Ranked No. 22 nationally, South Plainfield has their famed murderer’s row from 126 through 145 with Stasenko, Delvecchio, Ashnault, and Heilmann all in the hunt for state titles. Four other wrestlers – Daniel Hedden (113), Dylan Painton (152), Inan Sikel (160), and Tory Russell (220) – also advanced to state for the Tigers. Joint most in terms of state qualifiers with nine are St. Peter’s Prep and No. 34 Bergen Catholic. The other two nationally ranked teams from the Garden State, No. 38 Bound Brook and No. 41 Don Bosco Prep qualified six and seven respectively.
The following represents a weight-by-weight breakdown of the state tournament, which starts this evening.
106: At the end of the day, this weight will likely come down to the two nationally ranked freshmen, No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic) and No. 9 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep). Suriano is undefeated on the season; and has a 3-0 record against Bierdumpfel, having wins at the Mustang Classic, their dual meet, and the regional final. Bierdumpfel does have five losses, the additional ones coming at the Beast of the East to Ohio state finalists Assad and Rodriguez. In terms of path to the final, Suriano is looking at a likely semi against undefeated sophomore Michael Russo (Jackson Liberty), while Bierdumpfel’s toughest opponent would seem to be fellow freshman Zack Firestone (Clearview) in the quarterfinal round.
113: The strong favorite in this weight would be two-time state placer, 2011 state runner-up, Luis Gonzalez (Don Bosco Prep). The junior Gonzalez is the top seed in this weight class, and would seem to have a relatively clear top half of the bracket. His likely finals opponent would be senior Kevin Corrigan (Toms River South), a returning state fifth place-finisher in this weight class.
120: A lot of mileage was made after last weekend about a trio of returning top three place-finishers getting displaced prior to the state tournament; defending state champion Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park), runner-up Carl Buttitta (JFK-Iselin), and third-place finisher Kyle Brady (Bishop Ahr) all failed to make state from either Region 3 or Region 5. Two-time state champion Brendan Calas (Seton Hall Prep) enters the weekend as the favorite, though his first challenge comes in a quarterfinal against Sal Profaci (Monroe). The other quarter of that top half should be cleared by returning state placer Ryan Pomrinca (Hunterdon Central).
The lower half is the deeper of the two halves with a third quarter that features returning state placer Craig De La Cruz (Bound Brook) and senior Jonathan Mele (Livingtson); while the bottom quarter features returning state placers Robert Trombetta (Nutley), Christian Innarella (Delbarton), and Joseph Ghione (Brick Memorial).
126: Four nationally ranked wrestlers and six elite contenders stand at the front of this weight class. Leading the way is sophomore David McFadden (DePaul Catholic), a returning state runner-up, who is the top seed and ranked No. 15 nationally. He is well-positioned to clear the top quarter of the draw. In the other quarter of the top half is returning placer Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield), who is ranked No. 13 nationally and has beaten defending state champion Maglado each of the last two weeks. However, Stasenko is looking at a quarterfinal bout against the undefeated Mike Pongracz (Delaware Valley), a two-time state placer.
Returning state champion Mike Magaldo (Watchung Hills), ranked No. 9 nationally, has made the state final each of his first two years; but has lost matches the last two weekends to Stasenko, 7-4 and 5-2 respectively. He has a clear third quarter of the draw. The other quarter of that bottom half features two-time state placer Anthony Giraldo, who is ranked No. 11 nationally, along with 2011 state third-place finisher Billy Ward (Buena).
132: Defending state champion Scott Delvecchio (South Plainfield) is undefeated on the season, and ranked No. 8 in the nation having also placed fourth at the Super 32 Challenge. The top half of the draw is rather barren and makes him the prohibitive favorite to reach the final. Returning state third placer Jason Estevez (Livingston) is ranked No. 18 nationally, and well positioned to be the bottom bracket semifinalist from the third quarter of the draw. The bottom-most quarter is stacked with a projected pre-quarterfinal bout featuring returning state placer Nick Anderson (Delbarton) facing Cadet freestyle All-American Ronnie Gentile (Paulsboro), with that bout’s winner slated to face returning state third placer Zach Herling (Ocean Township) in the quarterfinal round.
138: For there being a wrestler in No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield) that is undefeated in his whole career, and seeking to become only the third ever four-time state champion in Garden State history, this is a rather deep weight class. Ashnault is looking at a semifinal match against two-time state placer Richard Lewis (Toms River East), who is also undefeated on the season. In the other half of the draw, three-time state placer Brandon Keller (Timber Creek) should clear the third quarter, while in the bottom portion, a quarterfinal bout looms between two-time state placer Brian Hamann (Jackson Memorial) and returning state runner-up Gary Dinmore (Hunterdon Central), who is undefeated on the season.
145: Part of why 138 is so deep is that this weight class is very deep as well, with a defending champion of its own in No. 3 B.J. Clagon (Toms River South), who has placed seventh, second, and first in the state. Clagon is undefeated on the season and likely to advance to the semifinal in the top half of the draw against one of two juniors, either returning state placer Maaziah Bethea (Trenton Central) or the undefeated John Vanbrill (Clearview). The bottom half of this bracket should feature a semifinal between nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 10 Troy Heilmann (South Plainfield) and No. 11 T.J. Miller (Camden Catholic); Heilmann has finished runner-up each of the last two years after finishing sixth as a freshman, while Miller has sandwiched third place finishes around a 2011 state title. These two wrestlers met at the Virginia Duals, when it was Miller earning a 7-3 victory.
152: Three-time state placer Chad Walsh (Camden Catholic), ranked No. 13 nationally, enters the weekend as the third seed, but well positioned to make it to the final. He has finished eighth, fifth, and fifth at the state tournament, and is riding positive momentum after a 4-2 victory over Stinson in the regional final this past weekend. It would be a surprise to me if he did not make it to the final. The top half of the draw features two-time state placer Nick Gravina (Northern Highlands), who is ranked No. 16 up at 160 pounds having made a late drop into this weight class. He should clear to the semifinal against either Cadet freestyle All-American Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook) or No. 17 Wayne Stinson (North Burlington), a three-time state qualifier who has yet to place at state despite an excellent career peripheral to that.
160: Two-time state placer Jonathan Schleifer (East Brunswick) is ranked No. 6 nationally, having also been a NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion and Super 32 third-place finisher. He is the top seed in the weight class and a likely finalist, with his toughest match before the final a likely quarterfinal bout against Cadet freestyle All-American Josef Johnson (Delbarton). The lower half of the draw features a pair of returning state placers in Dylan Artigliere (Roxbury), who is undefeated on the season, and John Balboni (David Brearley), who is looking at a likely quarterfinal bout against Connor Donahue (Clearview).
170: Two nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class – No. 12 Ethan Ramos (Hawthorne), who was fourth at state and a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion, and No. 20 Jaeden Bernstein (Voorhees), a two-time state placer who was runner-up in 2011. Bernstein enters as the top seed with an undefeated record, and is heading towards a quarterfinal against one of three senior wrestlers that have combined for four total losses: returning state placer Jeff Farina (St. Joseph Montvale), NHSCA Junior All-American Parker Maytrott (Montville), and Mike Carroccia (Watchung Hills). The other quarter of that top half features undefeated senior Dylan Dobzanski (Delsea) and the excellent junior Luke Farinaro (Don Bosco Prep). Ramos anchors the third quarter of the draw, also with an undefeated record, while the bottom quarter of the draw is led by fellow senior Joey Balboni (David Brearley).
182: Defending state champion Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic), ranked No. 7 nationally, is the top seed in this weight class and the strong favorite to become a two-time state champion in this his junior season. The second seed in this weight class is senior Brian Bulger (Westfield). The middle quarters of this bracket are anchored by a quartet of undefeated senior wrestlers: competing for the right to face Sebastian in the semi are Frank Greco (Verona) and Al Yildiz (South Brunswick), while returning state placer Nicholas Zak (Jackson Liberty) and David Williams (Hammonton) compete for the right to match up against most likely Bulger.
195: Defending state champion Razohn Gross (Don Bosco Prep), ranked No. 19 nationally, is the strong favorite to at worst make the final as the top seed with a barren half-bracket of the draw. Returning state placer Rory Bonner (West Deptford) is undefeated on the season and a strong favorite to be one of the semifinalists opposite of Bonner, while the bottom quarter-bracket is an absolute mess. In that section, returning state placers Dom Carfagno (St. Joseph Montvale) and Matthew Moore (Brick Memorial) face off against one another in the opening round due to losses at the regional level. The winner there will have to win another bout before a likely quarterfinal against FloNationals placer Anthony Messner (Franklin).
220: Returning state third-place finisher Bryan Dobzanski (Delsea), working on an undefeated junior season, enters the state tournament as the top seed. Standing in his way is a potential quarterfinal against Cadet National double All-American Christian Jenco (Bergen Catholic), before a likely semifinal against returning state placer Mauro Correnti (Holy Cross). The senior Correnti placed fifth at state last year and was a Junior National freestyle All-American this summer, but missed much of the season due to injury. The bottom half is dominated by sophomore Zach Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep), who is ranked No. 14 nationally after placing sixth at state last year and finishing as a Beast of the East runner-up this season. His biggest challenge prior to the final would be a likely quarterfinal against the undefeated Anthony Iarussi (Summit).
285: The highest returning placer in this weight class is senior Roy Lucas (Hammonton), who is ranked No. 13 nationally down at 220 pounds. Lucas is undefeated this season after placing third last year at state, and is the favorite to reach the top half semifinal against fellow senior Anthony Tufaro (Scotch Plains), who also is a returning state placer. The lower half of the draw features a likely semifinal bout between undefeated senior Alex Thompson (Haddon Heights) and fellow senior John Appice (Manalapan), who placed at state last year.
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