EXPRESS TIMES Individual wrestling rankings as of March 14

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Individual wrestling rankings
Darian CruzDarian Cruz
103 Name Record School Class
1 Darian Cruz 41-3 Beth. Catholic So.
2 Ethan Lizak 33-10 Parkland Fr.
3 Cody Barbiche 39-2 Delaware Valley Sr.
4 Brett Marino 37-6 Liberty Sr.
5 Bryan Israel 36-9 Saucon Valley So.

Honorable mention: Fr. Dante Albanese (27-12) Pius X, Fr. Kyle Baker (30-15) Easton, So. Jaryd Flank (24-13) Wilson, So. Matt Moncourtois (28-10) North Hunterdon, Fr. Dylan Nace (30-7) Hunterdon Central, Fr. Matt Ritchie (23-9) North Warren, Jr. Brandon Sommer (22-17) Northampton, So. Matt Williams (37-10) Pen Argyl.

Notes: Conundrum here as Lizak was second in Class AAA and Cruz third in AA, implying Lizak could be No. 1, but Cruz has a far superior body of work and his semifinal loss to eventual state champion Jason Nolf of Kittanning was as close as it could be. So Cruz keeps top spot. All top five were state medalists (Barbiche fourth, Marino seventh, Israel sixth).

Zeke MoiseyZeke Moisey
112 Name Record School Class
1 Zeke Moisey 42-7 Beth. Catholic Fr.
2 Anthony Cabrera 37-5 Liberty Sr.
3 DeMarquis Holley 33-7 Dieruff Jr.
4 Gary Dinmore 31-3 Hunterdon Central Fr.
5 Ryan Nicotra 33-5 Hackettstown Sr.

Honorable mention: Fr. Pat Antonacci (27-5) Central Catholic, So. Anthony Dee (23-13) Salisbury, So. Ian Evans (26-18) Parkland, Fr. Josh Evans (29-7) Palmerton, Fr. Justin Pidoto (25-13) Warren Hills, Jr. Peter Stanley (28-17) Easton, Fr. Vinnie Vonelli (26-10) Pius X, Sr. Jamie Welsh (33-9) Pen Argyl, Fr. Chase Zemenak (30-16) Nazareth.

Notes: Another AAA/AA finish issue (Moisey 5th, Cabrera 4th) but Moisey's two head-to-head wins over Cabrera more than make up any such difference in finish. Holley and Welsh each won a match a states.

Randy CruzRandy Cruz
119 Name Record School Class
1 Randy Cruz 43-6 Beth. Catholic Jr.
2 Mike Pongracz 38-4 Delaware Valley So.
3 Evan Disora 30-11 Easton So.
4 Mike Fleck 14-4 Wilson Sr.
5 Grimaldi Gonzales 28-10 Liberty So.

Honorable mention: Jr. Joseph Dalessandro (23-13) Pius X, Sr. Lucas Dise (28-7) Northern Lehigh, Jr. James Elphick (14-11) Pen Argyl, So. Andrew Kaluzny (22-17) Phillipsburg, So. Tyler Kozimor (21-7) Hackettstown, So. Mike Rodgers (28-10) Central Catholic, So. Jesse Thorsen (25-11) Belvidere.

Notes: No problems here at top as Cruz gave three-time PIAA champion Jimmy Gulibon all he could ask and more in the Class AA state final. Fleck's third place in Class AA moves him into No. 4 spot.

Devon LotitoDevon Lotito
125 Name Record School Class
1 Devon Lotito 39-6 Liberty Jr.
2 Mike Fake 25-9 Parkland Sr.
3 Zane Heller 30-8 No. Lehigh Jr.
4 Robbie Rizzolino 36-13 Easton
So.
5 Dylan Thorsen 36-3 Belvidere Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Chris Davis (30-8) Voorhees, Sr. Franco Ferraina (31-5) Nazareth. Sr. Josh Fritz (25-12) Emmaus, Jr. Sam Oberlander (26-7) Palmerton, Sr. Jaydon Rice (32-11) Bethlehem Catholic, So. Brandon Rothman (19-14) Hackettstown, Jr. Paul Sloand (27-16) Saucon Valley, Jr.

Notes: Lotito gave three-time champion Nico Megaludis by far his best match en route to taking third at PIAA AAA and is a no-doubt-about-it No. 1. Fake's seventh place in AAA impressed more than Heller's eighth in AA so he moves up some notches. Sloand went 0-2 at states.
Zach HoranExpress-Times File PhotoZach Horan
130 Name Record School Class
1 Zach Horan 49-0 Nazareth Sr.
2 Matt Lane 33-8 Phillipsburg Sr.
3 Rich Cruz 27-15 Bethlehem Catholic Jr.
4 Calvin Daly 31-14 Easton Sr.
5 Vince Pellechia 33-4 Catasauqua Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Matt Boylan (21-14) Hunterdon Central, Sr. George Dalessandro (24-13) Pius X, So. Matt Ortiz (25-11) Northwestern, Jr. Javier Rivas (24-8) Dieruff, So. Mason Ryzoff (18-10) North Warren, Sr. Forest Touchberry (22-14) Parkland.

Notes: A wire-to-wire No. 1 for Horan, a four-time PIAA placewinner who made it to the top at last in 2011.

Mike RacciatoMike Racciato
135 Name Record School Class
1 Mike Racciato 48-2 Pen Argyl So.
2 Joey Rizzolino 43-7 Easton Sr.
3 Damien Hopper 34-5 Central Catholic Sr.
4 Jason Stephen 34-13 Northampton Jr.
5 Derek Zehnbauer 32-7 Delaware Valley Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Colby Barrett (19-9) Pius X, So. Mike Marano (24-19) Parkland, So. Eric Matz (24-9) Catasauqua, Jr. Aaron Morekin (26-8) Whitehall, 3. Sr. Greg Noll (37-10) Nazareth, Sr. Nikko Stevens (24-10) Northern Lehigh, Sr. Tye Vallone (17-13) Southern Lehigh.

Notes: Hail Racciato, the PIAA Class AA champ and another wire-to-wire No. 1. Hopper impressed with a fourth-place at Class AA states and gets a promotion.

Mitch Minotti headshotMitch Minotti
140 Name Record School Class
1 Mitch Minotti 44-2 Easton Jr.
2 Ryan Todora 38-11 Beth. Catholic So.
3 Luciano Burriesci 39-13 Pen Argyl Sr.
4 Ronnie Honickel 35-3 Voorhees Sr.
5 Zack Wilson 26-13 Northampton Sr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Bryson Berard (17-16) Parkland, Sr. Billy Butka (24-13) Warren Hills, Sr. Paul Schwartz (17-12) Freedom, Sr. Eric Seals (20-12) Allen, Sr. Rylan Watson (28-12) Phillipsburg.

Notes: Hats off to Minotti whose superb and savvy effort in Hershey made winning a state title look easy. Todora was sixth, Burriesci eighth in AA.

Chris CancelliereChris Cancelliere
145 Name Record School Class
1 Justin Heller 29-11 Parkland Sr.
2 Chris Cancelliere 34-6 North Hunterdon Sr.
3 John Lynch 31-8 Saucon Valley Sr.
4 Cole Sheptock 30-9 Northampton Jr.
5 Matt Gotzon 23-11 So. Lehigh Sr.

Honorable mention: So. Tyler Cote (19-8) Hunterdon Central, Jr. Steven Baker (23-10) Voorhees, Jr. Victor Embardino (22-9) Notre Dame, So. Ty Herzog (29-7) Northern Lehigh, Sr. John Kelly (16-11) Bangor, Sr. Kyle Kilpatrick (19-11) Wilson, Sr. Josh LaBar (34-9) Pius X, Sr. Rex Lutz (28-10) Pen Argyl, Jr. Joe Meyer (18-18) Phillipsburg, Sr. Anthony Minotti (25-11) Easton, So. Josh Young (19-8) Freedom.

Notes: Heller's eighth place in PIAA AAA was only state medal here so he'll finish at the top. Lynch went a disappointing 0-2 at states and that allows Cancelliere, who won a match at New Jersey states, to edge ahead of him for No. 2; admittedly not much separates the two.

Mason McIntyreMason McIntyre
152 Name Record School Class
1 Mason McIntyre 22-1 Easton Sr.
2 John Lambert 33-8 Northampton Sr.
3 Bobby Clymer 32-7 Northwestern Sr.
4 Dan Brockerhoff 28-11 Phillipsburg Sr.
5 Beau Vrancken 33-6 North Hunterdon Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Matt Bonshak (23-7) Whitehall, Sr. Chris Carey (30-7) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Kyle Dehaut (29-13) Bethlehem Catholic, So. Travis Buddock (19-10) Saucon Valley, Sr. Luke Gotzon (25-7) Southern Lehigh, So. Connor Hedash (18-10) Northern Lehigh, Jr. Mike Staufenberger (20-10) North Warren, Sr. Mike Rogers (22-15) Delaware Valley, Sr. Jason Rothman (22-6) Hackettstown, Sr. Solomon Sohn (13-9) Easton.

Notes: Lambert's eighth-place medal (the Konkrete Kids' only one) and Clymer's 1-2 at states don't come close to dislodging McIntyre at the top.

Jadaen BernsteinExpress-Times File PhotoJadaen Bernstein
160 Name Record School Class
1 Mike Ottinger 32-3 Parkland Sr.
2 Jadaen Bernstein 39-1 Voorhees So.
3 Elliot Riddick 40-8 Bethlehem Catholic Jr.
4 Ryan Krecker 33-5 Nazareth Sr.
5 Jon Blank 32-6 Notre Dame Jr.

Honorable mention: Jr. Billy Christensen (22-5) Wilson, Jr. Anthony Clifford (22-12) Central Catholic, Jr. Nathan Dow (33-7) Belvidere, Jr. V.J. Delmonico (25-15) Phillipsburg, So. Dave Fenton (19-15) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Tim Kunkel (24-14) Northampton, Jr. Justin Marsh (26-7) Palisades, Jr. JD Rabenold (21-16) Pen Argyl, Sr. Kyle Sorensen (26-9) Northwestern.

Notes: Ottinger's AAA state gold settles the season-long scrap atop this remarkably deep and talented class. Neither Riddick's fourth nor Krecker's (admittedly injury-driven) sixth is enough displace Bernstein, a New Jersey runner-up, at No. 2. Blank went 1-2 at AA states.

Will Van DorenWill Van Doren
171 Name Record School Class
1 Ray O'Donnell 40-8 Saucon Valley So.
2 Colin Hedash 32-5 Northern Lehigh Sr.
3 Will Van Doren 31-8 Delaware Valley Jr.
4 Zack Bambary 18-16 Easton Sr.
5 Jake Maffucci 27-4 Hunterdon Central Sr.

Honorable mention: So. Evan Bray (19-12) Belvidere, Sr. Tyler Horn (38-13) Pen Argyl, So. Liam Korbul (20-16) North Hunterdon, Jr. Levi Veppert (27-7) Northwestern Lehigh, Fr. Jose Ortiz (16-7) Bethlehem Catholic, Fr. Jovon Reyes (20-7) Dieruff, Jr. Eric Wolak (23-11) Nazareth.

Notes: O'Donnell's epic 7-6 win in a tiebreaker over Hedash in an AA consolation semifinal match -- probably the best single bout we watched in Hershey -- evened their season series at 1-1 and, given where it happened, nudged O'Donnell into the top spot (he finished fourth, Hedash sixth at states as well) here. Horn and Bambary went 0-2 at states.

Ian GimbarIan Gimbar
189 Name Record School Class
1 Ian Gimbar 41-3 Saucon Valley Sr.
2 Dylan Evans 32-13 Pen Argyl Jr.
3 Troy Newhard/td> 26-8 Emmaus Sr.
4
Evan Kauffman 16-6 Freedom So.
5 Marcus Newsom 26-11 Northampton Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Zach Bohn (31-7) Voorhees, Sr. Ben Bradley (21-13) Nazareth, Sr. Cory Bruder (22-9) Parkland, Jr. Luke Garner (28-3) Catasauqua, Fr. Fuad Haddad (18-10) Whitehall, Sr. Kyle Kathenes (25-9) Hackettstown, Jr. Anthony Pare (17-11) Phillipsburg.

Notes: Gimbar's third place at AA states and Evans' fifth nicely confirm our before-Hershey rankings. Nice to see multi-sport athletes Nos. 1 and 2 here.

Brandon HullExpress-Times File PhotoLiners' Brandon Hull finished third at 215 in the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic.
215 Name Record School Class
1 Tarik Haddad 26-6 Parkland Sr.
2 Brandon Hull 34-9 Phillipsburg Jr.
3 Tyler Greene 35-10 Easton So.
4 Kyle Nerger 30-9 North Hunterdon Sr.
5 David Wilke 29-14 Nazareth Jr.

Honorable mention: So. Josh Alpha (27-14) Bethlehem Catholic, So. Dennis Atiyeh (15-9) Notre Dame, Jr. Ryan Barry (28-13) Pen Argyl, Sr. Brian Guevara (27-7) Voorhees, Jr. Kane Kralik (24-9) Palmerton, Jr. Dan Smith (30-9) Warren Hills.

Notes: Haddad finished precisely where Hull did in states -- eighth -- and that's enough for him to stay at No. 1, albeit narrowly. Alpha's 0-2 at states can't move him into top 5.

Jack DeliaJack Delia
285 Name Record School Class
1 Jack Delia 38-1 North Hunterdon Sr.
2 Jalal Paige 41-7 Easton Sr.
3 Nick Sharga 34-6 Northampton Jr.
4 Aaron Bradley 24-6 Nazareth So.
5 Kirby Mutton 33-11 Pen Argyl Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Steven Farr (26-8) Dieruff, Sr. Sean Fortes (17-12) Freedom, Sr. Steve Giraldo (29-8) Hackettstown, Sr. Shaun Heist (24-13) Parkland, So. Chris Longyhore (16-13) North Warren, So. Daulton Romano (14-11) Southern Lehigh, Jr. Andrew Romeo (18-8) Bangor, So. Michael Williams (19-13) Notre Dame, Jr. Shaquone Williams (31-10) Pius X.

Notes: Only active wrestler this week was Mutton who went 0-2 at Pennsylvania Class AA states -- so no change here.

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