Warren Hills freshman Cody Harrison will be seeking a medal in his first Atlantic City trip.
106 pounds
The favorite: JoJo Aragona, Pope John XXIII
The contenders: Nick Duca, Paulsboro; Joe Heilmann, South Plainfield; Michael Kelly, St. Peter’s Prep; Joe Manchio, Seneca.
The dark horse: Kyle Kaiser, Paramus.
The locals: Cody Harrison, Warren Hills
The scoop: Pennsylvania could lay claim to a Garden State crown if the 36-0 Pope John frosh, ranked No. 2 in the nation by Intermat, wins; he is from the Delaware Valley (District 2) area. Aragona being a freshman Question We have been consistently skeptical of that No. 2 national ranking for Aragona all season and we think it will be proven wrong this weekend. Question is, by who? The rugged and physical Kaiser may get a shot in the quarterfinals, and don’t be shocked if he does. Then would come Manchio in a semifinal, and the Seneca sophomore has the bloodlines to win; his cousin Mark was a three-time champion for Sterling. Speaking of bloodlines, Heilmann’s brother, Troy, was at three-time state champ at South Plainfield and Kelly’s brother Alec, now at 132, has finished third the last two seasons on the Boardwalk. Kelly has the best body of work schedule-wise and is a sophomore. We like Kelly over Manchio in a whale of a final. Locally, Harrison has the poise, skills and strength to get on the podium – the result we keep coming back to is his 3-1 loss to Aragona in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex final. If the Blue Streak can hold Aragona to such a score he can stay with anyone in the field; finding a way to beat them will be key.
The pick: Kelly.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.