Wrestling: Courier News Area Skyland, GMC and Union All-Area teams
After another exciting season, here are the Courier News 2023-24 All-Area selections. The area consists of Somerset, Hunterdon and parts of Middlesex (Piscataway, South Plainfield and Middlesex/Dunellen) and Union counties (Governor Livingston, New Providence, Plainfield, Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Westfield).
Wrestlers are slotted based on weights at which they competed in the postseason, meaning the start of the district tournament.
More: Wrestling index: Handy collection of All-Area links
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The first criteria are earning a medal (Top 8) and reaching the fourth consolation round (Top 12) in the state tournament. Then, other factors are weighed such as postseason advancement, quality wins and head-to-head matches.
FIRST TEAM
106 – Tanner Connelly, Ridge, So.
34-8, 2nd SCT, 1st District 13, 2nd Region 4, SWB3
Connelly improved on his 24-win season as a freshman and cranked out over 30 victories to help the Red Devils capture the sectional title. Down the stretch, Connelly took two of three matches from North Hunterdon’s Reid Buzby, including in the Region 4 semifinals to clinch a berth to the state tournament, where he went 2-2.
113 – Anthony DiAndrea, Watchung Hills, So.
35-4, 1st SCT, 1st District 16, 1st Region 4, State 5th
Despite being a sophomore, DiAndrea brought a veteran’s presence and maturity to the mat and in how he carried himself. He secured decisions in tough matches and repeated as Somerset County Tournament and district champions and won a region gold medal. He earned his second state medal in two tries after placing seventh at 106.
120 – Anthony Rossi, Hunterdon Central, Sr.
43-1, 1st H/W/S, 1st District 14, 1st Region 4, State 3rd
Rossi has been among the state’s best wrestlers the past few seasons, but couldn’t crack the podium at Atlantic City. Until now. Rossi’s dominant campaign included going undefeated until the state semifinals. After a 3-0 loss, he bounced back to claim third place, the highest finish of any Courier News-area wrestlers. The Virginia-bound Rossi set the program’s single-season win record this year and his 125 wins are tied for sixth on the school’s all-time list.
126 – Jaden Perez, Delaware Valley, Jr.
39-3, 2nd H/W/S, 1st District 10, 1st Region 3, State 5th
From fifth in the region to fifth in the state, Perez showed glimpses as a sophomore and had a full breakout this season. He opened his style and captured district and region titles and reached the state semifinals. Perez only had three decision defeats against the state’s second, third and fourth-place finishers.
132 – Gavin Duran, Ridge, Jr.
39-6, 1st SCT, 2nd District 13, 2nd Region 4, State Top 12
Duran is Example A for steady improvement through work. He had a good 16-15 freshman season that improved to 34-9 last year with a state tournament appearance. This season, Duran captured his first SCT title to help Ridge to the team crown and finished in the top 12 in the state with a 3-2 tournament.
138 – Jackson Bush, Delaware Valley, Jr.
30-8, 1st H/W/S, 2nd District 10, 3rd Region 3, SWB2
Bush captured the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament gold medal and avenged an earlier loss to take third in Region 3 to make his second-straight state tournament. He helped the Terriers win their fifth-straight sectional title as a steady force in the lower weights.
144 – Nick Villani, Bernards, Sr.
41-3, 1st SCT, 1st District 14, 1st Region 4, State 8th
Villani capped his outstanding career by earning a coveted state medal with an eighth-place finish. He remained undefeated until the state quarterfinals, where he dropped a decision against state champion Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven) and had just two other decision losses. Villani finished in the Top 12 as a junior.
150 – Rhett Washleski, Hunterdon Central, So.
38-5, 2nd H/W/S, 1st District 14, 1st Region 4, SWB3
Washleski followed up his sensational freshman season with another stellar winter that saw him repeat as district and region champs and win two matches in the state tournament. He helped the Red Devils take their first-ever H/W/S tournament team title and the Central Group 5 championship. Washleski lost three times (two by decision) to Phillipsburg’s state runner-up Gavin Hawk.
157 – Logan Wiecoreck, Voorhees, Sr.
42-6, 4th H/W/S, 1st District 14, 1st Region 4, State 5th
Wiecoreck captured his first district and region championships and put together a memorable run in Atlantic City to get on the podium. He won his opening match, but lost his second to a two-time state medalist. Wiecoreck then strung together three gutsy victories to clinch a medal and won another en route to a sixth-place finish.
165 – Cristian Gioia, Governor Livingston, Jr.
39-7, 2nd UCT, 2nd District 16, 3rd Region 4, State 8th
Talk about guts and high-pressure, Gioia pulled out a blood round match in sudden victory to clinch a state medal en route to an eighth-place finish. He has back-to-back 30-win seasons for the Highlanders. He also won Ricky I Memorial Tournament and Hunterdon Central Invitational championships.
175 – Thomas Brunetti, Hunterdon Central, Sr.
43-2, 1st H/W/S, 1st District 14, 1st Region 4, State 4th
Brunetti made his mark on the storied program’s history by setting the single-season win record, along with teammate Anthony Rossi. His terrific campaign included entering the state tournament undefeated and reaching the semifinals en route to a fourth-place finish. He also captured gold medals in the H/W/S, district and region tournaments.
190 – Anderson Olcott, Delaware Valley, Sr.
33-5, 2nd H/W/S, 1st District 10, 3rd Region 3, SWB2
Olcott has been an upper-weight mainstay for Delaware Valley in its recent Group 1 statewide run. He collected his second district gold medal and reached Atlantic City for the second-straight season. Olcott also won Wendy Pandy-Leh Invitational and John Goles Tournament titles.
215 – Nathan Faxon, Governor Livingston, Jr.
40-3, 1st UCT, 1st District 16, 2nd Region 4, State Top 12
Faxon entered the region final undefeated in a standout season that included winning four gold medals — Ricky I Memorial, Hunterdon Central Invitational, Union County and district tournaments. His only losses were against state placewinners and he was a match away from placing.
285 – Josue Cordoba, Plainfield, Sr.
28-3, 1st District 15, 1st Region 4, State SWB2
Cordoba scored a memorable last-second takedown to win the region title in a 7-5 win that electrified the Cardinals fans. He’s had plenty of big moments in his Plainfield athletic career, which includes being an All-State defensive lineman. The Kent State football-commit also won Mike Dessino Invitational and Rumble in the Pines titles.
SECOND TEAM
106 – Reid Buzby, North Hunterdon, So.
113 – Aidan Yarussi, North Hunterdon, Fr.
120 – Max Rotter, Westfield, Sr.
126 – Mason Tettambel, Immaculata, Fr.
132 – Nate Keller, Immaculata, Fr.
138 – Braeden Valley, New Providence, So.
144 – William Cella, Hunterdon Central, Sr.
150 – Matthew Di Eduardo, Bridgewater-Raritan, Jr.
157 – Cody Pritzlaff, Watchung Hills, So.
165 – Brian Wilson, North Hunterdon, Sr.
175 – Kevin Roman, Delaware Valley, Sr.
190 – Fabian Acuna, Somerville, Sr.
215 – Matthew Jones, Hillsborough, Sr.
285 – Christopher Oliver, Ridge, Sr.
THIRD TEAM
106 – Logan McDermid, Hillsborough, Jr.
113 – Jack Abramson, Pingry, Fr.
120 – Matteo Littman, Pingry, Sr.
126 – Ethan Delacruz, Bound Brook, Fr.
132 – Matt Roche, Delaware Valley, Sr.
138 – Jordan Bash, Watchung Hills, Sr.
144 – Jackson Obe, Montgomery, Jr.
150 – Ryan Closterman, Somerville, Sr.
157 – Jake Kreisberg, Governor Livingston, Jr.
165 – Matthew Miller, Hillsborough, Jr.
175 – Lucas Velando, Manville, Sr.
190 – Jake Zemsky, Westfield, So.
215 – Trevor Zabroski, Voorhees, Sr.
285 – Tyler Suk, Hunterdon Central, Sr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Criteria: Any region qualifier (District Top 3) or Top 4 county/conference/HWS tournament finishers not on the first three teams
Bernards: Jake Caldwell (157), David Brothers (190), Chase Caponiigro (215)
Bound Brook: Jake Markey (132), Tyler Hays (150), Daniel Steller (285)
Bridgewater-Raritan: Lucas Pelc (106), Andrew Adell (113), Brady Hnasko (120), Matthew Diaz (126), Logan Levine (132), Matthew McCann (138), James Kilgallon (144), Dane Sorensen (157), Lerrod Smalls (175)
Delaware Valley: Tristan Fawthrop (106), Jake Taylor (113), Michael Hasson (144), Ben Levy (150), Mitchell Sutter (157), Luke Sinkewicz (165), Evan Newman (215), Kyle Cooke (285)
Franklin: Evan Hartel (285)
Governor Livingston: Lucas Villanueva (106), Christian Sabatino (113), Cyr Ryan (120), Henrique Ribeiro (126), Vincent Capone (138), Jace Wanca (144), Joe Dasti (150), James Daoulabani (190)
Hillsborough: Thomas Kester (113), Anthony Mayo (120), Corey Iannucci (126), Owen Miller (138), Brett Lockburner (144), Nick Duarte (285)
Hunterdon Central: Ryan Sherlock (106), Ahmed Hussain (132), Evan Thompson (138), Grant Thompson (157),Jacob Saus (165), Nehemiah Bugash (190), Ryan Seemon (215)
Immaculata: Lucas Loffredo (106), Derek Sutphen (113), Ryan Goldstein (120), Tyler Oram (150), Adam Bowles (175)
Manville: Anthony Drake (120), Trip Freitag (190)
Middlesex/Dunellen: Sam Kleiber (132)
Montgomery: Gavin Fong (106), Austin Allen (190), Jack Dowling (215)
New Providence: Yehia Abdelrahman (132), Antonio Gallo (144)
North Hunterdon: Joseph Celentano (113), Shane Wysocki (126), Grant Goldan (138), Vincenzo Darrow (144), Joshua Joubert (157), Evan Kinney (175), Owen Dandeo (215)
North Plainfield: Yexon Mercado (285)
Pingry: Charles Levine (150)
Piscataway: Aiden Wallace-Rodriguez (120), Brian Butler (144), Sean Love (150), Garrett Pech (175), Troy Hutchinson (285)
Plainfield: Tahrae Brown (126), Alijah B Burnett (175), Chantz Fitz (190)
Ridge: Owen O`Leary (113), Ryan Yang (138), Ryan Engle (144), William Corbett (150), Liam Thoma (157), Joe Samaan (165), Kevin Taylor (190), Alexander Muntyan (175/190), Nate Engdahl (215)
Rutgers Prep: Payce Lamb (165)
Scotch Plains-Fanswood: Michael Cantwell (150), John Boyle (215)
Somerville: Jason Daleo (132), Anthony Mayers (165), Sean O`Neill (190), Giovanni Ippolito (215)
South Plainfield: Logan Stoeckel (106), Joseph Stanzione (126), Anthony Mateo (132), Nolan Hook (138), Ryan Balent (144), Jose Rodriguez (150)
Voorhees: Christian Bollette (126), Cameron Baumann (285)
Westfield: Daniel Berardi (106), Luke Sluberski (126), Jack McDermott (157)
Watchung Hills: Jacob Richardson (106), Cameron Kolakowski (120), Michael Samayoa (126), Max Shaferman (132), Nick Valenti (144), Ryan Higgins (150)
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Wrestling: Courier News Area Skyland, GMC and Union All-Area teams
