GMC wrestling tournament weight class preview 152 through 285 pounds

Following is a weight class preview of the 2018 Greater Middlesex Conference Wrestling Tournament from 152 pounds through 285 pounds.

Check out MyCentralJersey.com's preview of the 106- through 145-pound weight classes, which was posted online Monday.

Wrestlers are listed alphabetically in their projected weight classes and subject to change.

Official weight classes will be announced during Thursday’s seeding meeting, from which MyCentralJersey.com will provide live updates.

The tournament will be contested on Friday and Saturday at Piscataway High School.

COMPLETE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: Home page for previews and full coverage of the 2018 GMC wrestling tournament

152 POUNDS

Piscataway junior Joseph Hatcher, the defending champion in this weight class, who was also a runner-up in the district and region tournament last year, is the clear favorite. Hatcher (8-0) is ranked seventh in the state, according to Wrestling Full Circle. Woodbridge’s Hunter Kiraly, who placed fourth in the conference tournament at 152 pounds last year, is positioned to earn the No. 2 seed. With a 14-4 record, Kiraly has already matched his win total of a year ago, when he finished .500. Kiraly owns an 11-5 decision over Old Bridge senior Javi Espinosa, who must be regarded as a contender for a Top 4 finish. Espinosa, who posted 4-13 mark at 145 pounds last season, owns a 12-9 record including a 5:17 pin of Perth Amboy’s Yerami Jimenez (14-7). Jimenez dropped a 1-0 decision to South Plainfield’s Mike Marrero, owner of a deceptive 11-8 mark with all of his losses at 152 pounds to nonconference opponents. Marrero has faced stiff competition including the likes of Howell’s Xavier Kelly, who is regarded among New Jersey’s best 152-pounders, and Piscataway’s Michael Petite, who is ranked third in the state at 160 pounds. Jimenez has also wrestled tough competition including Hackettstown’s Alex Carida, who is ranked second in the state at 145 pounds, Somerset County Tournament champion Rob Saum of Watchung Hills and SCT finalist Carlos Ugalde of Bound Brook, to whom he dropped a 4-1 decision. Monroe junior Nicholas Weikel (14-5) dropped a 2-1 decision to Saum for third place in the Walter Woods Tournament at 160 pounds and lost 9-1 to Petite. Weikel placed fifth in the GMCT last season at 160 pounds. Weikel is a strong contender to reach the final.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Aaron Bartlett, Sayreville, Sr. 1-13

Brandon Brown, South Brunswick, Sr., 7-11

Brendyn Challenger, Edison, So., 4-12

Brandon Cmil, Carteret, Jr. 7-8

Rob DeSantis, Bishop Ahr, Sr., 12-12

Javi Espinosa, Old Bridge, Sr. 12-9

Awab Farag, East Brunswick, Sr., 4-4

Joseph Hatcher, Piscataway, Jr. 8-0

Ben Jasinski, John P. Stevens, So., 6-7

Yerami Jimenez, Perth Amboy, Jr., 14-7

Christian Juarez, South River, Sr., 2-9

Hunter Kiraly, Woodbridge, Sr., 14-4

George Kirvaildze, J.F. Kennedy, Jr., 3-14

Axel Lucero, North Brunswick, Jr., 11-8

Mike Marrero, South Plainfield, Sr., 11-7

Brandon Solis, Colonia, Sr. 6-5

Michael Stanaway, Spotswood, Sr., 0-1

Bryan Velasquez, Middlesex, Sr., 18-3

Nicholas Weikel, Monroe, Jr., 14-5

160 POUNDS

Barring a monumental upset, expect the marquee final bout of the entire tournament to take place in this weight class with Piscataway’s Michael Petite looking to defend his title against Colonia’s John Poznanski. Both are ranked among the top eight in the state at 160 pounds. Wrestling Full Circle ranks Petite third and Poznanski eighth. Poznanski lost twice in the Beast of the East to Kevon Freeman, a two-time state champion from Ohio, and dropped a 7-5 decision to undefeated Robert Kanniard of Wall, who InterMat ranks 20th in the county at 160 pounds. Petite owns a 6-1 decision over Pascack Valley senior Tommy Chiellini, who boasts a 21-2 record. Petite placed fourth in the state after finishing second in the district and region at 160 pounds last season. An incumbent district champion, Poznanski was third in the GMCT and region at 145 pounds a year ago. Spotswood’s Shea Obado (10-3), who was third in the GMCT and second in the district last year, will likely garner the No. 3 seed. He owns a 6-3 decision over South River’s Dan Colon (14-2), who Poznanski decisioned 15-6. Colon is looking for a Top 4 finish. Obado lost to nonconference opponents in the finals of the Bear Invitational and Nottingham Invitational tournaments. Carteret senior Jacob Vega (14-1) is a wild card. He has wrestled all but one match at 170 pounds this year. His only loss is to undefeated Nick Addison of Rumson-Fair Haven. He placed fourth in the district at 145 pounds last season. South Plainfield’s Marc Giordano has obviously wrestled a challenging schedule, contributing to his 11-10 record that includes just one bout against any competitors in this field, that being a 16-2 decision over Perth Amboy’s Jamil Angeles. Old Bridge senior Luigi Luppino pinned Angeles and Woodbridge’s Sergio Cespedes. Luppino, Vega and Giordano are also looking to place among the Top 4.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Elijah Ade-Festus, Sayreville, So., 1-0

Jamil Angeles, Perth Amboy, Sr., 10-8

Yurian Blandon, Middlesex, So., 3-7

Sergio Cespedes, Woodbridge, Jr., 12-7

Dan Colon, South River, Sr., 14-2

Brandon Dominguez, Edison, So., 2-7

Robert Fitzgerald, Highland Park, Fr., 1-5

Marc Giordano, South Plainfield, Jr., 11-10

Armando Hernandez, North Brunswick, Sr., 10-12

Nader Lasheen, East Brunswick, Jr., 2-11

Luigi Luppino, Old Bridge, Sr., 11-6

Shea Obado, Spotswood, Sr., 10-3

Greg Palanco, Bishop Ahr, So., 4-12

Michael Petite, Piscataway, Sr., 15-0

John Poznanski, Colonia, So., 18-3

Dominic Savoth, John P. Stevens, Jr., 10-9

Jacob Vega, Carteret, So., 14-1

Justin Whitacre, Monroe, Jr., 8-8

170 POUNDS

Piscataway junior Nick Recine (15-2) dropped a 4-1 decision to undefeated Nick Addison of Rumson-Fair Haven, who Wrestling Full Circle ranks eighth in the state, and an 8-0 major decision to Howell’s Christian Murphy, a 182-pounder with a 22-1 record. An incumbent district champion and state qualifier, Recine lost last year’s GMCT final at 170 pounds to Woodbridge’s Zack Cottrell. Carteret’s Demetrius Ruiz, who placed fourth in the GMC and third in the district at 182 pounds last year, has yet to wrestle at 170 pounds this season but will likely garner the No. 2 seed. Spotswood’s Michael LeRoy was fifth in the GMCT at 170 pounds last season. LeRoy decisioned Monroe’s Justin Hopman 4-3 in that fifth-place bout. Hopman has only wrestled one time at 170 pounds this season. Woodbridge’s Dominic Zecchinio has quality losses to Recine and reigning Union County Tournament champion Quinn Haddad of Governor Livingston. Middlesex’s Shane Zullinger (15-6) and Bishop Ahr’s Devin Merle (16-8) have nice records. Zullinger dropped a 10-6 decision to New Brunswick sophomore Benjarmin Walker (8-10). The battle for second place in this weight class is completely wide open.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Moysha Alhasov, Highland Park, Fr. 4-10

Grayson Ciesielski, South River, Jr., 6-7

Alberto Corcino, John P. Stevens, Jr., 4-11

Gabriel  Freytes, North Brunswick, sr. 2-6

Johnnie Holloway Jr., Colonia, Sr., 0-0

Justin Hopman, Monroe, Sr., 14-5

Nick Jairdullo, South Brunswick, So., 9-12

Chris Jose, Perth Amboy, Jr., 5-4

Mykhaylo Khalabudnyak, Sayreville, Jr., 11-8

Michael LeRoy, Spotswood, Sr., 6-3

Devin Merle, Bishop Ahr, Sr., 16-8

Joseph Nardacci, South Plainfield, Sr., 4-6

Christian Perrine, East Brunswick, Jr., 10-4

Nick Recine, Piscataway, Jr., 15-2

Demetrius Ruiz, Carteret, Sr. 16-3

Oscar Santiago, Old Bridge, Jr., 7-15

Franklyn Vega, Edison, Jr., 6-9

Benjarmin Walker, New Brunswick, So., 8-10

Dominic Zecchino, Woodbridge, Sr., 16-3

Shane Zullinger, Middlesex, Sr. 15-6

182 POUNDS

North Brunswick’s Kenny Abode, who placed third in the GMCT and fourth in the district at 170 pounds last season, will garner the top seed but must be wary of Piscataway’s Elijah Pitt-Goodson and South Plainfield’s Brenden Hedden, an incumbent district runner-up who is battle-tested. Abode’s lone loss is to South River standout Kyle Baszak (19-1), who has predominantly wrestled at 195 pounds. Hedden was competitive in a 5-2 loss to reigning Somerset County Tournament champion Justin Hayward of Watchung Hills, who Wrestling Full Circle ranks eighth in the state at 182 pounds, and in a 3-0 loss to Piscataway’s Nick Recine, who is favored to win the 170-pound GMCT title. Pitt-Goodson placed eighth in the GMCT and fourth in the district at 182 pounds last year. He bumped up to 195 pounds this season, where he dropped a 9-1 major decision to South Plainfield’s Luke Niemeyer, who Wrestling Full Circle ranks sixth in the state. Old Bridge’s Chancellor Cooper and South River’s Brandon Szerszen are to be considered Top 4 contenders.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Kenneth Abode, North Brunswick, Sr., 18-1

Bryan Almeda, East Brunswick, So., 2-1

Luis Colon, Perth Amboy, Jr., 6-5

Chancellor Cooper, Old Bridge, Sr., 10-8

Joe DelVecchio, Middlesex, Sr., 11-8

Kyle Foster, Colonia, Sr., 7-5

Brenden Hedden, South Plainfield, Jr., .12-8

Eli Jacobs-Perez, Highland Park, Jr., 10-6

Ryan Laguardia, Monroe, Sr., 6-4

Jordan Lebron, Bishop Ahr, So., 7-12

Tyler Marty, Woodbridge, Sr., 10-6

Jervin Olivo, John P. Stevens, So., 3-7

Antonino Oneto, Sayreville, Jr., 8-9

Elijah Pitt-Goodson, Piscataway, Sr., 13-4

Wilber Ramirez-Gomez, Edison, So., 5-13

Danily Rosario, New Brunswick, Fr., 9-4

Donald Shaffer, Spotswood, Sr., 6-7

Brandon Szersen, South River, Sr., 14-1

195 POUNDS

South Plainfield’s Luke Niemeyer, who Wrestling Full Circle ranks sixth in the state at 195 pounds, owns a win over Newton’s Luke Fischer (21-3), who is also regarded among New Jersey’s best in the weight class. Niemeyer is a defending conference and district tournament champ at 195 pounds, where he also qualified for the state tournament last year. He twice pinned Perth Amboy’s David Welch (14-5). South River’s Kyle Baszak’s lone loss is a 5-4 decision to reigning Union County Tournament champion Sebastian Iakouchevitch of A.L. Johnson, who owns a 15-1 record. Baszak pinned Sayreville’s Savon Kirksey (14-4) in 1:57 and scored a 12-2 major decision over Welch. In last year’s GMCT, Baszak defeated South Brunswick’s Gustavo Palacio, a reigning district champion, in the fifth-place bout. Baszak owns a 45-7 record over the past two seasons. He and Monroe’s Kaylon Bradley will likely meet in the semifinals. A host of wrestlers appear to be battling for fourth place. Since rebounding from an injury in the season-opening Neptune Classic, Bradley (8-3) reeled off eight consecutive wins, a streak Raritan’s George Burdick (20-1) snapped with a pin on Friday night. Bradley’s other losses were to nonconference opponents. Bradley placed third in the GMCT, second in the district and qualified for states at this weight a year ago. He owns a 6-3 decision over Piscataway’s Paris Foster. Foster majored Edison’s Dean Escobar. An incumbent district champion, Foster placed sixth in the conference and sixth in the region at 195 last season. Kirksey’s only other conference loss is to Spotswood’s Eddie Rogers by pin. Colonia’s Christian Irizarry was eighth in the GMCT last year at 195. Irizarry dropped a 7-1 decision to Baszak and dropped a 7-4 decision to Edison’s Dean Escobar. New Brunswick’s Keshon Davila (12-4), who placed seventh in the GMCT at 220 pounds last year, cannot be discounted.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Diego Bardales, Middlesex, Sr., 3-6

Kyle Baszak, South River, Sr., 15-1

Kaylon Bradley, Monroe, Sr., 8-3

Keshon Davila, New Brunswick, So., 12-4

Dean Escobar, Edison, Jr., 12-8

Paris Foster, Piscataway, Sr., 11-5

Winston Gonzalez, Carteret, Fr., 3-4

Artyom Grigoryans, Old Bridge, Sr., 5-2

Christian Irizarry, Colonia, Sr. 7-5

Savon Kirksey, Sayreville, Jr., 14-4

Sean Li, Highland Park, Sr., 9-5

Kevin Moore, J.F. Kennedy, Jr., 3-8

Luke Niemeyer, South Plainfield, Jr., 18-2

Gustavo Palacio, South Brunswick, Sr., 11-6

Andrew Roarty, Bishop Ahr, So., 3-5

Alba Rodriguez, North Brunswick, Sr., 0-2

Edward Rogers, Spotswood, Jr., 6-4

Aditiya Singh, East Brunswick, Jr., 5-8

David Welch, Perth Amboy, Sr., 14-5

220 POUNDS

InterMat ranks South Plainfield’s Zach DelVecchio 11th in the country at 220 pounds. His undefeated record includes a 3-1 decision over Montville’s Liridon Leka in the Morris Knolls Invitational final. He has 14 pins, two technical falls and two majors as a bonus-point-making machine for the Tigers. DelVecchio swept conference, district and region tournament titles on the way to a fourth-place finish in the state last year with a 44-3 record. With Woodbridge’s Nick Nyers (17-1) apparently making a move to heavyweight, Carteret’s Frank Coghan (17-1), who placed seventh in the GMCT last year at 195 pounds, appears to be the only wrestler other than DelVecchio in the class with significant criteria. The weight class features just five wrestlers with winning records. 

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Junior Batista, Perth Amboy, Jr., 3-4

Joseph Caliguiro, Edison, So., 7-12

Frank Coghan, Carteret, Sr. 17-1

Christopher Costales, Woodbridge, Jr., 9-9

Jensy DeLeon, J.F. Kennedy, Fr., 1-4

Zach DelVecchio, South Plainfield, Jr., 20-0

Yousef Elhalaka, Spotswood, Sr., 6-5

Andre Felton, Piscataway, Jr., 3-7

Christopher Greene, New Brunswick, Sr., 1-0

John Helstowski, North Brunswick, Jr., 7-9

Ciro Lowder, Middlesex, Sr., 6-7

Elijah Mack, Old Bridge, So., 7-12

Daniel Mattar, East Brunswick, Sr., 4-8

Adrian Najar, Colonia, Sr., 8-4

Joseph Porcaro, Sayreville, So., 8-9

Zack Racanati, South Brunswick, Sr., 9-10

Freddy Ramirez, Bishop Ahr, Jr., 6-10

Jack Richards, Monroe, So., 5-8

Steven Rodriguez, South River, So., 1-11

HEAVYWEIGHT

Woodbridge senior Nick Nyers (17-1), who weighs in under 200 pounds, must rely on his athleticicism and stamina while yielding significant weight to some of the competitors in this class. South River’s Kenny Cross (5-4), who weighs in just under 285, is among those who pose a matchup problem for Nyers, who placed fifth in the 2017 GMCT at 195 pounds. New Brunswick’s Ramiro Osuna (13-1), who placed fifth in the GMCT at heavyweight last year, is a title contender along with J.P. Stevens’ Spencer Johnson. Carteret’s David Pierre (12-7) and Middlesex’s Alex Bollin (10-4) will look to make a deep run. Osuna pinned Bollin, who dropped decisions to Pierre and Cross. Johnson and Cross both pinned Edison’s Keyon Goodwin (15-5), who won a title at the John Goles Tournament. Osuna defeated Pierre for fifth place in the 2017 GMCT. Bollin was eighth at heavyweight last season.

THE PROJECTED FIELD

Benedict Arthur, Sayreville, Jr., 11-5

Anthony Beatrice, Old Bridge, Sr., 4-4

Alex Bollin, Middlesex, Sr., 10-4

Kentheotio Cross, South River, Jr., 5-4

Youseff Gammel, East Brunswick, So., 10-3

Keyon Goodwin, Edison, Sr., 15-5

Joe Grossi, J.F. Kennedy, Jr., 11-8

Alex Hartman, Spotswood, Sr., 2-10

Ian Johnson, Bishop Ahr, Jr., 7-10

Spencer Johnson, John P. Stevens, Sr., 16-4

Julian Medina, South Plainfield, Fr., 10-4

Akil Murugan, South Brunswick, So., 7-12

Nick Nyers, Woodbridge, Sr. 17-1

Ramiro Osuna Jr., New Brunswick, Sr., 13-1

Luis Pena-Garcia, Monroe, Sr., 12-5

David Pierre, Carteret, Sr., 12-7

Jeiro Ruiz, Perth Amboy, Fr., 4-11

Michael Stilwell, North Brunswick, Jr., 13-5

Luke Tilton, Highland Park, So., 13-6

Caleb Wilson, Colonia, Jr., 3-7

Eliezer Wolfskehl, Piscataway, So., 3-4