Nick Suriano (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The "team of teams" in New Jersey is Bergen Catholic, which is ranked No. 4 in the nation and features five returning state champions; Suriano, No. 16 Gerard Angelo (120), No. 4 Shane Griffith (138), No. 10 Joe Grello (170), and No. 6 Kevin Mulligan (195). Angelo is not favored, but the other four are.
The following is a weight-by-weight look at the tournament in the Garden State, which starts Friday evening and concludes on Sunday afternoon.
106: Super 32 Challenge runner-up JoJo Aragona (Pope John) is ranked No. 2 nationally, while Michael Kelly (St. Peter's Prep) is ranked No. 16. Those two wrestlers do feature in opposite halves. Aragona is joined in the top half, but opposite quarter, by fellow undefeated Joe Manchio (Seneca); while Beast of the East placer Kyle Kaiser (Paramus) is a possible quarterfinal opponent. In the lower-half, Kelly is joined by undefeated sophomore Joe Heilmann (South Plainfield), who is in the other quarter.
113: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, led by No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers), the Super 32 Challenge champion and two-time state fifth place medalist. No. 5 Patrick Glory (Delbarton) was runner-up to Rivera at the Super 32 this fall and runner-up to Angelo at state last year; while No. 10 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) placed third at state last year and is a two-time medalist. Glory is in the easier half, with returning medalist Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic) as a possible semifinal opponent; while Tropea and Rivera should meet in the lower half-bracket semifinal.
120: Angelo won state last year at 106 pounds as a freshman while competing for Hanover Park, but has since moved on to Bergen Catholic. The highest ranked wrestler in this weight class competes for Hanover Park, freshman Nick Raimo, ranked No. 3 nationally. Also nationally ranked in this weight class are last year's 113 pound finalists, champion Brandon Cray (Steinert) and runner-up Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial); Cray is No. 10 and Ghione No. 17.
Bracket wise, Cray is opposite of the other three, but not bereft of talent in his half; returning state placer Joe Casey (Bound Brook) is a possible quarterfinal opponent, with either undefeated returning state placer Shane Metzler (West Morris Central) or returning state placer Richie Koehler (Christian Brothers) awaiting in the semifinal. It's a total fiasco in the lower half-bracket. Angelo has a relative free ride to the semifinal, while the lower quarter is a circus. Raimo and Ghione both have opening round byes and are slated to meet in the round of 16, with that winner looking at a quarterfinal collision with returning state medalist Trace Kinner (Kingsway Regional). All that subject to Kinner being healthy enough to compete, which would force a re-draw.
126: Last year's state final at 120 was between the pair of 2014 state champions in Suriano and No. 9 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton), Suriano won that one obviously; the pair wrestled in a dual meet one month ago, with Suriano winning 9-2. They are obviously anchoring opposite halves of the draw. Within Suriano's half-bracket, but in the opposite quarter, is undefeated returning state medalist Kyle DiNapoli (Voorhees) as well as returning state medalist Troy Stanich (Roxbury). Returning state medalist John Burger (New Milford) is a possible quarterfinal opponent for Agaisse, with returning medalists Quinn Kinner (Kingsway Regional) and Garrett O'Shea (Butler) in the bottom-most quarter of the draw.
132: No nationally ranked wrestlers are here, but that doesn't mean no talent. Two-time state third place medalist Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep) is in the top quarter of the draw with returning state placer Sam Schneider (Emerson-Park Ridge) as a possible quarterfinal opponent. Two-time state medalist and Junior freestyle All-American Nick Farro (Delbarton) is in the other top half-bracket quarter along with undefeated two-time state placer Zack Firestone (Clearview Regional); Firestone is likely to face Wilfredo Gil (Ramapo), whose only loss on the season as in the regional final, in the round of 16. Freshman Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic), champion at the Beast of the East, is the lower half-bracket with either undefeated 2014 state medalist Chris Wolf (Haddon Township) or returning state medalist Owen McClave (Toms River South) awaiting in the quarterfinal. The bottom most quarter features two-time state placer Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg).
138: Returning state champion Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic) is ranked No. 4 nationally, while returning state medalist and Flo Nationals placer Michael Van Brill (Clearview Regional) is No. 18 in the country. Each anchors a half-bracket. Griffith seems clean to the semis, where it's a likely match with 2014 state medalist Kris Lindemann (Howell). Van Brill should also be well to advance to the semifinal, where he is likely to face either two-time state placer Mark McCormick (Camden Catholic) or undefeated Nicholas Maher (WWP South).
145: Two-time state medalist Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook), third last year as a sophomore, is ranked No. 15 nationally and anchors the top half-bracket. His biggest challenge is likely to be in the semifinal against returning state placer Mohammed Farhan (Clifton), presuming Farhan can clear the undefeated Tyler Gazaway (New Providence) in the quarterfinal bout. Returning state medalist Michael O'Malley (Hasbrouck Heights), who has an undefeated sophomore season to date, is favored from the bottom half.
152: Returning state runner-up Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) is ranked No. 9 nationally and the favorite in this weight class. The path won't be easy, as it could include a quarterfinal against presently undefeated Steve Bonsall (Newark Academy) before a possible semifinal against returning state medalist Dominick Mandarino (Don Bosco Prep). The lower half-bracket is led by two-time state medalist Alex Sebahie (Paramus), who has a rather manageable path to the final.
160: No. 5 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco) is the defending state champion and after a fourth finals appearance. He is prohibitively favored to do so, with a state title to consummate an undefeated senior season. Undefeated senior Craig Roumes (Roxbury) leads the half-bracket opposite of Bierdumpfel, but it is a far from easy one, starting with a round of 16 bout against most likely returning state medalist Kyle Cochran (Paramus). In the other quarter of the lower half (i.e. opposite of Bierdumpfel) is returning state medalist Tyler Mullen (North Valley Old Tappan).
170: Nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 10 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic) and No. 13 Brett Donner (Wall Township) lead each half of this bracket. Grello was state champion last year after placing eighth the year before, while Donner was third in 2014 before a disappointing DNP last year. In other quarter bracket of Grello's half, it is returning state medalist Jala'a Darwish (Passaic Valley) and Junior National freestyle All-American Spencer Carey (DePaul Catholic). Returning state placers Anthony Oliveri (Hanover Park) and Daniel Kilroy (Wayne Hills) could meet in the bottom most quarterfinal to feed into Donner in the semifinal.
182: Again, zero nationally ranked wrestlers does not mean zero talent. Powerade champion Brandon Kui (DePaul Catholic), eighth at state last year as a sophomore, is the top seed here (which puts him in the upper quarter of the top half-bracket). Dominic Maniero (Queen of Peace) is the only other returning medalist in that half. In the bottom half-bracket, freshman sensation Josh McKenzie (Bergen Catholic) and Luke Drugac (Morris Knolls) are a likely quarterfinal, while a pair of returning seventh place medalists in Kyle Murphy (Bridgewarter-Raritan) and Niko Capello (Cranford) are the other likely quarterfinal; Murphy is undefeated on the season.
195: Two nationally ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class, No. 6 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic) and No. 16 Dean Drugac (Morris Knolls). Each was a Junior National freestyle All-American this past summer, while Mulligan has the state title to his credit with Drugac seeking his first state medal. Mulligan's top half is bereft of state medalists, though he could see two one-loss wrestlers before the reaching the final in Van Miller (Bridgewater-Raritan) and Sean O'Malley (Hasbrouck Heights). Drugac is looking at a likely semifinal clash with returning state medalist Joseph McKenzie (Wall Township).
220: Three-time state medalist Matt Correnti (Holy Cross) is ranked No. 3 nationally and seeking state gold after falling one match short last year. He has been absolutely dominant this year, losing zero matches with only four making it a full six minutes. Returning state medalist Scott Lavelle (DePaul Catholic) is a possible semifinal opponent. The bottom half-bracket is anchored by returning state medalist Robert Melise (Phillipsburg).
285: Only the third weight in this state tournament without a ranked wrestler, but it's also not one bereft of talent. Returning state fifth place finisher Anthony Porcaro (Sayreville) is the top seed, but has been thrown into a potentially dangerous quarterfinal bout against Eric Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep). No other state medalist resides in the Porcaro half of the draw. Down in the lower half, returning state runner-up Nick Rivera (Brick Memorial) is the anchor figure, his only loss of the season coming against Chakonis in late December. However, his path isn't easy, as it could include a round of 16 bout against returning state medalist Joe Longobardi (River Dell), and a quarterfinal against the undefeated Keith Swartley (Cinnaminson). The lower quarter favorite is Kyle Nothnagel (Phillipsburg), who was excellent last year up to the state tournament, but failed to place.
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