St. Joseph Regional Claims New Jersey State Wrestling Title in Thrilling Finals Showdown

Green Knights Edge Delbarton by Seven Points, Crowns Three Champions at Boardwalk Hall; Anthony Knox captures his fourth straight state title

Saint John Vianney’s Anthony Knox’s hand is raised after defeating Bergen Catholic’s Nathan Braun in the championship XX match during finals of the NJSIAA individual wrestling state championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 8, 2025. Saint John Vianney’s Anthony Knox is awarded the 126-pound state championship title and is a 4-time state champion. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In regard to the national rankings, the results from this weekend’s New Jersey State Wrestling Tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City played out as expected with only one upset in the championship finals and the title winner, St. Joseph Regional, being our highest ranked New Jersey team at No. 4. Runner-up Delbarton is No. 5 in our national poll and was outpointed by seven, 224-217.

The first place run gives St. Joesph Regional a sweep over Delbarton in the state sweepstakes as they also downed the Green Wave for the Non-Public Group A state dual championship in February.

Both crowned three champions. But the Green Knights pushed six into the finals to the Green Wave’s four. The two extra finalists helped St. Joe overcome Delbarton’s ten placers to their nine.

The finals slate kicked off at 113lbs and served up the only head-to-head meeting between the two powers right out of the gate. No 5 Cameron Sontz of Delbarton used a takedown and escape to fuel his 4-2 win over national Honorable Mention, Charles Esposito.

The Knights would have one more runner-up before they crowned their first champ at 175 as No. 16 Johnathon McGinty fell in the 120lb bout to No. 5 Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Academy), 1-0. Kenny, a sophomore, was third at 113lbs last year.

In the final five weights, St. Joe would have finalists in four of them and crown their champs at the end of the night with No. 4 Ryan Burton (175), No. 5 Anthony Harris (215), and No. 3 JoJo Burke (106).

Burton used a 20-4 technical fall of No. 16 Jordan Chapman (Cranford) to secure his second consecutive state title.

Burton literally balled Chapman up in the first period and came close to a fall. It wasn’t a cradle; Cranford was just literally rolled into a ball. With the score 16-6 later in the match, Chapman was dropped to his back while trying to make something happen. It was refreshing to see the aggressiveness.

Harris was second as a sophomore at St. Peter’s Prep and then missed states a year ago. Harris was one of the wrestlers the Green Knights were missing during their early season struggles as he sat out due to transfer rules. The senior locked down his first state crown with ease, rocking a 21-5 tech of Dante DeLuca (Don Bosco Prep). Harris’ debut in the lineup coincided with St. Joe’s turnaround.

Burke had the crowd unhappy with his finish that included giving up two points on stall calls down the stretch in his 4-3 decision of No. 6 Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township). The match was highlighted by a crazy scramble in the first period that ended in a Burke takedown with just three seconds left to tick off the clock.

The three Green Knights who did not reach the finals but found the podium were honorable mention Vince Paino (3rd at 132), No. 15 Adrian DeJesus (5th at 138) and Kaleb Jackson (6th at 190). No. 12 Cristian Alvarez lost his finals match, 7-1, against Saint John Vianney’s repeat champion, No. 2 Rocco Dellagatta at 285.

Dellagatta joined his teammate No. 1 Anthony Knox atop the awards stand after Knox dropped an 18-4 major decision on Bergen Catholic’s Nathan Braun (honorable mention nationally) at 126lbs. Knox registered two takedowns in each period to account for his scoring in a show of dominance that made Knox just the fifth New Jersey wrestler to win four state championships.

Sontz’s title was the second straight for the sophomore who is now on pace to become the sixth member of that four-time club. Sontz’s Delbarton teammate, No. 5 Alessio Perentin, placed fourth here as a freshman and has now reeled off three titles in a row after his 13-2 major decision of AJ Falcone (Christian Brothers Academy) at 165.  

Delbarton’s Alessio Perentin (left) wrestles Christian Brothers Academy’s AJ Falcone in the championship 165-pound match during finals of the NJSIAA individual wrestling state championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, March 8, 2025. Delbarton’s Alessio Perentin icaptured the 165-pound title for his third state championship. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 3 Jayden James (150) picked up one of the few falls of the championship round in the first period when he stuck Jamar Dixon Jr. of Delsea with ten seconds left, 1:50. It started with a takedown and what felt like three maneuvers to earn a four-point near-fall. A subsequent escape then takedown to the back gave this one the early ending.

Ryan DeGeorge (honorable mention) had his repeat bid ended by Camden Catholic’s Sammy Spaulding in the 132lb final on an overtime takedown, 9-6. DeGeorge, a sophomore, was holding an early 6-0 lead after a takedown and back points were collected. Spaulding powered back and secured a takedown with a minute left and then held off DeGeorge to force overtime.

The Green Wave’s other awardees were bronze medalists, Tommy Marchetti (120, HM) and No. 18 Chase Quenault (138), fourth-place finisher No. 9 Carl Betz (190), fifth-place No. 21 Peter “PJ” Terranova (106), Nicholas Scwartz (sixth at 144), and Trevor Jones (8th at 157).

One of the few major national upsets occurred at 144 when No. 17 Blasé Mele of Princeton edged No. 9 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven Regional), 3-2, in the semis. Amato, a sophomore, was the 144lb champ last year and was favored to do it again this year based on his two previous wins over Mele at Districts and Regions leading up to states. After the Amato victory, Mele won his finals bout, 7-1, versus Donny Almeyda (Pope John Xxiii).

Rumson’s Sonny Amato lost to Princeton Blasé Mele (right) in their 144-pounds semifinal state Semifinal match at NJSIAA State Wrestling Tournament in Atlantic City on March 7, 2025. / Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

St. Peter’s Prep’s No. 6 Caedyn Ricciardi secured his second state crown in a row, rather quickly, with a 57 second planting of No. 14 Carson Walsh (Pope John Xxiii) after driving him over with an arm and leg in the 138lb final. Ricciardi defeated Delbarton’s James for his crown a year ago. Walsh picked off Quenault in the semis, 12-10.

A second title was also secured for senior Harvey Ludington of Brick Memorial, who is the nation’s top ranked 190lber. Ludington was second as a sophomore and put title number two on his resume with a 7-1 decision of No. 7 Vincenzo LaValle (Hanover Park).

The final champ, No. 30 Wyatt Stout (157), hails from Southern Regional. Stout improved upon last year’s fourth-place finish when he won an overtime tiebreaker with No. 25 Gavin Hawk (Phillipsburg) in a mild upset, 3-2.

St. John Vianney’s Anthony Knox wins his fourth-straight state title, only the fifth wrestler to do so in state history.
Knox, a Cornell commit, was originally disqualified from the individual season after his part in a melee at the District 25 tournament. Knox got it overturned pic.twitter.com/ehW9kIkflr

— Patrick Mulranen (@ACPressMulranen) March 8, 2025

Team Scores (Top 15)

1-St. Joseph Regional 224

2-Delbarton 217

3-Christian Brothers Academy 136

4-Saint John Vianney 134

5-St. Peter’s Prep 120

6-Camden Catholic 103.5

7-Bergen Catholic 81.5

8-Southern Regional 76

9-Delsea 74

10-Rumson-Fair Haven Regional 73.5

11-Don Bosco Prep School 71

12-Brick Memorial 69.5

13-Pope John Xxiii 65.5

14-Phillipsburg 48.5

15-Cranford 44.5

106

1st Place Match

JoJo Burke (St Joseph Regional) 37-3, Fr. over Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township) 32-2, So. (Dec 4-3)

3rd Place Match

Sean Kenny (Christian Brothers Academy) 32-6, Fr. over Santino DiMatteo (Brick Memorial) 32-9, So. (Dec 4-2)

5th Place Match

Peter Terranova (Delbarton School) 34-8, So. over Luke Johnston (Howell) 38-8, So. (Dec 7-0)

7th Place Match

Cade Collins (Southern Regional) 40-10, Fr. over Matthew Mulligan (Bergen Catholic) 29-9, Fr. (MD 10-2)

113

1st Place Match

Cameron Sontz (Delbarton School) 39-0, So. over Charles Esposito (St Joseph Regional) 36-9, Jr. (Dec 4-2)

3rd Place Match

Carmine Sipper (Caldwell) 44-5, Jr. over Anthony Mason (Southern Regional) 39-6, Jr. (Dec 1-0)

5th Place Match

Michael Daly (Cranford) 35-10, Jr. over Zachary Belverio (Arthur Johnson) 37-3, Sr. (Dec 10-4)

7th Place Match

Dom Digiacomo (Camden Catholic) 19-3, Sr. over Augie Szamreta (Warren Hills) 37-7, Jr. (MD 13-4)

120

1st Place Match

Paul Kenny (Christian Brothers Academy) 33-2, So. over Johnathon McGinty (St Joseph Regional) 34-6, Jr. (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match

Tommy Marchetti (Delbarton School) 33-8, Fr. over Richard DeLorenzo II (Toms River East H.S.) 27-4, So. (Dec 7-5)

5th Place Match

Aundre Hill (Paulsboro H.S.) 40-8, Sr. over Joseph Rizzuto (Depaul Catholic) 33-9, Jr. (Fall 3:23)

7th Place Match

Anthony Pellegrino (Seton Hall Prep School) 23-7, Sr. over James McGinty (Parsippany Hills) 35-7, Sr. (MD 13-2)

126

1st Place Match

Anthony Knox (Saint John Vianney) 37-0, Sr. over Nathan Braun (Bergen Catholic) 23-7, Jr. (MD 18-4)

3rd Place Match

Anthony DiAndrea (Watchung Hills Regional) 39-3, Jr. over Colton Hagerty (Washington Township) 37-8, Jr. (Dec 3-2)

5th Place Match

Joaquin Duque (Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) 41-8, Jr. over Salvatore Borrometi (St. Peter`s Prep) 35-10, Jr. (Fall 1:39)

7th Place Match

Jaden Perez (Delaware Valley Regional) 39-5, Sr. over Joseph DeAngelo (Point Pleasant Boro) 16-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:59 (15-0))

132

1st Place Match

Sammy Spaulding (Camden Catholic) 41-3, Jr. over Ryan DeGeorge (Delbarton School) 32-10, So. (SV-1 9-6)

3rd Place Match

Vincent Paino (St Joseph Regional) 33-4, Sr. over Giovanni Schinina (St. Peter`s Prep) 28-6, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

5th Place Match

Robert Duffy (Christian Brothers Academy) 28-10, Jr. over Patrick O`Keefe (Saint John Vianney) 38-6, Sr. (M. For.)

7th Place Match

Jackson Slotnick (Williamstown) 25-3, Sr. over Dalton Weber (Pope John Xxiii) 26-6, Jr. (Dec 5-2)

138

1st Place Match

Caedyn Ricciardi (St. Peter`s Prep) 30-1, Sr. over Carson Walsh (Pope John Xxiii) 36-3, Sr. (Fall 0:57)

3rd Place Match

Chase Quenault (Delbarton School) 33-10, Sr. over Chase Hansen (Lower Cape May Reg) 43-2, Jr. (Dec 5-2)

5th Place Match

Adrian DeJesus (St Joseph Regional) 16-5, Sr. over Scottie Sari (Southern Regional) 37-10, Sr. (Dec 7-0)

7th Place Match

Gideon Gonzalez (Bergen Catholic) 33-7, Fr. over Armani McCann (Jackson Liberty) 21-5, Jr. (Dec 7-1)

144

1st Place Match

Blase Mele (Princeton) 31-2, Sr. over Donny Almeyda (Pope John Xxiii) 20-1, Sr. (Dec 7-1)

3rd Place Match

Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) 45-2, So. over Anthony Depaul (St. Augustine Prep School) 34-9, Jr. (Dec 6-0)

5th Place Match

Jake Zaltsman (Saint John Vianney) 37-5, Sr. over Nicholas Schwartz (Delbarton School) 26-17, Fr. (Dec 6-2)

7th Place Match

Luke Geleta (Phillipsburg) 39-3, Sr. over Seach Hibler (Paramus Catholic) 23-7, Jr. (Dec 10-9)

150

1st Place Match

Jayden James (Delbarton School) 43-0, Jr. over Jamar Dixon Jr. (Delsea) 38-4, Sr. (Fall 1:50)

3rd Place Match

Jackson Weller (Delran) 42-4, So. over Michael Craft (Camden Catholic) 36-6, Jr. (Dec 3-1)

5th Place Match

Dezmond Lenaghan (Saint John Vianney) 26-7, Sr. over Joseph Ruiz (St. Peter`s Prep) 31-11, Jr. (MD 13-0)

7th Place Match

Rhett Washleski (Hunterdon Central Reg) 41-5, Jr. over Sowzrawca Tsay (Bergen Catholic) 25-11, Jr. (Dec 4-1)

157

1st Place Match

Wyatt Stout (Southern Regional) 38-2, Sr. over Gavin Hawk (Phillipsburg) 39-2, Sr. (UTB 3-2)

3rd Place Match

Kage Jones (Camden Catholic) 39-6, Jr. over Maxwell Nevlin (St. Peter`s Prep) 35-8, Sr. (Dec 7-3)

5th Place Match

Sean Love (Piscataway) 36-4, Jr. over Morgan Schwarz (St. Joseph Metuchen) 37-7, Jr. (M. For.)

7th Place Match

Ryan Gavrish (Saint John Vianney) 31-11, So. over Trevor Jones (Delbarton School) 32-9, Jr. (M. For.)

165

1st Place Match

Alessio Perentin (Delbarton School) 42-1, Sr. over AJ Falcone (Christian Brothers Academy) 32-6, Sr. (MD 12-3)

3rd Place Match

Santino Rodriguez (Don Bosco Prep School) 36-6, Jr. over Jake Clayton (Point Pleasant Boro) 41-3, So. (Dec 4-0)

5th Place Match

Tyler Whitford (St. Joseph Metuchen) 36-6, Jr. over Cole Stangle (Saint John Vianney) 29-9, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

7th Place Match

Jordan Ayyash (Jackson Liberty) 30-6, Sr. over Cristian Gioia (Governor Livingston) 40-6, Sr. (Dec 4-2)

175

1st Place Match

Ryan Burton (St Joseph Regional) 40-1, Sr. over Jordan Chapman (Cranford) 39-5, Sr. (MD 20-6)

3rd Place Match

Brock Oizerowitz (Christian Brothers Academy) 26-7, So. over Jaden Simpson (Camden Catholic) 35-7, Jr. (Dec 8-2)

5th Place Match

Ethan Dalling (Kittatinny Regional Jr/Sr) 41-5, Sr. over Anthony Verdi (St. Peter`s Prep) 35-10, Jr. (Fall 4:30)

7th Place Match

Temuulen Mendbileg (St. Benedicts Prep School) 40-5, Sr. over Genti Idrizi (Bergen Catholic) 26-13, Sr. (Dec 13-6)

190

1st Place Match

Harvey Ludington (Brick Memorial) 41-0, Sr. over Vincenzo LaValle (Hanover Park Hs) 42-4, Sr. (Dec 7-3)

3rd Place Match

Tanner Hodgins (Howell) 37-8, So. over Carl Betz (Delbarton School) 36-4, Jr. (Dec 6-4)

5th Place Match

Alexander Reyes (Holmdel) 41-6, Jr. over Kaleb Jackson (St Joseph Regional) 25-7, Sr. (M. For.)

7th Place Match

Nevin Mattessich (Don Bosco Prep School) 36-5, Jr. over Jake Zemsky (Westfield) 38-5, Jr. (Fall 2:43)

215

1st Place Match

Anthony Harris (St Joseph Regional) 18-0, Sr. over Dante DeLuca (Don Bosco Prep School) 30-1, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:54 (21-5))

3rd Place Match

Salvatore Marchese (Delsea) 42-5, Jr. over Nicolas Gonzalez (Mt. Olive) 37-6, Jr. (Dec 5-3)

5th Place Match

Anthony Jackson (Paul Vi) 34-2, So. over Tyler Palumbo (Christian Brothers Academy) 18-10, Jr. (Fall 2:33)

7th Place Match

Nathan Faxon (Governor Livingston) 41-3, Sr. over Rocco Salerno (Seton Hall Prep School) 26-3, Jr. (M. For.)

285

1st Place Match

Rocco Dellagata (Saint John Vianney) 32-0, Sr. over Cristian Alvarez (St Joseph Regional) 33-3, Jr. (Dec 7-1)

3rd Place Match

Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) 43-3, Jr. over Benjamin Shue (Bergen Catholic) 35-8, Sr. (Dec 8-5)

5th Place Match

James Lynch (Toms River East H.S.) 38-5, Sr. over Ben Szuba (Brick Memorial) 38-9, Sr. (Fall 2:42)

7th Place Match

Thomas Borgia (West Morris Central) 43-3, Jr. over Clifford Dirkes (Ocean City) 36-5, Sr. (MD 9-1)