Roxbury 45-41 over Randolph

Roxbury beats Randolph in Girls Hoops.

This story and Roxbury's win over Kinnelon in wrestling can be seen here: www.MorrisCountyHSsports.net

Intermat Wrestle.com release national top 20 by class

Read the InterMat Wrestle Blog. (They explain their top 20 and why they selected the way they did. If you think Joe Hofmann has a tough time picking the Area top 5, ot the Gannet top 5 ... try the entire nation!)

http://www.intermatwrestle.com/high_school/rankings/hsrank0607_01.aspx
Click the above link to check out 2006-07 InterMat High School Individual Rankings. You will find the complete list of the top 20-ranked wrestler in the US as of January 3, 2007. Below are the New Jersey Wrestlers:

112
3 Dan Kelly (Delaware Valley, NJ) Sr.
5 Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ) Fr.
6 Patrick Hunter (South Plainfield, NJ) Jr.
119
4 Fred Santiate (Northern Highlands, NJ) Sr.
6 Frank Perrelli (Delbarton, NJ) Jr.
125
2 Dan White (Peddie School, NJ) Jr.
11 John Trumbetti (St. Joseph's Regional, NJ) Sr.
130
2 Kellen Russell (Blair Academy, NJ) Sr.
9 Joe Trause (Bergen Catholic, NJ) Jr.
135
3 Trevor Melde (Delbarton, NJ) Jr.
4 Max Shanaman (Blair Academy, NJ) Sr.
7 Nick Murray (Bound Brook, NJ) Sr.
17 Dale Fava (Don Bosco Prep, NJ) Sr.
140
1 Mario Mason (Blair Academy, NJ) Jr.
152
1 Scott Winston (Jackson Memorial, NJ) Jr.
3 Eric Medina (Blair Academy, NJ) Sr.
4 Luke Lanno (Southern Regional, NJ) Sr.
18 Frankie McLaughlin (Hillsborough, NJ) Sr.
160
5 John Mangini (Hillsborough, NJ) Sr.
171
19 Tommy Spellman (Kittatinny, NJ) Sr.
215
18 Roy Dragon (Bridgewater-Raritan, NJ) Sr.
20 Adam Henig (Toms River East, NJ) Sr.
285
5 Zach Rey (Hoptacong, NJ) Sr.
9 Demetrius Hester (Paulsoboro, NJ) Sr.

Complete list: http://www.intermatwrestle.com/high_school/rankings/hsrank0607_01.aspx

Comparing the girls top 10

	Morris County Varsity.net		Star Ledger	Daily Record
	as of 12-31		as of 1-3	as of 1-3
1	Morris Catholic		Morris Catholic	Morris Catholic
2	West Morris		West Morris	Mountain Lakes
3	Mountain Lakes		Hanover Park	West Morris
4	Hanover Park		Mountain Lakes	Hanover Park
5	Morris Knolls		Kinnelon	Kinnelon
6	Kinnelon		Morristown	sparta
7	Mendham		Mendham	pope john
8	Chatham		Chatham	Mendham
9	Morristown		Randolph	Chatham
10	Morris Hills		Butler	Morristown

Dover wins 32-30

Click here for match-by-match results

Read the previous link for my prediction on the match!

What happened in the top 10:

1) Mt. Olive beat Randolph by 5;

• Mount Olive 40 (5-0), Randolph 35 (4-1)

2) Randolph (see above)

3) Roxbury beat to WMC; WMC 24 (1-2), Rox. 35 (3-0)

• Apparently the score was intered incorrectly last night at njo.com Roxbury did, infact, beat WMC, just look at the match scores

4) Jefferson beat Vernon; Jeff 53 (3-1), Vernon 30

5) Madison beat Orange;

• Madison 68 (5-0), Orange 11 (0-2)

6) Mendham beat Chatham;

• Mendham 63 (2-3), Chatham 14 (0-7)

7) West Morris lost to Roxbury 24-35

8) Morris Knolls beat Livingston in a very close match (who said that?)

• Morris Knolls 37 (2-1), Livingston 34 (2-5)

9) Hanover Park beat Par Hills

• Hanover Park 43 (4-2), Parsippany Hills 22 (1-4)

10) Kinnelon beat Mt Lakes; Kinn 47 (4-0), ML 25

Other Match notes:

The Hanover-Par Hills Match:

HP 43 (4-2), PH 22 (1-4)

103	Charles Savino (HP) pinned Zack Adamczyk (PH) , 1:06
112	Jordan Toma (HP) dec. Jose Sosa (PH) , 10-2
119	Ben McNeil (PH) pinned Mike Johnston (HP) , 0:42
125	Anthony Johnston (HP) dec. Joe Molloy (PH) , 6-4
130	Mike Egan (PH) dec. Mark Pompei (HP) , 12-3
135	Rich Szymczak (HP) dec. Jason Morales (PH) , 15-0
140	Chris Tracy (HP) pinned Steve Schwarcz (PH) , 0:36
145	Rob Cali (HP) pinned Tim Shevelove (PH) , 4:19
152	Jake Gruebert (HP) pinned Kevin Moon (PH) , 4:14
160	Paul Crutchlow (PH) dec. Mike Lomio (HP) , 6-3
171	Ron Landy (HP) dec. Yuriy Maoyvskiy (PH) , 10-2
189	Joe Williams (HP) dec. Joe Melenka (PH) , 13-8
215	Anthony Corigiliano (PH) dec. Antonio Delvescovo (HP) , 7-6
HWT	Spencer Williams (PH) pinned Doug Meringer (HP) , 1:29

Post Match: OK, I was way off here on the team score; Grubert did return and got the hornets 6; The Hornets did win 5 out of 7 in the middle, starting at 125. The Hornets send out Marc Pompei at 130, I think it was his first varsity match this year and not letting up 5 or 6 was a great job there. Toma came through, and so far is the most improved Hornet this year, beating Sosa. McNeil pinned and as I said before, looks very strong this year. The win at 285 gave the Vikings two of the three key matches they needed. Rob Cali came through with 6 very important points at 145 and was a key swing on the way to Hanover’s victory.

Prematch: Par Hills has suffered a few tough losses to Scotch Plains, Mendham and Mt. Olive. Obviously on Mendham counts in conference standing, but both matches should have the Vikings ready for the youth strong Hornets. Hanover sends out a solid line up matches up well with the Vikings. Look for the Hornets to win 5 of 7 matches in the middle, especially if Jake Grubert returns at 152. Ben McNeil has been tough all year and looks strong, finishing 2nd in the Parsippany tournament. But big win at 112, 119 and 285 will not be enough to overcome the Hornets. Key matches include Toma and Sosa at 112, who ever wrestles at 130 and Symcheck v. Eagan at 135. But depending on the toss, do not be surprised if Par Hills bumps up from McNeil on in hopes to gain back some points. Prediction: Hornets by 4

Other scores from Morris:

• Boonton 65 (3-1), Pingry 6 (0-4)

• Dover 32 (4-2), Morris Hills 30 (2-3)

• Kinnelon 47 (4-0), Mountain Lakes 25 (2-5)

• Millburn 50 (4-1), Butler 25 (0-1)

• Parsippany 52 (3-1), Barringer 24 (1-3)

• Parsippany 63 (2-1), Weequahic 12 (0-2)

• Pequannock 34 (4-1), West Milford 27 (2-2)

• Verona 77 (5-5), Morris Catholic 6 (1-2)

• West Orange 45 (5-1), Montville 26 (1-3)

• Whippany Park 49 (3-0), Montclair Kimberley 25 (2-3)

Note: Hackettstown 33 (2-0), Brearley 28 (9-1) (Our expert here at MorrisCountyVarsity.net predicted Hackettstown by 8, 5 is good enough for me.)
** All box scores are from NJO.com and the best HS sports updates ever!

Wednesday Night Lights!

Basketball news: Parsippany (1-4) travels to Whippany Park (2-4) today at 4:00. Ashok Vegesna is capable of lighting up the scoreboard for the Wildcats. Ricky Growe and Chris Harper and add a few and make sure that Vegesna gets open looks. The Red Hawks can answer with Tariq Yaqoobi who can be dangerous from deep. You may see overtime here!

====================================

Coach Carchietta will be at Dover tonight; there is a small chance I may drive up to West Morris instead but not likely due to a 5:00 appointment. Joe Hofmann should be at Mt. Olive. A few matches will have a heavy impact on conference play tonight.

Colonial Hills Action: Kinnelon looks to stay undefeated in the Colonial Hills with a win over Mt. Lakes. Whippany Park is at MKA and the Wildcats need to keep pace with the Colts. Boonton should win big over Pingry.

Prediction: Kinnelon by 17 over Mountain Lakes; Kinnelon will have too many pins for Mountain Lakes to over come. Look for Vandame to wrestle 285 if the match starts past 125, but Kinnelon should sweep 103, 112 and 119 with bonus points.

Hills Division – Iron Hills Action:
Par Hills has suffered a few tough losses to Scotch Plains, Mendham and Mt. Olive. Obviously on Mendham counts in conference standing, but both matches should have the Vikings ready for the youth strong Hornets. Hanover sends out a solid line up matches up well with the Vikings. Look for the Hornets to win 5 of 7 matches in the middle, especially if Jake Grubert returns at 152. Ben McNeil has been tough all year and looks strong, finishing 2nd in the Parsippany tournament. But big win at 112, 119 and 285 will not be enough to overcome the Hornets. Key matches include Toma and Sosa at 112, who ever wrestles at 130 and Symcheck v. Eagan at 135. But depending on the toss, do not be surprised if Par Hills bumps up from McNeil on in hopes to gain back some points. Prediction: Hornets by 4

Prediction: Dover 32-30 over Morris Hills– This match will swing greatly on 119, 125 and 130. If Dover has their full squad back from injury, look for the Tigers to win by 6-8. Look for Dover to earn bonus points from Capaccio and Gizas. If Dover does not have a full squad and a few toss up matches fall for the up and coming Scarlet Knights, look for an IHC win for the school from Rockaway.

Iron Division – Iron Hills Action:
Knolls travels to Livingston in what should be a very close match a few good match ups. Coach Rizzo always has his kids prepared and the Eagles are well prepped with their solid December schedule.

The two key matches are Randolph at Mt. Olive and Roxbury at West Morris. You can bet the excitement in both gyms will be sky high. A few key match ups that you can hope to see tonight are 189 -- Mike Suk (Ran) vs. Pych (MO); 215 -- Rob Garone (Ran) vs. Kyle Hopler (MO). It will be a shame if that match starts at 160 or up, but if you’er starting at or around 125, you may see some solid line up swapping to secure a team win.

So much depends on match-ups, first match and odds/evens that its difficult to lay down possible points. Let’s decide it on the mat!

Chatham Boosters and Athletes Raise Funds

Below is a message from Chatham A.D. Harvey Cohen:

Here is a recap of the Cougar Classic Basketball Tournament that was hosted last week. We are extremely proud of our affiliation with the Children's Specialized Hospital as well as the efforts that the young men and women put into the tournament. We hope that everyone involved had a great athletic experience.

A big thank you to the Athletic Booster Club for co-sponsoring the tournament with the Department of Athletics. The Athletic Booster Club will augment the donations that were collected to bring the total to $10,000 raised for the Children's Specialized Hospital. There will be a presentation made between games at Cougar Night on January 20th.

Great work for all the right reasons!

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Comaparing the Wrestling Top 10
=====================================

WRESTLING -- Comparison of the Morris County Top Teams

Morris County Varsity	Star Ledger	Daily Record
1. Mt. Olive	1-Mount Olive (4-0)	1-Mount Olive
2. Randolph	2-Roxbury (2-0)	3-Randolph
3. Roxbury	3-Jefferson (2-1)	4-Roxbury
4. Jefferson	4-Randolph (4-0)	5-Jefferson
5. Madison	5-West Morris (1-1)	6-Morris Knolls
6. Mendham	6-Mendham (1-3)	7-Mendham (1-3)
7. West Morris	7-Madison (4-0)	8-Madison (4-0)
8. Morris Knolls	8-Hanover Park (2-1)
9. Hanover Park	9-Morristown (1-2)	2, 9, & 10 are Sussex County Teams
10. Kinnelon	10-Parsippany (1-1)

Wrestling Top 10

You maybe reading this because my good friend Joe Hofmann has directed you here. If you read his: Best of the Tournament Season. Click the links below to view the following:

Morris County H.S. Sports’ Wrestling Page

I do thank Joe for mentioning my blog and I will be the first to admit that I was not happy leaving the Parsippany Tournament early, but in my defense, it was for the Rutgers’ Bowl game!!

I was also happy to see that Joe had me ranked as the #2 best announcer, one year after he ripped me apart for mispronouncing the names of a few state contenders from Rahway. (no, not Wilson). So, at least I am moving up. But how did Joe forget the announcer from the Lenape Valley Tournament. He was very good and us PA announcers know, when it comes time for the finals we always seem to be left high and dry and working the clock, announcing the next match and announcing the top three finishers from the prior match!

Does anyone know the real team scores from the Parsippany Christmas tournament? The Star Ledger did not post them (as far as I could find) and the Daily Record posted scores before the 3rd place matches.

In defense of other local tournaments, Roselle Park only had 8 teams and Madison only entered 8 wrestlers; The Hanover tournament went non-stop from 9 am to the finals with only a ten-minute break to move the mats. The Parsippany Tournament was right on the schedule printed on their free program (actually, they started the finals early).

I have to revamp my wrestling top 10. It is very difficult to tell who will be the best dual meet team, and that is how I will rank the Morris Teams, by dual meet. Tournaments are great, and I do love the tournament concept, but dual meets come down to coaching, match ups and a wrestler knowing what he needs to do (or not do) so that the team can win. Coaching comes into play in major way during dual meets. Just ask Boise St. how important coaching, believing in what your coach teaches you and executing what your coach instructs you to do, is! I wonder how much the Jets believe in Mangini? Do not be surprised when the Jets win Sunday. And the Giants falling from their great start? When you believe in your coach and your teammates, any thing is possible … I hope they believe!

Back from my tangent:
My top 10 for Morris County – I have to switch in Morris Knolls for Pequannock. I do not know how I left them out.

1. Mt. Olive (Randolph-Wed; WMC & Montville-Sat)
2. Randolph (Mt. Olive-Wed; North Warren Duals-Sat)
3. Roxbury (WMC-Wed; Kinnelon, Pompton Lakes & Hopatcong-Sat)
4. Jefferson (Vernon-Wed; Hopatcong-Fri; Knolls, St. Peters, Passaic Valley-Sat)
5. Madison (Orange; Newark Acad. Tourn – Sat)
6. Mendham (Chatham-Wed; Brick, Toms River, St. Mary's)
7. West Morris (Roxbury-Wed; Mt. Olive-Sat)
8. Morris Knolls (Livingston-Wed; Jefferson, Passaic Valley, St. Peters-Sat)
9. Hanover Park (Par Hills-Wed; no meet Saturday?)
10. Kinnelon (Mt. Lakes-Wed; Roxbury, Pompton Lakes & Hopatcong-Sat)

Maybe Knolls and West Morris should be switched, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

www.NJlineup.com has added tournament results! You can almost any informational results you need from this site now. I just wish more coaches could email their results/brackets to these people so that we could be more informed. The Phillipsburg Wrestling site is filled with great wrestling stuff, too. http://www.enter.net/~jkopesky/

I just checked my web site’s referrer site count, that is, where people came from to view my site. Here are the top 5:

1) www.njo.com/forums/hshockey 23.8%

2) www.njo.com/forums/hswrestling 18.4%

3) Google adsense 10.4%

4) www.njo.com/forums/hswrestlingn 10.0%

5) www.morriscountyvarsity.net 5.1%

If you put together the wrestling forums, the amounts are very, very close. This is the site only. The Blog is on a different counter.

Happy New Year

Go look at the website: http://www.morriscountyhssports.net/

I may have been the first to Rag about Boise St. being in a Bowl this deep in day. I was right there complaining about their schedule. I was even more upset the “prime time” 8:00 game was Boise St. and Oklahoma and not the game for pre-season #1, Nebraska-USC.

But I just watched the best game in the history of college football. This game tops last year’s Texas victory; it tops so many other games I could keep listing. But, to watch this entire game and see the little guy look at a loss with only a minute left and come back with a few of the best plays in the bag, executed to perfection.

ESPN’s Box Score

CNN’s Box Score

Quick note: CNN uses Stats.com. When I was a senior in college, I had noticed a job ad on AOL from Stats.com. The job looked very, very interesting to me and something that I would have loved to do for a living. The company was very small at the time, about 5 or 6 employees and growing. After specking with one of the executives from stats.com, I had realized that I would have to move to the Chicago, Illinois area. That memory had been hidden somewhere in my files until tonight when I was saw their logo on the bottom of CNN.com