Morris County Varsity.net

Chatham defeated Mendham in IHC-Hills Division play tonight in Chatham. The defending champion Cougars improved to 2-0 in conference play and 2-1 overall. Although it’s difficult to tell from the box score, Mendham kept pulling within low single digits during each of the 1st three quarters. Chatham erupted out of the gate for a quick double digit lead, but Mendham stormed back. Each Minuteman was quickly snubbed the Cougars. Mendham was able to get within five midway through the third.

Mendham put up a tough fight for most of the game but in the end, Chatham led by Billy Oliver was too much to handle. In their home environment with their crowd behind them, the Cougars showed a relentless Mendham why it will not be easy to beat the defending Morris County Tournament champions this season. Oliver, the 6-foot-8 senior who has committed to play at Penn State next year, finished with 22 points after a slow start. Mendham kept Oliver scoreless in the 2nd quarter and the senior had seven in the 1st half. Mendham’s leading scorer was Rob Berish, who also finished with 22 points. Josh Toolajian added 14 points for Chatham while Mark Cisco ended up with 10 points for Mendham. Although Chatham led throughout the game Mendham was in contention until the last four minutes, when the Cougars pulled away to win by 17 points.

Click here to watch game highlights!

Chatham (2-1)                      15   11   16   22   64
Mendham (1-1)                       9    8   13   17   47

Hanover Park Tournament Preview

December 15, 2007

Nine Teams: Chatham, Hanover Park, Mountain Lakes, Paramus , Pascack Valley, Pequannock, Pingry, Rahway, West Morris

Preliminary Seeds – all weigh classes will be re-seeded after weigh-ins on Saturday Morning. As you know with these pre-seeding meetings, they rarely ever hold up, especially on opening weekend.

The 1^st weekend tournaments are always fun because you get your 1^st look at a new line ups. With the new certification procedure, some wrestlers maybe up a weigh class.

103:

How many: 6 wrestlers; four freshmen, two sophomores.

Who did what: Sophomore Zach Zotollo from Paramus was seeded 1^st and is the only wrestler with Varsity experience going 4-0 as a freshman.

The skinny on 103: Always fun, the opening tournament 103 where everyone is eager to see the future stars of the program. (6)Dave Cholish is a familiar name from West Morris and (2)Nick Giordano of Hanover Park was a strong Tri-County wrestler. Giordano could add to the strong 103-line at HP over the past two years, following Charles Savino and Angelo Licata.

The field: (5)Jalari Sults – Rahway; (4)Derek Lee – PV; (3)Bobby Weisse – Pequannock;

112:

How many: 8 wrestlers; four freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors

Who did what: Sophomore Joe Brennan of Mountain Lakes was seeded 1^st. 7^th Seed Patrick James of Chatham was 9-16 last year as a junior.

The skinny on 112: (2)Angelo Licata – Hanover Park, who was a 2005 HP tournament finalist at 103 as a freshman, is the #2-seed. Licata missed all of his sophomore season due to an illness.

The field: (3) Tim Crooks - Pequannock; (5)Aaron Sabino – WMC; (4)AJ Scimeca – PV; (3)Rochell Hinton – Rahway; (6)Nick Alpher – Paramus; (7) Patrick James (CHAT)

119:

How many: 8 wrestlers;

Who did what: 2006 HP Tournament Champion Joe Ortiz of Paramus is the #1-seed. Ortiz was the ‘06-‘07 Region II champion, doing so on a 3-1 decision over Vinnie Fava of Don Bosco. Fava won District 5 with an 8-6 victory over Ortiz.

The skinny on 119: Definitely the strongest weigh-class in the lower weights. Senior (3)Nate St. Elme of Rahway (3^rd at 103 last year); (2)Jordan Toma of Hanover Park and (4)Nick Esemplare of Pequannock (4^th at 112 last year) are all possibilities to advance to the finals.

The field: (8)Joe Sweeney - WMC; (5)Joe Natelli – PV; (6)Alex Cameron – Chatham; (7)Ratish Malhotra - Pingry

125:

How many: 8 wrestlers

Who did what: Mike Quinn of Pascack Valley is the #1-seed. Quinn was 31-5 last year, champion of District 8 & finishing in 4^th place in Region II.

The skinny on 125: (2)Charles Savino – Hanover Park makes the jump from 103. Savino and (3) Mark Flemming (112) of West Morris were both 2^nd place finishers last year. Freshman (6) Sean Affilto of Pequannock was a strong Tri-County contender last year.

The field: (8)Danny Walsh – Rahway; (5)Paul Anderson – Paramus; (4)David Rosenbloom – Chatham; (7)Robby Allen - Pingry

130:

How many: 7 wrestlers – only one senior

Who did what: Marc Cirello of Paramus, the #1-seed went 25-14 in ‘06-’07 – 2^nd place finisher is District 5 last year – HP tourn: 3^rd place at 119 last year.

The skinny on 130: Another wide open field with almost all new comers. (5) Gary Nevolis (WMC) and (2)Robert Traver (Chatham) both wrestled a total of 9 matches last season. Nevolis was 3-6 while Traver was 2-7.

The field: (4)Greg Moore – PV; (3)Alfonse Scala – HP; (6)Quaran Womack – Rahway; (7)Will Fischer – Pingry

135:

How many: 8 wrestlers – only one freshman

Who did what: Jude Tropona of Pequannock is the #1-seed and last years’ HP Tourn. Champion at 130 – 3^rd Palce Region 1

The skinny on 135: (2)Louis Mordaga of Paramus was 16-13 last year as a junior.

The field: (8)Dennis Murphy (Chat); (5)Zach Shultis (WMC); (4)Diego Chavez (Rahway); (3)Marc Pompei (HP); (6)James Vandervalk (PV); (8)Dan Levin (Pingry)

140:

How many: 9 wrestlers – interesting bracket

Who did what: Rich Szymaczak (pronounced Szim-check, tell your announcers) went 22-10 last year. Szymaczak took 2^nd here last year.

The skinny on 140: (4)CJ Curcuffe of West Morris, (3)Derek Prol of Pequannck and (2)John Maio of Paramus are all solid candidates to win this with Szymaczak;

The field: (8)Andrew Lowell (MTL); (9)Hector Eagan (CHAT); (5)Thomas Drake (RAH); (6)Mike Savoy (PV); (7)Mike Martinson (Pingry)

145:

How many: 8 wrestlers

Who did what: Nick Ponomarev, 2^nd in Morris County last year and 145 champion here in ’06 is the #1 seed.

The skinny on 145: (3)Chris Tracey of HP went 17-11 last year; (2)Octavio Bent of Rahway was 18-14;

The field: (8)Codey McCarthy (PV); (5)Brian Robertson (MTL); (4)Mike Mordaga (Paramus); (6)Justin Adickes (WMC); (7)Andrew Stubbs (Pingry)

152:

How many: 7 wrestlers

Who did what: #1-seed -- Kevin Stasiak, 31-9 last year as a junior; 152 3^rd Place here in ’06; 4^th place in Region 1;

The skinny on 152: (2)Jake Gruebert of Hanover Park was 17-8 last year as a sophomore; Trevor Topf finished 18-13 from Pingry

The field: (5)Anthony Mordaga (Paramus); (4)Aaron Hurtalt (Rahway); (6)David Rosen(PV); (7)George Furbush (Chatham)

160:

How many: 9 wrestlers

Who did what: #1-seed – John Rizzitello, 34-9 last year as a junior; 152 Champion here last year. Region 2 Champion last year.

The skinny on 160: (3)Hanover Park’s Mike Lomio (3^rd Place MCT) and (2)Josh Arnau Pequannock (3^rd Place HP last year)

The field: (8)Andrew Quckenbush (MTL); (9)Matt Chase (Chat); (5)Spencer Topf (Pingry); (4)Elias Acuna (Rahway); (6)Herbie Skinner (WMC); (7)Damian Murberg (PV)

171:

How many: 8 wrestlers

Who did what: #1-seed – Steve Gandolfo, senior from Pascack Valley. 3^rd Place District 8

The skinny on 171: (2)Daniel Smith - Chatham went 16-10 last year; (3)Austin Marco of Mountain lakes was 14-14 as a freshman.

The field: (8)Abram Bernstein (Pingry); (5)Eric Fralley (HP); (4)Calib Taylor (Rahway);(3) Austin DiMarco (MTL); (6)Justin Rigoglioso (Pequannock); (7)Sean Flannely (Paramus)

189:

How many: 9 wrestlers; 5 of the 9 wrestled in 3 matches or less last season.

Who did what: #1-seed – Brendan Ward, senior from Chatham. 2^nd Place HP Tourn last year;

The skinny on 189: (2)Sal Carfaro of West Morris was 15-13 last year.

The field: (8)Cesar Velarde (Rahway); (9)Ben Carlisisle (PEQ); ((5)Josh LaClair (MTL); (4)Aurthor Pogorzelsky (HP); (3)Diamantes Kryrakhkis (Paramus); (6)Ken Maciver (PV); (7)Josh Muller (Pingry)

215:

How many: 6 wrestlers;

Who did what: #1-seed – Sean O’Brien, senior from Pequannock. 3^rd Place HP Tourn last year;

The skinny on 215: (2)Adam Hodge was 15-10 last year as a junior; (3)Justin Murberg as 13-6 for Pascack Valley as a sophomore.

The field: (5)Gary Pyrus (Rahway); (4)Jeff Furbish (Chatham); (6)Antonio Delvoscovo (HP)

285:

How many: 6 wrestlers;

Who did what: #1-seed – Doug Meringer, junior from Hanover Pk. 4^th Place HP Tourn last year;

The skinny on 285: (4)Blaise Rosati of Mountain Lakes, (3)Zach Chibave and (2)Andre Hunt of Rahway fill out the evenly matched up bracket – all with a great chance of advancing to the finals.

The field: (5)Ryan Maciver (PV); (6)Jordan Guttoso (Pequannock)

Who’s the team: You could make a great argument for Pequannock with the stacked middle class. Paramus has 5 wrestlers seeded #1 or #2. Hanover Park is evenly balanced through the field and strong down low.

Last year - click here for Hanover Pk Final Recap

(1) Paramus 182; (2) Rahway 129; (3) Hanover Park 119; (4) West Morris 116 5: (5) Pequannock 114; (6) Pascack Valley 66; (7) Mountain Lakes 54; (8) Chatham 46; (9) Pingry 12

103 Pete Tropona (Pequannock) pin. Charles Savino (Hanover Park), 1:08.
112 Joe Ortiz (Paramus) pin. Mark Fleming (West Morris), 1:01.
119 Chris Cholish (West Morris) dec. Mike Quinn (Paramus), 3-1.
125 Adam Fallacro (Pascack Valley) dec. Stewart Minaya (Rahway), 6-2.
130 Jude Tropona (Pequannock) dec. Anthony Cirello (Paramus), 1-0.
135 Ryan Wilson (Rahway) pin. Rich Szymczak (Hanover Park), :56.
140 John Maio (Paramus) dec. Frank Paling (Rahway), 14-2.
145 Nick Ponomarev (Pequannock) dec. Kevin Karcich (West Morris), 7-4
152 Jon Rizzitello (Paramus) dec. Shane Brennan (Mountain Lakes), 9-4.
160 Danb Zotollo (Paramus) dec. Dan Smith (Chatham), 5-2.
171 Ron Landy (Hanover Park) pin. Mike Derici (Paramus), 1:22.
189 Shedirck Goodrich (Rahway) pin. Brendan Ward (Chatham), 2:24.
215 Frank Stefanelli (West Morris) maj. dec. Zac Flowerman (Pingry), 15-6.
Hwt. Chris Raupers (Pascack Valley) pin. Kevin Yurinich (West Morris), 1:20.

Consolations

103 Nate St. Elme (Rahway) dec. Joe Sweeney (West Morris), 8-3.
112 Juan Herrera (Rahway) pin. Nick Esemplatre (Pequannock), 1:30.
119 Marc Cirello (Paramus) dec. Mike Johnston (Hanover Park), 2-1.
125 Anthony Johnstone (Hanover Park) dec. Ray Anderson (Paramus), 6-5.
130 Dan Valdo (West Morris) dec. Aaron Bonner (Rahway), 5-4.
135 Brian Jankowski (Paramus) dec. Dan Reuben (Mountain Lakes), 3-2.
140 Derek Prol (West Morris) dec. Kyle Niedzinski (Hanover Park), 1-0.
145 Chris Tracy (Hanover Park) pin. Ryan Kennedy (Paramus), :54.
152 Kevin Stasiak (Pequannock) dec. Jeff Fricke (Chatham), 16-10.
160 Josh Arnau (Pequannock) dec. Austin Marco (Mountain Lakes), 8-3.
171 Adam Hodge (West Morris) dec. Ricky Walsh (Rahway), 2-0.
189 Devon Agic (Paramus) pin. Steve Gandolfo (Pascack Valley), 1:56.
215 Shawn O'Brien (Pequannock) dec. Francois Vandamn (Mountain Lakes), 4-2.
285 D. Kyiriakair (Paramus) pin. Doug Merenger (Hanover Park), :30.