Phillipsburg's Brandon Paetzell pursues his third state medal while Hackettstown's Alex Carida and Delaware Valley's Matt Kolonia seek their first.
132 pounds
The favorite: Zack Firestone, Clearview
The contenders: Evan Drill, Somerville; Nick Farro, Delbarton; Christopher Foca, Bergen Catholic; Alec Kelly, St. Peter’s Prep;
The dark horse: Brandon Paetzell, Phillipsburg.
The locals: Alex Carida, Hackettstown; Matt Kolonia, Delaware Valley; Paetzell.
The scoop: This is by general consensus the toughest weight class of them all in Atlantic City with six returning placewinners and killer depth across the board. And the top half of the bracket with Kelly, Farro, Firestone, and Drill plys Emerson-Park Ridge’s Sam Schneider and Ramapo’s Wilfredo Gil, is simply insane, and whoever survives that – probably the amazingly physical Firestone, state-ranked No. 1 – should get a co-championship medal. Paetzell, returning to the state tournament after being sidelined as a junior with injury, was a runner-up as a sophomore and has the experience, moxie and skill to win – and he’s on the bottom side of the bracket. Not that that’s easy – Edison’s dangerous Robert Cleary, Toms River South’s returning state placewinner Owen McClave, and Cranford’s rugged Chris Scorese are there. But Paetzell should have a good chance to get to the semis where he’d run into Foca, the Crusaders’ super-frosh who defeated Paetzell 6-4 en route to winning the Beast of the East. Foca, one of formed-from-the-womb mat types, can be beaten – Bethlehem Catholic’s Joey Gould has, 8-5 – but you wonder if Paetzell is quite ready for this kind of challenge so soon after coming back from yet another hand injury. The Stateliner senior has all the heart in the world, but this brutal class may be too high a mountain to climb, Paetzell certainly will medal. Carida, who’s in the top half and wrestles Vincent Foggia of Northern Burlington in his opener, is probably a year away from the podium. Kolonia, who gets Scorese first, might not be, but he’ll have to perform at the highest level he ever has to earn hardware in this awesome class.
The pick: Firestone.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.