Knox not afraid to take on anyone
120-pounder says he’d even wrestle King Kong
HOLMDEL - Anthony Knox says he would wrestle anybody at 120 pounds, including one of the most fearsome fictional monsters.
“If King Kong made 120 (120 pounds), we could wrestle,” Knox, a junior 120-pounder at St. John Vianney said with a smile Wednesday night after the Lancers’ 44-26 win over Rumson-Fair Haven that enabled them to clinch a tie for the Shore Conference Class A Central championship. “I want to wrestle the toughest guys. I want to beat everybody.
King Kong will not be at 120 pounds when the NJSIAA Individual post-season begins Feb. 17 with the 32 district tournaments. But Knox a two-time NJSIAA champion, will be. He recently dropped down to 120 after wrestling the first month of the season at 126 pounds.
“I think this is a better weight for me,” Knox, who won his state championships at 113 in 2022 and 120 last season, said. “I’m eating super clean. I just feel great here. I feel like I’m faster. I feel like it’s my weight.”
Knox thought he was a ‘small’ 126-pounder
Knox, who has made a non-binding oral commitment to Cornell, said he “a little small” at 126 even though he won the Beast of the East championship at that weight on Dec. 17 and defeated Camden Catholic’s Sammy Spaulding - the wrestler who might be currently favored to win the 126-pound state title, 16-9, in the final.
“The plan was to see how big I could get because I’m going to be going 25 (125) in college,” Knox, who is unbeaten against New Jersey competition in his scholastic career and 90-1 overall, said. “I was eating a good amount and I still felt like I was small. I was decisioning guys I felt I should major (major decision).”
Knox said he thought his attempt to get big was not the best thing for his body. He said when he was wrestling at 126, he would weigh in around 125 pounds.
“I just had excessive weight on my
body that I didn’t need,” Knox said. “Now, that I’m down here, I feel like a mean, fighting machine.”
The competition at 120
The 120-pound weight class, as it usually is, looks like it will be one of the deeper weight classes in the state tournament.
Two other past state champions Delbarton’s Daniel Jones and Old Bridge’s Logan Roman - are currently at the weight.
Jones won his state title at 106 pounds in 2021. Roman became Old Bridge’s first state champion, when he won at 113 last season.
Knox majored Jones 10-2 in last year’s 120-pound final and beat him 5-1 in a 2022 113-pound semifinal.
“I like to drop to the weights where it would be the most impressive if I win,” Knox said.
“Me and my dad were talking that I was going drop down after the Beast (Beast of the East), but I wanted to take out who I think is going to win at 26. I took out all the guys who I think are contenders (at 126). When the season is said and done, I want to be able to say I’m the champion of two weights.”
Bumping paid dividends for St. John Vianney Wednesday night
Even though it lost the pre-match flip, St. John Vianney (9-0, 5-0), ranked No. 3 in the Asbury Park Press Top 15 and No. 9 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, was able to bump its lineup from 144-165.
The Lancers, who can clinch their third consecutive outright divisional championship on Jan. 31 against Wall, broke away from a 6-6 tie by winning four straight bouts, with pins at 150 and 157 and a major decision at 190.
Then, after Rumson-Fair Haven (8-1, 5-1), ranked No. 4 in the APP Top 15 and No. 19 in the NJWWA Top 20, pulled within 25-21, the Lancers put the match away with three straight wins from 106120, capped by a pin by Knox.
St. John Vianney looked sharp in most facets. One of its wrestlers who did not win - Luca Minardo - had the gym rocking and rolling in the heavyweight bout.
Despite giving up more than 53 pounds to Matt Smith, Minardo extended Smith, who recently defeated Red Bank Catholic’s two-time Region 5 champion and 2022 NJSIAA seventhplace finisher Lorenzo Portella, to the ultimate tiebreaker.
“I think every guy has gotten better since the beginning of the season,” Knox said. “We’re starting to get in peak form. We’re coming for everybody this year.”
Could a state team championship be in cards for St. John Vianney?
The Lancers would appear to be on a collision course with Camden Catholic in the NJSIAA Non Public B championship match. The Irish defeated St. John Vianney 33-29 in last year’s final.
Should that matchup take place, Knox may have one more bout at 126 pounds.
“You guys might see me at 26 again for a big match. Who knows? We’ll see how it goes,” Knox said.
St. John Vianney 44, Rumson-Fair Haven 26 Wednesday night’s scores Class A North
No. 1. Christian Brothers Academy 61, Marlboro 15
No. 6 Howell 57, Freehold 14 Middletown South 57, Freehold Township 9
Class A South
No. 5 Brick Memorial 67, Toms River East 5
No. 15 Jackson Memorial 54, Central 17
Toms River South 44, Brick 28
Class B North
No. 12 Colts Neck 63, Matawan 15: The Cougars clinched a tie for the divisional championship. They can clinch the outright divisional title Jan. 31 with a win over Neptune. It is Colts Neck’s third divisional title. They shared the Class B North title with Middletown North and Ocean in 2021 and won the outright Class B North championship in 2021.
No. 10 Ocean 49, Red Bank 17
Class B Central
Point Pleasant Beach 56, Shore 16: The Garnet Gulls regained the outright divisional title after Shore won it last season with the win. It is Point Pleasant Beach’s 25th divisional championship.
Class B South
No. 13. Jackson Liberty 62, Lakewood 15
The Lions clinched a tie for the divisional title. They can win it outright with a win at Point Pleasant Borough on Jan. 31. If Point Borough wins that match, it would then wind up a threeway tie among Jackson Liberty, Point Borough and Lacey.
Point Pleasant
Borough
52,
Barnegat 21
Donovan Catholic 54, Pinelands 27
Nondivisional
No. 9 Holmdel 59, Manchester 9 Asbury Park 48, Monmouth 28 Wall 55, Manalapan 18
Nonconference
Delbarton 53, No. 2 Southern 9: The Green Wave, ranked No. 2 in the NJWWA Top 20, went on six-bout, 29point run from 120-150 to build a 29-3 lead and won 11 of the 14 bouts as they defeated the Rams. Daniel Jones (120), Chase Quenault, returning state champions Alessio Perentin (165) and Louis Cerchio (175) and Connor Martin (heavyweight pinned for Delbarton.
Southern received wins from freshman Cash McVey (113), returning state champion Matt Henrich (157) and Bradford Birch (190).
The Rams wrestled without Bryce Manera (132), returning state sixthplace finisher Wyatt Stout (144) and returning region champion Mitch Bivona (175).
St. Peter’s Prep 56, No. 7 Red Bank Catholic 12:
Senior and returning state qualifier Noah Michaels (120) defeated Jake Talerico, last year’s state eighth-place finisher at 106, 4-2 in sudden victory and Portella defeated returning state qualifier Connor Reynolds 4-2 in tiebreaker period No. 1 for the Caseys in their defeat to St. Peter’s Prep.
St. Peter’s Prep, ranked No. 3 in the NJWWA Top 20, won 11 of the 14 bouts, including nine straight from 126-195.