Horak

30-8

Phillipsburg

Jr.

4

Brian Bistis

33-5

Hunterdon Central

Jr.

5

Jordan Glykas

29-11

Northampton

Jr.

PIAA state qualifier: So. Nikko Stevens (30-9) Northern Lehigh. NJSIAA state qualifier: So. Matt Schuebel (30-6) Warren Hills.

Notes: Changes among second through five positions. Yenolevich captured third career Class AA region title and is clear-cut No. 1. Rizzolino lost in AAA final while Horak fell in Region 1 final. Rizzolino jumps to second spot over Horak based on 4-1 head-to-head win. Bistis climbs from honorable mention to fourth slot after strong second-place finish at Region 5. Glykas lost state berth with 11-9 OT setback to Crestwood's Hunter McGraw and drops to fifth spot. Stevens was fourth in Class AA; Schuebel took third in Region 1.

130

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Austin Williams

35-3

Pen Argyl

Sr.

2

Josh Yurasits

31-5

Northampton

Sr.

3

Bryan Smith

38-3

Bethlehem Catholic

Sr.

4

Matt Lane

36-4

Phillipsburg

So.

5

Eric Hurd

17-11

Nazareth

Jr.

Notes: Top four intact. Williams reached AA region final then lost 5-2 to Wyomissing's Nick Hodgkins, who was second in state last season. Yurasits dropped 3-1 decision to defending state champ Cort Choate of Blue Mountain in AAA final. Smith was third in AA with lone loss coming to Hodgkins. Lane claimed Region 1 title with fall over Roxbury's C.J. Caserta. Hurd assumes fifth slot as strong postseason continues after 7-5 win over Easton's Patrick Corpora in AAA third-place final.

135

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Ryan Krecker

29-8

Nazareth

So.

2

Austin Sommer

38-6

Northampton

Jr.

3

Ricky Williams

19-8

Northwestern

Sr.

4

Andrew Duckworth

18-5

Bethlehem Catholic

Sr.

5

Bobby Moyer

27-13

Phillipsburg

Sr.

Notes: New No. 1. Krecker and Sommer are almost dead even but Krecker won latest matchup with 4-3 OT win over Sommer in AAA region semifinals. Krecker lost to Blue Mountain phenom Josh Kindig, 7-6, in final as Sommer took third place. Williams was fifth in AA region tournament. Duckworth was 0-for-2 in Class AA. Moyer moves back to fifth spot based on 2-1 head-to-head record vs. Warren Hills' Anthony Gaito.

140

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Phil Marano

18-3

Northampton

Sr.

2

Kris Krawchuk

32-1

No. Lehigh

Sr.

3

Mark Hartenstine

34-3

Easton

Jr.

4

Oliver Brukardt

33-8

Phillipsburg

Jr.

5

Bill Loftus

25-2

North Hunterdon

Sr.

PIAA state qualifiers: So. Mike Ottinger (34-9) Parkland; Jr. Phil Racciato (29-8) Pen Argyl.

Notes: Postseason has proven this to be our best weight class overall. Only change is 1-2 with Marano claiming top position by slightest of margins over Krawchuk. Marano defeated Hartenstine 2-1 in AAA region final and has come back strong from lingering knee injury against quality competition. Krawchuk suffered first defeat of season in AA region final, 5-4, to Bermudian Springs' 43-0 Derek Schmelyun. Brukardt was third at Region 1; Loftus third at Region 5. Ottinger took third in Class AAA while Racciato was third in AA and almost pulled off upset of tournament in 11-10 semifinal loss to Schmelyun.

145

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Shane Fenningham

22-6

Northampton

Sr.

2

Ian Heist

26-5

Parkland

Sr.

3

Nick Pare

30-10

Phillipsburg

Sr.

4

Craemer Hedash

30-6

No. Lehigh

Jr.

5

Austin Warman

36-5

Wilson

Sr.

Notes: Lots of jockeying among positions two through five. Fenningham lost 4-3 to Crestwood's Jake O'Hara in AAA final but maintains top spot. Heist was third in AAA and moves from fifth to second. Pare was third at Region 1 and jumps one spot. Hedash was fourth in Class AA region and moves from two to four. Warman salvaged fifth-place finish in AA and drops two spots to fifth.

152

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Kevin Brown

32-3

North Warren

Jr.

2

Alex Depew

37-4

Wilson

Sr.

3

Wade Rivera

34-6

Parkland

Jr.

4

Jerry Somma

30-5

Hunterdon Central

Jr.

5

Tylor Mutton

28-17

Pen Argyl

Sr.

Notes: Status quo. Brown is peaking at right time after 9-2 victory over Evan Bowlby of Wallkill Valley in Region 1 final. Depew lost quarterfinal match in Class AA but rebounded strong to take third place. Rivera was second in Class AAA. Somma took second at Region 5. Mutton just missed state berth with sixth-place finish in Class AA.

160

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Jimmy Sheptock

40-2

Northampton

Sr.

2

Colin Hedash

30-5

No. Lehigh

So.

3

Matt Artigliere

28-5

Warren Hills

Jr.

4

Mike Simon

25-13

Phillipsburg

Sr.

5

Aaron Ross

34-7

Bethlehem Catholic

Sr.

PIAA state qualifier: Sr. Jeff Griffith (24-15) Easton.

Notes: Major movement from two through five for second straight week. Sheptock again dominated competition -- though he will be tested at states -- with 10-1 win over Hazleton's Jordan Kay in AAA final. Hedash won AA crown 9-3 over Milton Hershey's Boyd Hardison and assumes second slot. Artigliere beat Simon 10-8 in Region 1 final thriller. Ross took fifth in AA. Griffith continues hot postseason with third-place finish in AAA.

171

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Seth Csaszar

30-8

Northampton

Sr.

2

Tate Klidonas

32-4

Emmaus

Jr.

3

Ian Gimbar

30-7

Saucon Valley

So.

4

Cody Lewis

28-9

Hunterdon Central

Jr.

5

Dan Shust

31-7

North Hunterdon

Sr.

Notes: No changes. Csaszar was second at Class AAA region, losing 6-3 to Stroudsburg's Matt Transue in final. Klidonas finished third in AAA. Gimbar was fourth at AA tournament. Lewis took third at Region 5. Shust went 2-2 at Region 5.

189

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Joe Piro

37-4

Northampton

Sr.

2

Danny Boyle

32-4

No. Lehigh

Sr.

3

Jared Crouse

29-10

Phillipsburg

Sr.

4

Taray Carey

30-7

Whitehall

Jr.

5

Devin Malarchik

14-5

Catasauqua

Sr.

Notes: Status quo. Piro again dominated competition en route to AAA crown, majoring Blue Mountain's Brook Gosch 18-7 in final. Boyle was fourth in AA regional. Crouse went 1-2 in Region 1; Carey was 2-2 at Class AAA; and Malarchik was 2-2 at Class AA.

215

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Brandon Palik

34-1

Saucon Valley

Sr.

2

Chris Wilson

29-7

Easton

Sr.

3

Matt Santini

32-7

Phillipsburg

Sr.

4

Brandon Strohl

30-8

Catasauqua

Sr.

5

Tim Murphy

22-12

Nazareth

Sr.


Notes: Top three intact. Palik rolled to Class AA title with 12-5 decision over Fairfield's Dylan Ferguson in final. Wilson was second in AAA. Santini captured Region 1 crown with 7-1 win over Rahway's Mike Suk. Strohl claims fourth position after battling back for fifth-place finish at AA tournament. Murphy was 0-2 in Northeast Region and drops spot to fifth.

285

Name

Record

School

Class

1

Justin Grant

29-6

Easton

Sr.

2

Will Fletcher

18-2

Palisades

Sr.

3

Erik Schaffer

37-8

Northampton

Sr.

4

Jon Slack

29-7

Warren Hills

Jr.

5

Brad Bormann

30-6

Hunterdon Central

Jr.


Notes: Status quo for heavies. Grant maintains top spot with second-place finish at Class AAA regionals. Grant was pinned in championship bout by Abington Heights' 37-0 Evan Craig but earned quality 3-2 win over Wyoming Valley West's Tyler Cowman in quarterfinals. Fletcher took third in Class AA tourney. Schaffer was fourth in outstanding AAA bracket, falling 6-1 to Cowman in third-place final. Slack secured state berth by taking third at NJSIAA Region 1 while Bormann was second at Region 5.