North Warren's Anthony Duardo and Phillipsburg's DJ Wissing seek state honors in a tough weight class.
152 pounds
The favorite: Stephan Glasgow, Bound Brook
The contenders: Steve Bonsall, Newark Academy; Avery DiNardi, Holy Cross; Dominic Mandarino, Don Bosco Prep; Andrew Meyers, Toms River East.
The dark horse: Tommy Miller, Roxbury
The locals: Anthony Duardo, North Warren; DJ Wissing, Phillipsburg
The scoop: Two in a row for Bound Brook? Probably. Like Lewis, Glasgow brings remarkable, almost dazzling technique and awesome physical power to the mat; like Lewis, he’s been tested against high-quality foes and like Lewis, his sole loss is at the PowerAde, to Trevell Timmons of Lockport (Ill.) in a quarterfinal and he wound up third. Glasgow was a state runner-up last season and this time he’ll climb all the way up the medal stand, probably over Meyers in the final. Duardo, trying to become the Patriots’ fourth state medal winner ever, would get Glasgow Friday night if he can handle Point Pleasant Beach’s Giancarlo Crivelli in a prelim. It will be a real challenge for Duardo to medal. Wissing meets Yusuf Yilmaz of Vineland in his first match and the Stateliner senior has a reasonable path ahead of him, though he’d have to get by Mandarino in a pre-quarterfinal. Wissing’s unconventional style and ability to hit home runs from virtually any position make him extremely dangerous especially in a state situation where there is usually a lot of very conservative wrestling going on. We like Wissing to medal with at least one big upset via fall.
The pick: Glasgow.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.