National high school wrestling news, notes, updates (2/12/2024)
More post-season wrestling action wrapped up this week with more on the way. Here is our weekly notebook recapping the biggest action from across the country.
Bethlehem Catholic and Faith Christian Academy win Pennsylvania state dual titles
Bethlehem Catholic staked claim to their third consecutive AAA Dual Meet State Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey. It is their sixth championship in the last nine years. In addition, they won four straight AA crowns from 2011-2014.
Easton’s Noah Fenner posted a 16-0 tech-fall to kick off the dual meet. Only to watch as the Dillards laid the law down with two straight wins to put Bethlehem Catholic ahead, 8-5.
At 114, Reef Dillard edged Easton’s Nicholas Salamone, 1-0, and Keanu followed at 121 with a 21-5 technical fall.
Easton put two wins in a row in the scorebook to reclaim the lead, 12-8. Christopher Kelly beat Ryder Campbell, 7-3 at 127 and Benjamin Fanelli threw a major decision on the tally at 133.
The Golden Hawks rattled off four consecutive wins from 139 to 160 to give themselves some breathing room for the first time in the dual, 30-12.
Pins were registered by Marco Frinzi (139) and Shane McFillin (145), while Charlie Scanlan worked for a major decision at 152 and Kollin Rath received a forfeit at 160.
The Red Rovers’ James Geiger was given a forfeit at 172 and Justin Cosover won a decision versus Dario Cruz at 189, to bring Easton within nine, 30-21.
With only two matches remaining, James DeLuise’s 9-4 decision of Shae Linegar at 215 wrapped up the state title for Bethlehem Catholic, who would drop the final match at 285 to leave the final score at 33-24.
The Golden Hawks also defeated Central Mountain (34-19), Trinity (41-24), and Central Dauphin (37-18) in their title run. Central Mountain downed Pennridge, 28-24, in the third-place match.
Going unscathed over the gauntlet for the Golden Hawks were both Dillards at 4-0. Also going 4-0 were Rath and Scanlan. 3-1 records were put up by Campbell, DeLuise, and McFillin. Cruz and Lance were 2-2.
On the AA side, Faith Christian Academy, who is ranked 7th in the nation by Mat Scouts, beat No. 14 Bishop McCort, 46-18, to win their second consecutive dual meet state crown.
This affair was a streaky one as only once did a team fail to win multiple matches in a row. The Lions got rolling with wins in the first three weight classes to go up, 16-0.
Joey Bachmann (107), who is ranked No. 1 in the country in Scorebook Live’s Individual National Rankings, and No. 4 Gauge Botero (121) put a pin and major decision on the board respectively around a forfeit given to Clayton Waltenbaugh at 114.
Bishop McCort’s Murderers Row was up next, and they rallied their squad back within one, 16-15, as No. 2 Jax Forrest (127) and No. 2 Bo Bassett (139) picked up falls, and No. 12 Mason Gibson decisioned Mason Wagner, 4-0, at 133.
Two upset wins from Faith Christian Academy followed that flurry with victories by Chase Hontz at 145 over No. 21 Sam Herring, 3-2, and No. 20 Max Stein going into overtime with No. 6 Melvin Miller, and walking off the mat a 6-1 victor, and with it a 22-15 edge for his team.
The Crushers’ No. 18 Devon Magro avenged a preseason loss at The Surge to No. 17 Cael Weidemoyer, 6-4, to bring their deficit down to four, 22-18.
Bishop McCort would not win again, though, as Faith Christian Academy would take the final four bouts to close the door on the Crushers.
Three pins and a forfeit ended things on a very sour note for the challengers as Nick Singer (172), Adam Waters (189, No. 9 at 175), and Jason Singer (215) collected pins and heavyweight No. 23 Mark Effendian got his had raised by forfeit to end it at 46-18.
The Lions other victims were Bishop McDevitt (43-24), Notre Dame-Green Pond (43-18), and Reynold (54-9). In the Reynolds dual, No. 9 Louie Gill upset Botero, 5-3 in overtime.
Getting through the tournament unbeaten for the Lions were Bachmann, Effendian, Hontz, Stein, and Waters at 4-0. Nick Singer and Wagner were 2-0. Botero, Jason Singer, and Weidemoyer were 3-1. Clayton Waltenbaugh was 2-1 and Arment Waltenbaugh split his bouts, going 2-2.
Notre Dame-GP placed third with a 41-18 win over Reynolds. Reynolds beat Bishop McDevitt, 36-24, to reach the consolation final.
PA AAA State Dual Final:
Bethlehem Catholic 33, Easton 24
107-Noah Fenner (East) tech-fall Louden Hower, 16-0
114-Reef Dillard (BC) dec Nicholas Salamone, 1-0
121-Keanu Dillard (BC) tech-fall Ethan Krazer, 21-5
127-Christopher Kelly (East) dec Ryder Campbell, 7-3
133-Benjamin Fanelli (East) maj-dec Mason Thomas, 16-6
139-Marco Frinzi (BC) pinned Jaron Trimmer, 3:02
145-Shane McFillin (BC) pinned Evan Cross, 5:09
152-Charlie Scanlan (BC) maj-dec Quentin Hammerstone, 11-3
160-Kollin Rath (BC) won by forfeit
172-James Geiger (East) won by forfeit
189-Justin Cosover (East) dec Dario Cruz, 5-1
215-James DeLuise (BC) dec Shae Linegar, 9-4
285-Kurtis Crossman (East) dec Jacob Lance, 2-0
PA AA State Dual Final:
Faith Christian Academy 46, Bishop McCort 18
107-Joey Bachman (FCA) pinned Dealon Britt, 1:29
114-Clayton Waltenbaugh (FCA) won by forfeit
121-Gauge Botero (FCA) maj-dec Lincoln Sledzianowski, 10-1
127-Jax Forrest (BM) pinned Dominic Reynolds, 1:12
133-Mason Gibson (BM) dec Mason Wagner, 4-0
139-Bo Bassett (BM) pinned Arment Waltenbaugh, 1:26
145-Chase Hontz (FCA) dec Sam Herring, 3-2
152-Max Stein (FCA) dec Melvin Miller, 6-1 OT SV
160-Devon Magro (BM) dec Cael Weidemoyer, 6-4
172-Nick Singer (FCA) pinned Owen McMullen, 3:07
189-Adam Waters (FCA) pinned Conrad Pensiero, 1:47
215-Jason Singer (FCA) pinned Jordan Butler, 1:52
285-Mark Effendian (FCA) won by forfeit
Delbarton captures first state dual title since 2020
In New Jersey, there are seven classifications in their dual meet state tournament series. Two for private schools and five for the public sector.
Delbarton competes in the Non-Public A Division and locked down the third state dual meet championship in the school’s history on Sunday at the Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University.
During the week last week matches took place across the state that led to two teams from every division converging on the arena Sunday to battle for state glory.
Delbarton won its third New Jersey state dual crown after capturing the Non-Public A Division, Sunday Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena.
Mat Scouts had defending champions St. Joseph Regional ranked just ahead of Delbarton in their team rankings (8 and 9). NJ.com had them flipped in their state rankings, with Delbarton in the No. 1 position and St. Joe in the No. 2 spot.
Delbarton’s mascot is the Green Wave while St. Joe’s is the Green Knight. We will keep things simple and drop the Green from our references as we describe the dual.
Wins were traded over the first four matches with Delbarton coming out of that sequence holding a 10-7 lead. The Wave received an unexpected forfeit at 215 as the Knights did not send out nationally ranked Aiden Schlett (honorable mention at 215).
No. 17 Rocco Dellagatta won a 7-3 decision over Conner Martin at heavyweight as the tide turned to the lightweights. No. 3 Delbarton’s Cameron Sontz put a major decision on Charles Esposito, 13-4, at 106. St. Joe’s Jonathan McGinty (113) answered that with a major of his own, 8-0, against PJ Terranova.
A small wave was produced by Delbarton with two consecutive victories at 120 and 126 for a 16-7 edge. At 120, No. 11 Dan Jones beat Mikey Bautista, 3-2, and No. 20 Ryan DeGeorge won a 7-1 bout with Vincent Paino.
No. 3 Adrian DeJesus had a harder than expected time at 132 with Delbarton’s Chase Quenault (honorable mention), struggling to a 4-2 win.
No momentum was built by the Knights as Delbarton produced a three-match win streak that put them in the driver’s seat. No. 11 Jayden James won a 10-3 match with Donny Almeyda at 138. Trevor Jones blanked James Sloan, 3-0, at 144. Honorable mention Gabe Logan surprised No. 21 Zach Ballante at 150 with a 6-3 victory that put the Wave ahead 25-10.
At 157, Carl Betz tried to keep the upset mojo flowing for Delbarton and he pushed No. 24 Frank DiBella to the brink before falling in the tiebreaker portion of overtime, 2-1.
No. 7 Alessio Perentin took the mat at 165 with the potential to clinch the state title for the Wave and he did just that with a 25-10 tech fall of Joesph Paretti to grow Delbarton’s lead to an insurmountable 17, 30-12, with two matches remaining.
St. Joe would close it out by winning the final matches. No. 5 Ryan Burton decked No. 10 Louis Cerchio at 175 in the third period, 4:44, and Kaleb Jackson won a 9-4 decision over Austin Quandt at 190.
Posting perfect records at 3-0 for Delbarton were DeGeorge, James, Dan Jones, Lee, Logan, and Perentin. 2-1 records were put up by Cerchio, Trevor Jones, Martin, Quenault, and Sontz.
St. Joe beat Delbarton in last year’s state final for their first state title since the 90s. Delbarton previously stood atop the state standings in the Non-Public A group in 2020 and 2011.
To reach the finals, the Green Wave took out the No. 35 team in the country, Christian Brothers Academy, 49-13, and St. Joseph Metuchen, 70-6. Sontz fell to No. 10 Killian Colucci, 8-5, in the CBA dual.
St. Joe Regional beat St. Peter Prep (40-18) and Bergen Catholic (58-3).
The Non-Public B title was captured by St. John Vianney with a 33-24 outcome with Camden Catholic. They also downed St. Thomas Aquinas (57-14) and Holy Cross Prep (70-12).
The Public School Champions were:
Group I: Paulsboro 33-25 Delaware Valley
Group II: Rumson-Fair Haven 60-15 Jefferson Township
Group III: Delsea 45-25 Cranford
Group IV: Ridge 35-33 Mt. Olive
Group V: Southern Regional 45-21 Phillipsburg (Southern Regional is ranked 37th in the nation)
Delbarton School defeated St Joseph Regional (Montvale) HS 30-22
215 - Vincent Lee (Delbarton School) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 - Rocco Dellagatta (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Connor Martin (Delbarton School) Dec 7-3
106 - Cameron Sontz (Delbarton School) over Charles Esposito (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Maj 13-4
113 - Johnathon McGinty (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Peter Terranova (Delbarton School) Maj 8-0
120 - Daniel Jones (Delbarton School) over Mikey Bautista (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Dec 3-2
126 - Ryan DeGeorge (Delbarton School) over Vincent Paino (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Dec 7-1
132 - Adrian DeJesus (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Chase Quenault (Delbarton School) Dec 4-2
138 - Jayden James (Delbarton School) over Donny Almeyda (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Dec 10-3
144 - Trevor Jones (Delbarton School) over James Sloan (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Dec 3-0
150 - Gabe Logan (Delbarton School) over Zach Ballante (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) Dec 6-3
157 - Frank DiBella (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Carl Betz (Delbarton School) TB-1 2-1
165 - Alessio Perentin (Delbarton School) over joseph Paretti (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) TF 25-10
175 - Ryan Burton (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Louis Cerchio (Delbarton School) Fall 4:44
190 - Kaleb Jackson (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) over Austin Quandt (Delbarton School) Dec 9-4
Checking in on Indiana’s Semi-State situation
Indiana held its four semi-state tournaments this weekend with the top four advancing to this coming weekend’s single class state tournament.
The Evansville entry was won by No. 19 Brownsburg with No. 29 Center Grove finishing as runner-up, 207-194.5. None of the other three tournaments were tightly contested.
Brownsburg crowned five champions with four of them being nationally ranked. No. 11 Revin Dickman defeated honorable mention Nathan Rioux (Avon), 4-2, at 113 in their fourth meeting of the season – all won by Dickman.
No. 14 Jake Hockaday used an 11-4 decision of Center Grove’s Eddie Goss to capture the 132lb gold. Honorable mention Brady Ison posted a 7-2 decision of Justice Thornton (Columbus North) at 138, fellow honorable mention grappler, Gunner Henry won the 190lb bracket with a 2-1 tiebreaker win over Kaden McConnell (Center Grove).
Caden Brewer won the 215lb weight with a 3-1 decision of Landon Terry (Tell City). Placing second for Brownsburg were Braylon Reynolds (126), Parker Reynolds (144), and Jesse Derringer (165). Mason Day was third at 157.
Center Grove’s four champs were Charlie LaRocca (120), Reese Courtney (144), No. 19 Wyatt Krejsa (150), and Nate Johnson (285).
No. 14 Isaiah Schaefer won the lone championship for Evansville Mater Dei with a 3-1 win over Braylon Edwards. Monrovia’s Royce Malone edged Columbus East’s Talon Jessup, 7-6.
The final three champs are Asher Ratliff (157), Bloomington South’s Evan Rouderbush (165), and Floyd Central’s Brady Emerine (175).
The New Castle Semi-State was won by Warren Central, who produced five champions amongst their six wrestlers moving on to states.
Christian Arberry (144) and Anthony Cashman (157) won 4-2 overtime decisions. Kyrel Leavell (138) and Brenton Russell (175) pinned their final foes. Honorable mention Waylon Cressell received a forfeit at 165. Perris Green was third at 285 for Warren Central.
The champion at Fort Wayne was Delta with two individual champions and six total wrestlers placing. No. 17 Jensen Boyd won the 106lb weight and Ayden Bollinger followed him with a gold at 113. Falling in the finals were Kaeb Stebbins (165) and Braxton Russell (175).
Kaid Jackson was third at 120 for Delta and Neal Mosier was fourth at 126.
No. 18 Crown Point dominated the East Chicago Central semi-state with champions in half the weights and twelve total placers.
Winning gold for Crown Point were Gavin Lewis with a 1-0 victory at 113 versus Brady Harper (Penn). Honorable mention Anthony Rinehart (165) also blanked his foe, Rochester’s Brant Beck, 3-0. No. 24 Paul Clark sat atop the heavyweight podium on the strength of a three-point win over Brady Beck from Rochester, 6-3.
Honorable mention LT Hawkins (126) and No. 18 Will Clark (215) posted pins in the finals. Gavin Jendreas (120) and honorable mention Clinton Shepherd (138) put tech-falls on the scorecard.
Crown Point’s silver medalists were Teigan Newell (106) and Sontonio Sessa (132). Bringing home bronze were Kaptur Nowaczyk (150) and Griffin VanTichelt (157). Aiden White was fourth at 175.
Montana State Tournament
For some of the states without a lot of nationally ranked wrestlers or storylines, we plan to just touch on what the nationally ranked wrestlers did at the state tournament.
Montana has two grapplers ranked in the country and both competed in the AA Division and won their state finals matches.
Keyan Hernandez (Billings West) is a honorable mention wrestler at 126. Hernandez used two first period falls and a tech-fall to advance to the finals where he beat Belgrade’s Mason Gutenberger, 4-1.
Flathead’s Anders Thompson, who is ranked No. 9 at 190, competed at 205lbs where he didn’t spend more than a minute on the mat in the three matches leading up to the finals, posting pins of 24, 57, and 53 seconds. In the finals, Thompson defeated Billings West’s Cooper Freitag, 13-4.
