WRESTLING RANKINGS

Nine wrestlers have unblemished records as the calendar flips into February on the scholastic wrestling season.

Alex Shaffer (119), Dylan Thorsen (119), Bobby Stevely (125), Brian Bistis (135), Mark Hartenstine (140), Kevin Brown (152), Jerry Somma (160), Taray Carey (215) and Jack Delia (285) are all still perfect.

Six of the nine appear on the latest edition of "Head of the Class" -- the top 10 region wrestlers regardless of weight class -- as selected by Express-Times wrestling aficionado Michael Blouse.

See who made the cut and check out the latest individual wrestling rankings below.

Individual wrestling rankings

103 Name Record School Class
1 Anthony Cabrera 24-5 Liberty Jr.
2 Cody Barbiche 22-3 Delaware Valley Jr.
3 Anthony Bilotta 24-5 Pius X Sr.
4 Evan Disora 20-4 Easton Fr.
5 Matty Williams 21-3 Pen Argyl Fr.

Honorable mention: Fr. Ian Evans (21-7) Parkland, So. DeMarquis Holley (14-3) Dieruff, So. Bryan Israel (22-6) Saucon Valley. Taking injury time: Fr. Darian Cruz (23-3) Bethlehem Catholic, Fr. Zach Fisher (10-2) Phillipsburg.

Notes: Lots of movement among 103 weight class. No. 1 Cabrera defeated DiSora 4-1 to remain in top spot. Former No. 2 Cruz suffered potential season-ending ankle injury in practice and is now taking injury time. Former No. 3 Barbiche won Tri-County Tournament and went 4-0 to jump to second spot. Former No. 4 Bilotta was 1-0 and slots in third while former No. 5 DiSora was 1-1 and moves up to fourth. Williams, 3-0 last week, re-enters in fifth position.

112 Name Record School Class
1 Jamie Welsh 23-4 Pen Argyl Jr.
2 Randy Cruz 24-5 Beth. Catholic So.
3 Devon Lotito 14-4 Liberty So.
4 Mike Pongracz 24-3 Delaware Valley Fr.
5 Greg Rinker 21-6 Northampton Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Mike Fake (19-6) Parkland, Jr. Mike Fleck (12-11) Easton, So. Tyler Galasso (17-9) Freedom, So. Chris Greenwald (16-7) Warren Hills, Fr. Ty Herzog (20-6) Northern Lehigh, Sr. Dylan Long (22-2) Northwestern. Jr. Ryan Nicotra (21-6) Hackettstown, Sr. Jarrett Sutter (11-10) Nazareth.

Notes:Top three remain intact at 112 with new entry at fourth position. No. 1 Welsh was 3-0, Cruz 2-0 and Lotitio 1-0 last week. Cruz edged Rinker 2-1. Pongracz moves into top five at fourth after third-place effort at Tri-County tourney, including 11-0 major over former No. 4 Nictora. Rinker was 3-1.

119 Name Record School Class
1 Alex Shaffer 20-0 Hunterdon Central So.
2 Brandon Davis 23-5 Parkland Sr.
3 Franco Ferraina 21-4 Nazareth Jr.
4 Zane Heller 21-4 No. Lehigh So.
5 Robbie Rizzolino 20-6 Easton Fr.

Honorable mention: So. James Elphick (10-3) Pen Argyl, Jr. Josh Fritz (18-9) Emmaus, Jr. Brett Marino (13-12) Liberty, So. Sam Oberlander (16-7) Palmerton, Jr. Jaydon Rice (16-8) Bethlehem Catholic, So. Cole Sheptock (12-9) Northampton. Taking injury time: So. Dylan Thorsen (16-0) Belvidere.

Notes:Second consecutive perfect week at 119 pounds. Shaffer was 5-0 with Tri-County Tournament title. Davis and Ferraina both went 2-0 with Ferraina bumping to 125 during last Saturday night's match. Heller was 1-0 and moves to fourth spot with Thorsen taking injury time. Tough call at fifth slot goes to Rizzolino, who went 2-0.

125 Name Record School Class
1 Zach Horan 25-1 Nazareth Jr.
2 Bobby Stevely 25-0 Delaware Valley Sr.
3 Anthony Marino 21-6 Liberty Sr.
4 Corey Kozimor 17-2 Hackettstown Sr.
5 Matt Lane 17-3 Phillipsburg Jr.

Honorable mention: So. Rich Cruz (16-9) Bethlehem Catholic, Sr. Eddie Faust (17-9) Northwestern, Sr. Jordan Glykas (13-8) Northampton, Sr. Justin Mazza (25-2) Pius X, Sr. Spencer Parcel (19-5) Hunterdon Central, So. Vinny Pellechia (20-5) Catasauqua, Sr. Adam Phillippi (23-5) Saucon Valley.

Notes:Movement in positions two and four in strong weight class at 125. Horan remains No. 1 after 2-0 week. Stevely defeated Kozimor 6-1 in final at Tri-County tournament and those two flip-flop spots at second and fourth. Stevely was 5-0; Kozimor 4-1. Marino went 1-0 and remains third. Lane stays in fifth slot after 5-1 week and second-place finish in Tri-County at 130 pounds.

130 Name Record School Class
1 Mitch Minotti 22-3 Easton So.
2 Mikey Racciato 26-2 Pen Argyl Fr.
3 Greg Noll 20-7 Nazareth Jr.
4 David Volyn 19-3 Hunterdon Central Jr.
5 Ryan Todora 17-6 Bethlehem Catholic Fr.

Honorable mention: So. Victor Embardino (18-9) Notre Dame, So. Ronnie Honickel (17-4) Voorhees, Jr. Rob Napolitano (16-7) Hackettstown, Sr. Adam Simon (15-9) Phillipsburg, Sr. Trevor Steifken (17-6) Delaware Valley.

Notes:Another near-perfect week at 130. No. 1 Minotti was 2-0; Racciato 3-0; Noll 2-0 with clutch ultimate-tiebreaker decision at 135 in LVC dual win vs. Parkland; Volyn, 5-1, was third at Tri-County at 125; and Todora was 1-0. Todora enters in fifth slot in place of Honickel.

135 Name Record School Class
1 Brian Bistis 24-0 Hunterdon Central Sr.
2 Joey Rizzolino 19-7 Easton Jr.
3 Matt Schuebel 21-4 Warren Hills Jr.
4 Justin Heller 22-8 Parkland Jr.
5 A.J. Chernaskey 25-4 Saucon Valley Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Luciano Burriesci (19-8) Pen Argyl, Jr. Kevin Guenther (13-4) Delaware Valley, Sr. Matt Klacik (14-10) Freedom, Sr. John Horak (15-10) Phillipsburg, Sr. Vinnie Peoni (18-6) Voorhees, Jr. Ian Stout (15-7) Nazareth.

Notes: Top four at 135 remain intact with new No. 5. Bistis, 6-0 last week, took first place in Tri-County Tournament at 130 and remains No. 1. Rizzolino responded from tough stretch with 2-0 week. Schuebel went 2-3 with fourth-place effort at Tri-County tourney. Heller was 1-1. Chernaskey, 1-0, moves into top five in close battle for fifth spot.

140 Name Record School Class
1 Mark Hartenstine 25-0 Easton Sr.
2 Anthony Gaito 21-3 Warren Hills Sr.
3 Tyler Torcivia 23-5 Nazareth Sr.
4 John Lynch 22-3 Saucon Valley Jr.
5 Rex Lutz 21-6 Pen Argyl Jr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Dan Brockerhoff (15-9) Phillipsburg, Sr. Michael Kistler (17-7) Parkland, Sr. Matt Knowles (19-6) Delaware Valley, So. Mark Misczenski (5-2) Easton, Sr. Erik Mitchell (19-7) Hackettstown, Sr. Billy Paukovits (14-9) Northampton, Jr. Nikko Stevens (21-4) Northern Lehigh.

Notes: Shakeup in middle of 140-pound rankings. No. 1 Hartenstine went 2-0. Gaito was 3-1 with first-place finish at Tri-County Tournament after loss to Bistis. Torcivia drops from 145 and assumes third spot after 2-0 week. Lynch did not compete. Lutz was 3-0. Former No. 4 Knowles, who was 1-2 last week, drops to honorable mention.

145 Name Record School Class
1 Mike Ottinger 24-3 Parkland Jr.
2 Ryan Krecker 24-3 Nazareth Jr.
3 Phil Racciato 24-1 Pen Argyl Sr.
4 Elliot Riddick 20-6 Bethlehem Catholic So.
5 Kyle Mesce 24-2 Delaware Valley Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Chris Carey (17-5) Hunterdon Central, Jr. Bobby Clymer (20-4) Northwestern, Sr. Dan Costenbader (19-4) Palmerton, So. Nathan Dow (15-6) Belvidere, Sr. Jake Giovannini (24-5) Pius X, Sr. Garret Henning (16-9) Liberty, So. Dylan Hofmann (19-5) Northern Lehigh, Jr. Anthony Minotti (16-7) Easton, So. Beau Vranken (18-6) North Hunterdon, Sr. Aaron Williams (21-8) Whitehall, Jr. Zack Wilson (16-11) Northampton. Taking injury time: Sr. Storm Deemer (9-4) Warren Hills.

Notes: Major changes at 145. Ottinger moves to No. 1 after 3-1 OT win over Krecker, who dropped from 145 for last Saturday night's LVC dual meet. Ottinger was 2-0 last week; Krecker 1-1. Racciato went 3-0; Riddick 1-1; and Mesce 5-1. Mesce moves back to fifth after taking third at Tri-County tourney.

152 Name Record School Class
1 Kevin Brown 27-0 North Warren Sr.
3 Austin Sommer 25-4 Northampton Sr.
4 Oliver Brukardt 24-2 Phillipsburg Sr.
5 Chris Cancelliere 23-1 North Hunterdon Jr.
5 Ryan Krecker 23-2 Nazareth Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Greg Chrin (22-5) Notre Dame, Jr. Kyle Dehaut (23-6) Bethlehem Catholic, Sr. Mike Englert (19-5) Palmerton, Sr. Ryan Gellner (17-8) Delaware Valley, Jr. Matt Gotzon (15-5) Southern Lehigh, Sr. Seth Guth (23-5) Whitehall, Sr. Xavier Isley (10-5) Dieruff, Sr. Todd Johnson (18-6) Hunterdon Central.

Notes: Position jockeying and new No. 5 at 152. Brown was 4-0 last week and won Tri-County tourney title. Sommer, 4-0; Brukardt, 2-0; and Hedash, 1-0, all move up one spot. Cancelliere, 5-1, joins top five in fifth slot after third-place finish in Tri-County Tournament.

160 Name Record School Class
1 Wade Rivera 27-2 Parkland Sr.
2 Jerry Somma 23-0 Hunterdon Central Sr.
3 Mike Brown 20-7 Liberty Sr.
4 John Lambert 21-6 Northampton Jr.
5 Josh Rodriguez 13-3 Whitehall Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Zack Bambary (15-9) Easton, So. Jonathan Blank (21-5) Notre Dame, Jr. Luke Gotzon (14-3) Southern Lehigh, Fr. Liam Korbul (15-7) North Hunterdon.

Notes: Status quo at 160. No. 1 Rivera went 2-0; Somma was 5-0 with Tri-County title; Brown 1-0; Lambert 4-0; and Rodriguez 2-1.

171 Name Record School Class
1 Colin Hedash 23-1 Northern Lehigh Jr.
2 Tate Klidonas 26-3 Emmaus Sr.
3 Mike Hafke 22-2 Voorhees Sr.
4 Matt Artigliere 20-3 Warren Hills Sr.
5 Luke DeLuisea 26-2 Pius X Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Ben Bradley (20-5) Nazareth, Sr. Nick Edmonson (23-3) Saucon Valley, So. Dylan Evans (20-7) Pen Argyl, Sr. Cody Lewis (8-1) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Tyler Marx (13-6) Northampton, Sr. Chris Pintado (20-5) Liberty.

Notes: No changes among 171. Hedash remains No. 1 after 1-0 week. Klindonas was 3-0. Hakfe was 5-1 with lone loss 7-5 decision to Ryan Callahan from Wallkill Valley in Tri-County final. Artigliere was 1-2. DeLuise went 1-0.

189 Name Record School Class
1 Ian Gimbar 24-5 Saucon Valley Jr.
2 Andrew Scudder 21-5 Hackettstown Sr.
3 Tarik Haddad 23-7 Parkland Jr.
4 Dan Brereton 19-4 Voorhees Sr.
5 Jake Maffucci 18-6 Hunterdon Central Jr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Tyler Horn (19-8) Pen Argyl, So. Brandon Hull (17-9) Phillipsburg, Jr. Martin LaLuz (16-8) Bethlehem Catholic, So. Troy Newhard (21-6) Emmaus, Sr. Kevin Rehm (22-5) Whitehall.

Notes: No. 1 remains same with movement in positions two through four at 189. Gimbar was 2-0 last week and controls top spot. Scudder went 4-0 with first-place finish at Tri-County tourney to vault from honorable mention to second spot. Haddad was 1-1 and drops to third. Brereton went 5-2 with third-place effort at Tri-County. Maffucci was 3-2 and finished fourth at Tri-County at 171.

215 Name Record School Class
1 Taray Carey 21-0 Whitehall Sr.
2 Kyle O'Donnell 20-1 Warren Hills Sr.
4 Francis Roscioli 21-3 Wilson Sr.
4 Aaron Bradley 18-6 Nazareth Fr.
5 Jalal Paige 17-9 Easton Jr.

Honorable mention: So. Nick Sharga (16-7) Northampton, Sr. Sam Tintle (16-7) Phillipsburg, Sr. Khalid Zubaydi (17-5) Hackettstown.

Notes: No changes up top but major shakeup in middle at 215. No. 1 Carey went 3-0 last week to stay perfect. O'Donnell was 1-0 but did not compete at Tri-County. Roscioli went 2-0 and moves up spot to third. Bradley was 2-0 and jumps from honorable mention to fourth slot. Paige emerges from honorable mention at fifth position after 2-0 week and 7-5 decision over former No. 4 Tintle.

285 Name Record School Class
1 Jack Delia 23-0 North Hunterdon Jr.
2 Brad Bormann 19-2 Hunterdon Central Sr.
3 Jon Slack 20-4 Warren Hills Sr.
4 Tony Bourizk 19-2 Whitehall Sr.
5 D.J. King 19-5 Nazareth Sr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Ryan Fazzi (15-10) Phillipsburg, Sr. Curtis Garner (17-1) Catasauqua, Jr. Steve Giraldo (21-4) Hackettstown, Sr. Greg Ritter (21-2) Belvidere.

Notes: Much of same at 285 with flip-flop among two and three positions. No. 1 Delia went 4-0 and won Tri-County title with 2-1 win over Bormann in final. Bormann, 4-1 last week, defeated Slack 2-1 in OT in semifinals at Tri-County to flip-flop spots two and three. Slack, 2-2, then forfeited to Ritter in third-place bout. Bourizk was 3-0 and King 2-0.

Source: Express Times