Look at each weight class for tournament
The 2024 NJSIAA wrestling championships get started Thursday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, and 85 North Jersey athletes will compete for a spot on the podium.
Take a weight-by-weight look at what to watch for this weekend.
106 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers:
Teaneck's Oumar Tounkara.
2023 medalists: none.
Outlook: This is the only weight without a state medalist and one full of youth with underclassmen making up 26 of the 32 spots. Williamstown's Tyler Hildebrandt landed the top seed, but the co-favorites may be the two nationally-ranked freshmen seeded below him. CBA rookie Killian Coluccio was ranked second and Delbarton's Cameron Sontz comes in third as a Beast of the East finalist.
Esposito (14th) and Tounkara (18th) could be bracket-busters after splitting bouts in the Bergen County and Region 2 finals.
113 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Lakeland's Jack Bergmann, DePaul's Delvan Rotte, Hawthorne's Jack Lorper, St. Joseph's Johnathon McGinty and Bergen Catholic's Nathan Braun.
2023 medalists: Braun (second), St. Peter's Prep's Sal Borrometi (third), McGinty (fifth), Watchung Hills' Anthony DiAndrea (seventh) and St. John Vianney's Matthew Gould (eighth). Outlook: There was a major shakeup in the bracket on Wednesday morning after Old Bridge defending 113-pound champion Logan Roman pulled out of the tournament. Knights coach John Post told NJ.com that Roman suffered "a medical emergency" that required surgery.
That development pushed Braun up to the top seed and Mount Olive's Tyeler Hagensen up to second. Braun wrestled in only three matches this season before returning to win the District 9 title.
Another wrestler to watch is CBA star freshman Paul Kenny, who is unbeaten in-state and ranked fourth in the county by FloWrestling.
McGinty and Bergmann have a chance to earn spots on the state podium as county champions.
120 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: New Milford's Devin Ryan, Butler's Jason Chrostowski, St. Joseph's Mikey Bautista, Fair Lawn's Brody Bogues and Bergen Catholic's Christopher Nucifora.
2023 medalists: St. John Vianney's Anthony Knox (first), Seton Hall Prep's Logan Brzozowski (second), Donovan Catholic's Kurt Wehner (fifth), Ryan (sixth) and St. Peter's Prep's Jake Talarico (eighth).
Outlook: The man to beat is St. John Vianney junior Anthony Knox, who won a state title at 113 as a freshman and 120 as a sophomore. The national No. 1 dropped down a weight for the postseason and will try to move one step closer to becoming the fifth four-time state champion in New Jersey history. The bracket around Knox (29-0) will be strong even with Delbarton senior and state champion Daniel Jones not entering.
Keep an eye on the third-seeded Bautista, who's shown great improvement this season but must navigate a tough draw. Ryan, who slots in at No. 12, is looking to join John Burger as the only two-time medalists in New Milford history.
126 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Marco Alarcon, Wayne Hills' Sowzrawca Tsay, Emerson/Park Ridge's Ryan Messick, St. Joseph's Vincent Paino, Clifton's Najati Salim, Leonia/Palisades Park's Seach Hibler, St. Mary's Mario Del Vecchio and Rutherford's Joseph Keeler.
2023 medalists: Paino (fifth).
Outlook: North Jersey is all over this bracket with eight local qualifiers – tied with 157 for the most of any weight. So naturally, there's a Bergen County showdown right off the bat with Paino and Keeler facing off in the opening round. Camden Catholic's Sammy Spaulding sits atop the bracket, having beaten Delbarton No. 2 seed Ryan DeGeorge by pin and Paino by a 3-2 decision.
132 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Santino Danise, Ramapo's Joey Fulco, St. Joseph's Adrian DeJesus, Lyndhurst/North Arlington's Kieran McNeil and Paramus Catholic's Nicholas Pallitto.
2023 medalists: DeJesus (third), Pope John's Carson Walsh (fifth), St. Peter's Prep's Giovanni Schinina (seventh), Lower Cape May's Chase Hansen (seventh) and St. John Vianney's Patrick O'Keefe (eighth).
Outlook: It's been another dominant season for DeJesus, who placed first as a freshman at St. Peter's Prep and third last year at DePaul. After sitting out the opening month due to transfer rules, the top-seeded DeJesus has picked up where he left off by going 17-0 and pinning his way through both the district and region tournaments.
Bergen County's four other qualifiers are all seeded between 10
and 20.
138 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Lakeland's Ryan Langenmayr, St. Joseph's Donny Almeyda, Hasbrouck Heights' Anthony Cummings, Wayne Valley's Noah Zindaki, Bergen Catholic's Noah Kochman and Paramus Catholic's Dylan Ross.
2023 medalists: St. Peter's Prep's Caedyn Ricciardi (second), Delbarton's Jayden James (third), Almeyda (fourth) and Ross (eighth).
Outlook: The Big North could be well-represented on the state podium, led by Duke commit and two-time medalist Dylan Ross (No. 3 seed). Some of the other top challengers include Langenmayr (6), Almeyda (7) and Kochman (11), who all have the talent and Boardwalk Hall experience to do some damage. Ricciardi and James received the top two seeds, respectively.
144 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: West Milford's Benjamin Marchetto, Ridgewood's AJ Tretola, Leonia/Palisades Park's August Hibler, St. Joseph's James Sloan, St. Mary's Anthony Moreno and Paramus Catholic's Abe Zaretsky.
2023 medalists: Morristown's Jack Myers (third), CBA's Alex Nini (third), Raritan's Zach Reilley (fifth), Phillipsburg's Luke Geleta (sixth) and Southern's Wyatt Stout (sixth). Outlook: Neither Leonia nor Palisades Park has produced a state medalist since the 1970's, but that drought could be coming to an end. Lions senior August Hibler heads down to Atlantic City as the No. 6 seed and with momentum after upsetting county champions James Sloan (St. Joseph) and Luke Geleta (Phillipsburg) on the way to his first region gold. Hibler only wrestled in the postseason once in his three years at Bergen Catholic, but that was up a weight as a sophomore.
Marchetto, a 2022 state medalist and three-time qualifier for West Milford, is the No. 8 seed after finishing on top of his region. Don Bosco sophomore Santino Rodriguez would have been a contender at this weight class, but the returning state sixth had to withdraw from regions after re-injuring his shoulder.
150 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Joey Monticello, Dumont's Jeremy Quezada, Pascack Hills' Jake Wacha, St. Joseph's Zach Ballante, Passaic Tech's James Conklin and Bergen Catholic's Jayden Iznaga. 2023 medalists: St. Peter's Prep's Jonathan Fuller (fifth), Ballante (sixth), Delsea's Jamar Dixon Jr. (seventh), Delran's Drew Roskos (seventh) and Camden Catholic's Austin Craft (seventh).
Outlook: Four of the top 11 seeds are from Bergen County, starting with two-time state medalist Zach Ballante. If Ballante goes all the way, he will likely have to avenge close losses to St. Peter's Prep's Jonathan Fuller (2-1) and Delbarton freshman Gabe Logan (6-3).
This could be one of the hardest brackets to predict with a number of viable challengers. Ocean Township eight-seed James Farina just upset the top-ranked Fuller in the region finals and could get a rematch in the state quarters.
157 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Lakeland's Sean Walker, Wayne Hills' Joseph Lucarello, Pompton Lakes' Nicholas Laccitiello, St. Joseph's Frank DiBella, Passaic Tech's Omar Tarecky, Bergenfield's Nathan Quinones, Bergen Catholic's Ryan Ford and Becton/WoodRidge's Jordan Stallone.
2023 medalists: Southern's Matt Henrich (first), Ford (fourth) and DiBella (fourth). Outlook: Henrich will have the target on his back after winning gold last year at 150 and placing seventh as a sophomore at 138. If the seeds hold up, the Virginia Tech commit would face future Hokies' teammate DiBella in the semifinals. A potential matchup between Ford and Camden Catholic's Kage Jones in the other semi would be a rematch from December when Jones pinned in 3:55.
165 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Benjamin Garcia, Pompton Lakes' Chad McConnell, St. Joseph's Joseph Paretti, Clifton's Joseph Geleta, Passaic Valley's William Capizzi, Bergen Catholic's Genti Idrizi and Paramus Catholic's John Quinonez.
2023 medalists: Delbarton's Alessio Perentin (first), Cranford's Jordan Chapman (third), Quinonez (sixth) and Southern's Hayden Hochstrasser (eighth).
Outlook: Perentin rides in on a 21-match win streak and an unbeaten record this year against Garden State opponents. The top local challengers looking to knock him off the throne are Quinonez – the No. 4 seed – and Garcia at No. 7.
175 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Westwood's Gavin Seiler, Don Bosco's Michael Fuccilli, Emerson/Park Ridge's Jacob Shannon, St. Joseph's Ryan Burton, Hasbrouck Heights' Connor Scuilla and Paramus Catholic's Edward Terreri.
2023 medalists: Delbarton's Louis Cerchio (first), Burton (third) and Terreri (eighth). Outlook: How good has Burton been this season? Good enough to knock a returning state champion from the top of the bracket. The St. Joe's junior takes over as the No. 1 seed after defeating Cerchio in the Powerade semis, 6-3, and backing it up with a pin in the Non-Pubic A final against Delbarton.
Terreri will try to spoil the party as the No. 4 seed, while Scuilla is vying to become Hasbrouck Heights' first medalist since Mickey O'Malley won gold in 2018.
190 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Nevin Mattesich, Westwood's Aidan Dugan, Ramapo's Zak Darwish, Passaic Valley's Frankie Martino, St. Joseph's Kaleb Jackson, Bergen Catholic's Pantaleo Varga and Paramus Catholic's Daniel Rella.
2023 medalists: Brick Memorial's Harvey Ludington (second), Hanover Park's Vincenzo Lavalle (third), Rella (fourth) and Mount Olive's Tyler Bienus (seventh).
Outlook: Rella (29-1) has put together a sensational season and looks to cap it off with a deep run as the No. 4 seed. His only loss of the season came in the Beast of the East final to Ludington, a two-time state finalist who finished on top in 2022. Those two appear on track for a rematch in the semis.
Expect North Jersey to produce multiple medalists with Mattessich, Jackson, Varga and Martino all in the mix.
215 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Don Bosco's Dante DeLuca, Emerson/Park Ridge's Cole Hughes, Northern Highlands' Ethan Mendel, Passaic Valley's Brandon Veneziano, Bergen Catholic's Mason Marck, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield's Bryann Mejias and Paramus Catholic's Xavier Williams.
2023 medalists: Rumson-Fair Haven's Hudson Skove (first) and Paramus Catholic's Xavier Williams (eighth).
Outlook: Head-to-head matchups in the region finals loomed large in the seeding at 215. Delbarton senior Vincent Lee gained control of the No. 1 ranking by handing Hudson Skove his first loss of the season with a 5-3 decision.
PC's Xavier Williams slides in at No. 3 behind them after pinning No. 4 seed Nathan Faxon (Governor Livingston), who was 38-0 before Saturday's loss.
285 POUNDS
North Jersey qualifiers: Pompton Lakes' Mason Brancato, Glen Rock's Jake Rickett, DePaul's Josh Turner, St. Joseph's Rocco Dellagatta, Paramus' Daniel Elyash, Bergen Catholic's Benjamin Shue and Rutherford's Gavin McGill.
2023 medalists: Dellagatta (fourth), Shue (fourth), Elyash (fifth) and Phillipsburg's John Wargo (seventh).
Outlook: The heavyweight tradition is alive and well at St. Joe's even with three-time champion Jimmy Mullen off to college. Dellagatta is the top seed in the bracket, while former Green Knights' big man Brandon Toranzo, now at Nutley, is No. 2. Toranzo (41-0) was the MOW at Region 3 after beating Shue, 4-2.
Paramus has sent someone to the state podium every year since 2011 and will count on Elyash, the No. 5 seed, to carry on the tradition.