Meet the All-South Jersey wrestling team for the 2022-23 season

Tom McGurk, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Updated ·6 min read

The Courier-Post/Mat Pack's All-South Jersey wrestling team for the 2022-23 season.

First Team

106: Colton Hagerty (37-4), Washington Township. The freshman rattled off 31 straight wins, which included District 30 and Region 8 titles. He was a big-point producer (18 pins) for the 25-2 Minutemen. Hagerty’s only losses to New Jersey opponents came in the state tournament, losing by a combined three points.

113: Kaden Naame (26-5), St. Augustine. Despite battling through injury, the senior captured his second Region 8 title and earned his third trip to the podium at states. Naame, the top seed in the tournament, finished third in New Jersey for the second consecutive season.

More: Rolling up the mats for South Jersey high school wrestling's 2022-23 season

120: Max Elton (36-6), Holy Spirit. The University of Buffalo-bound senior placed fourth in the state, his second finish on the podium. Elton won his first Region 8 and second District 31 crown while finishing third at the Escape the Rock and fifth at the Beast of the East.

Kingsway's Nathan Taylor has his arm raised after defeating Camden Catholic's Jackson Young, 7-0, during a 126 lb. quarterfinal round bout of the NJSIAA individual wrestling championships tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Kingsway's Nathan Taylor has his arm raised after defeating Camden Catholic's Jackson Young, 7-0, during a 126 lb. quarterfinal round bout of the NJSIAA individual wrestling championships tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 3, 2023.

126: Nathan Taylor (33-8), Kingsway. The junior pinned his way to his second District 29 title and didn’t surrender a point en route to his third regional title. He earned a second spot on the state podium, finishing sixth. Taylor finished fifth at the Beast of the East before earning a title at the Mustang Classic.

Lower Cape May's Chase Hansen has his arm raised after defeating Howell's Giovanni Scafidi, 9-4, during a 132 lb. bout of the pre-quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA individual wrestling championships tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
Lower Cape May's Chase Hansen has his arm raised after defeating Howell's Giovanni Scafidi, 9-4, during a 132 lb. bout of the pre-quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA individual wrestling championships tournament at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Thursday, March 2, 2023.

132: Chase Hansen (44-2), Lower Cape May. The freshman put together one of the most successful seasons for a freshman in South Jersey history. He won his first 42 bouts before falling to eventual state champion Anthony Santaniello, of Brick Memorial, in the state quarterfinals. One of the area’s top pinners, Hansen finished with 29 falls, including one in his final bout for a seventh-place finish in the state.

138: Wayne Rold (35-8), Camden Catholic. The senior locked up the Irish’s Non-Public state title with a major decision. Bound for Virginia Military Institute in the fall, Rold locked up the first-team All-SJ spot with a 4-3 decision over Paul VI’s Branden Palcko at states. He beat Cherokee’s Jason Brown twice to earn district and region titles before going on to place seventh in the state.

144: Richie Grungo (30-2), St. Augustine. The Courier-Post’s Wrestler of the Year.

150: Brady Conlin (20-2), St. Augustine. The senior returned to South Jersey and reached the state podium for the third time with a third different program. After starting the season in Florida, Conlin joined the Hermits in mid-January. He won his second region title and advanced to the state final where he lost a 3-1 decision to Southern’s Matt Henrich. The Rider-bound Conlin finished with 95 career wins.

157: Austin Craft (25-5), Camden Catholic. After getting a late start because of sitting out 30 days following his transfer from Rancocas Valley, Craft made up for lost time quickly. He went 25-5 for the Irish, helping the squad claim the state Non-Public B championship before claiming District 27 and Region 7 titles. Craft won his final bout of the season, locking up a seventh-place spot on the podium.

165: Jake Slotnick (13-5), St. Augustine. The senior suffered a serious foot injury in October and was expected to miss the entire winter season. He wrestled just twice before February, suffering a loss by injury default in his first bout. From there, Slotnick made the most of his 13 wins, capturing District 32 and Region 8 crowns before finishing sixth in the state.

Delsea's Jared Schoppe, top, controls South Plainfield's Adam Bowles during the 175 lb. bout of the state group 3 wrestling semifinal match held at Delsea High School on Friday, February 10, 2023. Schoppe defeated Bowles, 4-0.
Delsea's Jared Schoppe, top, controls South Plainfield's Adam Bowles during the 175 lb. bout of the state group 3 wrestling semifinal match held at Delsea High School on Friday, February 10, 2023. Schoppe defeated Bowles, 4-0.

175: Jared Schoppe (45-2), Delsea. The senior finished his stellar scholastic career by becoming Delsea’s first-ever four-time state place winner. Owner of 144 career wins, the Lehigh-bound Schoppe earned three regional titles and three district titles. Schoppe’s 35 pins this season were tied for first in South Jersey. He recorded a fall in his final bout, securing a third-place finish in the state.

190: George Rhodes (43-2), Absegami. The senior put together one of the best seasons for a Brave in recent history. A four-time region finalist, Rhodes grabbed the elusive title to become the program’s first Region 8 champ in 13 years. Rhodes finished off his scholastic career with a fourth-place finish at states. Rhodes finished with a 123-19 career record, a mark that included just 15 bouts in the COVID-shortened season in 2021.

215: John Vinciguerra (34-9), Woodstown. The senior rattled off District 31 and Region 7 titles before winning three bouts on the boardwalk to close out his scholastic career. Vinciguerra placed sixth at the season-opening Beast of the East tournament and eighth at the Escape the Rock.

285: Scott Lynch (42-3), Audubon. The senior tied a program record for highest finish in the state, equaling a third-place finish by Jim Cooper in 1976. After wrestling at 215 for the bulk of the season, Lynch bumped up to heavyweight where he won district and region titles. A star quarterback for the Green Wave, Lynch went 78-8 in two seasons on the mat, including 35 pins this winter, tying him for the area high.

Second Team

106: Gage Summers (35-10), Delsea, sophomore

113: Luke Sherlock (37-7), Shawnee, sophomore

120: Sammy Spaulding (31-5), Camden Catholic, freshman

126: Jackson Young (36-6), Camden Catholic, junior

132: Kage Jones (30-5), Camden Catholic, freshman

138: DJ DiPietro (27-7), Kingsway, senior

144: Jamar Dixon Jr. (42-5), Delsea, sophomore

150: Drew Roskos (42-5), Delran, junior

157: Dennis Virelli (30-7), St. Augustine, senior

165: Sean Cowan (41-5), Absegami, senior

175: Ty Smith (25-8), Lenape, senior

190: Brock Zurawski (26-5), Lower Cape May, senior

215: Jonathan Graham (31-5), Highland/Triton, senior

285: Rocco Bennett (38-9), Delsea, junior

Third Team

106: Lazarus Joyce (13-9), Camden Catholic, freshman

113: Christian Hoopes (33-7), Washington Township, freshman

120: Jackson Slotnick (18-8), St. Augustine, sophomore

126: Anthony DePaul (21-12), St. Augustine, freshman

132: Gavin Haegele (32-8), Eastern, senior

138: Branden Palcko (27-3), Paul VI, senior

144: Jacob Zearfoss (44-3), Gloucester, junior

150: Roman Onorato (38-8), Paulsboro, junior

157: Ryan Datz (40-5), Pitman, senior

165: Kaleb Wright (40-5), Gloucester, junior

175: Nick Layton (25-9), Ocean City, junior

190: Cole DuBois (42-5), West Deptford, senior

215: Joey Toner (34-5), Gateway/Woodbury, senior

285: Edison Andino (28-7), Millville, senior

Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: The All-South Jersey high school wrestling team for 2022-23 season