These five wrestlers stood out at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament

Nick Gantaifis, New Jersey Herald
·2 min read

Phillipsburg won another war and three other teams shared individual honors at the 13th Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday at Phillipsburg High School.

The Stateliners claimed their second straight tri-county team title with 217.5 points, outdistancing runner-up Delaware Valley (177.5) and Warren Hills (177.5) who finished tied for second place. North Hunterdon (157.5) and Pope John (150) finished fourth and fifth.

Results:2023 Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex wrestling tournament

It is Phillipsburg’s eighth title since Sussex County schools joined the tournament in 2010.

Four schools – Phillipsburg, Pope John, Hunterdon Central and North Hunterdon – had three champions apiece. Pope John went three-for-three in title matches.

Two wrestlers repeated as champions and nine of 14 top seeds captured titles.

Here are five wrestlers who stood out.

Jason Athey

Pope John senior, 120 pounds

Jason Athey of Pope John defeated Race Fonte of Mendham by points in the 120 lb. match as Pope John wrestled Mendham on January 5, 2022 at Mendham.
Jason Athey of Pope John defeated Race Fonte of Mendham by points in the 120 lb. match as Pope John wrestled Mendham on January 5, 2022 at Mendham.

Athey, the fourth seed, earned his first HWS title, registering four wins with the highlight a 2-1 win over top seed Nick Clayton of High Point in the semifinals. He recorded back-to-back falls in the first two rounds before scoring a 6-2 decision over third-seeded Jake Taylor of Delaware Valley in the title match.

Jake Holly

Pope John sophomore, 106 pounds

Jake Holly of Pope John defeated Aidan Reilly of Mendham by pin in the 106 lb. match as Pope John wrestled Mendham on January 5, 2022 at Mendham.
Jake Holly of Pope John defeated Aidan Reilly of Mendham by pin in the 106 lb. match as Pope John wrestled Mendham on January 5, 2022 at Mendham.

Holly jump started the tournament and rallied his Lions teammates in the final, earning the first title of the afternoon with a 10-4 decision over Augie Szamreta of Warren Hills. After earning a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed, Holly decked Christian Bollett of Voorhees in 1:47 and then edged Delaware Valley’s Owen Kucharski, 3-2 in the semifinals.

Anthony Rossi

Hunterdon Central junior, 113 pounds

Anthony Rossi of Hunterdon Central defeated Aidan Scheeringa of Hackettstown, 10-6, in the 106-pound final at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Wrestling Tournament in Phillipsburg, NJ on January 8, 2022.
Anthony Rossi of Hunterdon Central defeated Aidan Scheeringa of Hackettstown, 10-6, in the 106-pound final at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Wrestling Tournament in Phillipsburg, NJ on January 8, 2022.

Rossi claimed his second straight title and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler when he scored a 7-5 win in overtime against top seed Logan Wadle of North Hunterdon in the finals. Rossi, the second seed, decked Nikolas Martinez of Kittatinny in 2:22 in the quarterfinals before scoring a 10-6 decision over Aiden Scheeringa of Hackettstown in the semifinals.

Carson Walsh

Pope John sophomore, 126 pounds

Eastern’s Jared Brunner, back, controls Pope John XXIII’s Carson Walsh during a 113 lb. bout of the semi-final round of the 2022 NJSIAA Wrestling Championships held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 4, 2022. Brunner defeated Walsh, 3-1.
Eastern’s Jared Brunner, back, controls Pope John XXIII’s Carson Walsh during a 113 lb. bout of the semi-final round of the 2022 NJSIAA Wrestling Championships held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 4, 2022. Brunner defeated Walsh, 3-1.

After earning a first-round bye, Walsh registered three straight technical falls to repeat as tri-county champion. The top seed was dominant, outscoring his opponents, 58-12, highlighted by a 20-5 win against Jaden Perez of Delaware Valley in the final.

Logan Wiecoreck

Voorhees junior, 157 pounds

Wiecoreck stormed through the bracket and didn’t surrender a point, becoming the first Voorhees wrestler to win a HWS title since two-time state champion Lewis Fernandez in 2019. Wiecoreck stunned top seed and returning champion Bryce Coesfeld of Kittatinny, 5-0 in the final. He outscored all three opponents, 26-0.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: NJ Wrestling: Five wrestlers who stood out at the HWS Tournament