Morris County Tournament preview, 2023: Top team title contenders, wrestlers to watch

Anthony Moscatello of Mount Olive celebrates after defeating Cory Martin of Brick Memorial to win the Group 4 NJSIAA State Final 32-29 at Franklin High School on 2/13/22.
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After a great county tournament slate a week ago, we’re rolling out previews once again.

Burlington, Essex, Middlesex and Morris are the ones in action this week and the Shore Conference Tournament is also taking place on Friday and Saturday.

We dive into Morris County in this preview. See what it has to offer below.

Morris County Tournament

Where: Mount Olive High School

When: Friday, Jan. 27 & Saturday, Jan. 28

Tentative schedule: Wrestling will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and stop at the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals start at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will be followed by wrestlebacks and then the semifinals. The third and fifth-place matches proceed the semifinals and the finals, which are estimated to begin at 4:15, will be wrestled last.

Defending team champion: Delbarton

Teams to watch: Butler; Delbarton; Hanover Park; Jefferson; Morris Hills; Mount Olive; West Morris

Returning champions (last year’s weight): Louis Cerchio, Delbarton, 175; Henry Forte, Delbarton, 157; Tyeler Hagensen, Mount Olive, 106; Danny Jones, Delbarton, 113; Vicenzo LaValle, Hanover Park, 190; Alessio Perentin, Delbarton, 138; Simon Ruiz, Delbarton, 165; Luke Stanich, Roxbury, 120; Tyler Vazquez, Delbarton, 132; Cross Wasilewski, Delbarton, 144

Returning runner-ups (last year’s weight): Jack Bastarrika, Mount Olive, 120; Connor Martin, Delbarton, 285; James McGinty, Parsippany Hills, 106; Anthony Moscatello, Mount Olive, 190; Jack Myers, Morristown, 126

Wrestlers to watch (this year’s weight): Jack Bastarrika, Mount Olive, Sr., 132; Tyler Bienus, Mount Olive, Jr., 175; Michael Campanaro, West Morris, Sr., 126; Louis Cerchio, Delbarton, Jr., 165; Jason Chrostowski, Butler, So., 113; Anthony Collins, Madison, Sr., 138; Timmy Connolly, Jefferson, Jr., 285; Santino Danise, Hanover Park, So., 126; Joe Davi, Delbarton, Sr., 144; Brandon Dean, West Morris, So., 144; Frank Demary, Parsippany, So., 113; Joe DiBiase, Jefferson, Sr., 165; Jimmy Dolan, Pequannock, Sr., 175; Jack Doty, Kinnelon, So., 106; Michael Fahmie, Whippany Park, Jr., 165; Rafe Fonte, Mendham, So., 113; Anthony Forte, Morris Knolls, Sr., 175; Henry Forte, Delbarton, Sr., 215; Wyatt Frawley, Sr., 150; Henry Frayne, West Morris, Sr., 285; Tyeler Hagensen, Mount Olive, Jr., 120; John Hager, Delbarton, Sr., 126; Jordan Hernando, Mountain Lakes, Jr., 144; Jayden James, Delbarton, Fr., 113; Danny Jones, Delbarton, Jr., 120; Trevor Jones, Delbarton, Fr., 132; Isa Kupa, Boonton, Fr., 106; Vicenzo LaValle, Hanover Park, So., 190; Vinny Lee, Delbarton, Jr., 190; Matt Leslie, Morris Hills, Sr., 165; Massimo Mancini, Hanover Park, Sr., 150; Connor Martin, Delbarton, Jr., 285; James McGinty, Parsippany Hills, So., 106; Jayden Mendez, Dover, So., 106; Anthony Moscatello, Mount Olive, Sr., 215; Jack Myers, Morristown, Jr., 138; Dylan Palentchar, Delbarton, Fr., 106; Alessio Perentin, Delbarton, So., 157; Jason Petroski, Randolph, Jr., 175; Aidan Reilly, Mendham, So., 106; Simon Ruiz, Delbarton, Sr., 175; Luke Stanich, Roxbury, Sr., 132; Logan Sykes, Butler, Jr., 138; Billy Templeton, Montville, Sr., 157; Luca Toriello, Butler, So., 215; Tyler Vazquez, Delbarton, Sr., 138; Cross Wasilewski, Delbarton, Sr., 150

Outlook: Even with last year’s loaded Mount Olive squad, Delbarton ran away with the team title. The Marauders have stayed in the NJ.com Top 20 all season and still remain a strong program, but their lineup lost hammers from the 2021-22 campaign. The Green Wave on the other hand have a ridiculous 11 wrestlers in the NJ.com individual rankings, four of which are the top-ranked grappler at their weight. This is a county with depth in Butler, Hanover Park, Jefferson, Morris Hills and West Morris among other schools finding success this winter.

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Ryan Patti covers the Big North, NJAC and NJIC. He can be reached at rpatti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanwpatti.

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