Unranked Greyson Pettit Shocks Jersey Wrestling with a Stunning State Title Run; Delbarton Cruises to Team Crown

State Tournaments usually feature breakout performances and other unexpected outcomes over the course of the action, which for New Jersey was Thursday through Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. A lot of times, these out of nowhere happenings occur and in the next round we see the perpetrator snapped back into reality with a stinging loss.

A Dream Run for Pettit

Delsea’s Greyson Pettit does not appear in our national rankings, and his five losses included two to wrestlers in his theoretical path to a 132-pound championship, one of them being a defending state champion, No. 13 Sammy Spaulding, who defeated Pettit, 7-5, at Escape the Rock and No. 34 Richard DeLorenzo (Toms River East).

DeLorenzo beat Pettit at December’s Sam Cali Tournament in overtime, 11-8, so those two losses show he’s right there with those guys. This weekend allowed him to prove, with time, he has become the greater grappler as Pettit first exacted revenge upon DeLorenzo in another overtime thriller, with him gaining the edge this time, 7-4.

Next was a rematch with Spaulding and Pettit added his head to his mantle with a 4-3 decision in the semifinals to set up a meeting with No. 23 Anthony DiAndrea (Watchung Hills), who was a Beast of the East runner-up. After holding the traditional norm of an underdog falling after a big win at bay twice, could the senior, do it once more?

What unfolded left us with three “!!!” in our description of the proceedings. Pettit blew the socks off DiAndrea and overwhelmed him with little regard shown to his underdog status. Pettit used a perfectly plotted Slide-by, a move he would revisit, for the first points on the tally.

A subsequent escape from DiAndrea was followed by another in the second to make it 3-2 when Pettit hit a flawlessly beautiful duck under with such ease it looked like he was just drilling, as no defense came from the frozen DiAndrea. The Slide-by was rekindled in the third for another takedown and almost led to another in the second. DiAndrea’s points were recorded on escapes in each period for a 12-3 final.

Green Wave Floats to an Easy Win with Three Champs

Delbarton had a stellar tournament all around, with one of the few gripes they could have being only three of their seven finalists brought home gold. The Green Wave cruised to the team title with ease over St. Joseph Regional, 235-173. An almost 30-point lead after the quarters grew as the cream rose to the top.

Two who rose to the top for Delbarton did so as repeat champions, No. 1 Jayden James (165 pounds) and No. 5 Cam Sontz (120).

James Doubles-Down Before Penn State

James, a World Champ last summer who is headed to Penn State in the fall, locked down his second straight crown with a 1:23 decking of St. John Vianney’s Ryan Gavrish. James had just gained his fourth takedown in the first period when he went right into a half to gain the fall. James was second as a sophomore and third as a freshman.

Jayden James - Delbarton wrestling — Delbarton's Jayden James is awarded the Most Outstanding Wrestler award after the NJSIAA Boys Wrestling State Championships at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Atlantic City. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Three Down, One to Go for Sontz

Sontz is a junior that now stays on road to becoming just the sixth member of the four-time state champion club after some overtime excitement delivered title number three, 8-1, over No. 10 JoJo Burke (St. Joseph Regional) at 120 pounds. They wrestled to a 1-1 draw with escapes exchanged when a wild scramble came to fruition in overtime and Sontz came out of it and got Burke on his back for the takedown and four near-fall points.

Put Your Bets on Betz

The Green Wave’s third gold medalist was No. 4 Carl Betz (190 pounds). Betz, who was fourth in 2025 for his only placing, was the heavy favorite and delivered on what the ranking suggested as he put up two takedowns in the second period of a 6-2 win over No. 15 Nevin Mattessich (Don Bosco Prep).

Those who had their title hopes snuffed out in the finals were No. 20 Tommy Marchetti (126 pounds), No. 27 Ryan DeGeorge (144), No. 21 Nicholas Schwartz (150), and No. 7 Gabe Logan (175). Placing sixth for Delbarton were Peter Terranova (132 pounds) and No. 43 Trevor Jones (157). Finn Andersen was seventh at 106 pounds.

Carl Betz - Delbarton wrestling — Delbarton's Carl Betz celebrates after defeating Don Bosco's Nevin Mattessich in a 190-pound championship match of the NJSIAA Boys Wrestling State Championships at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Atlantic City. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Duffy and Kenny Rise for CBA

Christian Brothers Academy finished a point behind St. Joseph Regional in third with 172, crowning two champions, No. 2 Paul Kenny (126 pounds) and No. 9 Robert Duffy (144).

Paul Kenny - Delbarton — CBA’s Paul Kenny pinned Delbarton’s Tommy Marchetti in their 126 lbs. final at the NJSIAA Wrestling Championships on March 14, 2026. | Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kenny was third as a freshman and has now won two in a row after taking care of Delbarton’s Marchetti in the second period with an arm bar and a half, 3:38. Duffy was fifth last year and exploded for ten points on DeGeorge in the first period to ensure there would be no ill-fated endings this season. Duffy added another takedown and escape to make the final, 14-1.

Amato Back on Top

Another two-time champ came about his gold in a pleasing fashion as No. 10 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) was a rare freshman state champ but fell from that perch with last year's third-place finish. Amato is back on top as a junior after blanking the Green Wave’s Schwartz, 8-0.

Sonny Amato - Rumson wrestling — Rumson’s Sonny Amato defeated Delbarton’s Nicholas Schwartz in their 150 lbs. bout at the NJSIAA Wrestling Championships on March 14, 2026 | Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

3G and the Bergen Brigade

Bergen Catholic pushed two grapplers to the top of the podium, and neither was the favorite from our perspective, but No. 20 Gideon “3G” Gonzalez (138 pounds) and Joey Canova (157) were champions when their bouts concluded.

Gonzalez was just seventh here a year ago as a freshman and one of his losses was to No. 19 Chase Hansen (Lower Cape May), 4-2. They met in the semifinals with the same score being recorded but in 2026 it went Gonzalez’s way. The award was a faceoff with No. 8 Brian Little (St. Joseph Regional).

Gideon Gonzalez - Bergen Catholic wrestling — Bergen Catholic's Gideon "3G" Gonzalez celebrates after defeating St. Joseph Montvale's Brian Little in a 138lb championship match of the NJSIAA Boys Wrestling State Championships at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Atlantic City. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Little began well with a double leg takedown, but the good times were halted in the second period when Gonzalez sucked Little back on a sit-out to gain four back points. Gonzalez was holding a 5-3 advantage when he escaped in the third and hit a well-executed hip block for his final points in the 9-4 win.

Canova's Redemption

Canova was seventh here as a freshman as well but has suffered injuries the last two seasons. The senior’s return this year has been up and down, but Canova was a regular in our rankings until injuries plagued him. Canova put it all together in his final run through the hall and won an overtime tiebreaker with No. 44 Joey Monticello (Hanover Park), 6-2.

Joey Canova - Bergen Catholic wrestling — Bergen Catholic's Joey Canova walks on the mat to wrestle Hanover Park's Joey Monticello in a 157-pound championship match of the NJSIAA Boys Wrestling State Championships at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Atlantic City. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Canova also took out the top seed from Camden Catholic No. 31 Kage Jones, 13-10, in overtime of their quarterfinal.

A milder upset was booked by No. 9 Santino Rodriguez (Don Bosco Prep) with his 10-1 major decision of No. 7 Logan at 175 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Rodriguez blew it open in the second with a series of tilts that amounted to six points. Rodriguez was third in 2025.

Coluccio Climbs

Before the Walsh Ironman in December, where No. 18 Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township) suffered some unexpected losses, an encounter with No. 11 Charles Esposito (St. Joseph Regional) would have painted him as the likely victor. By the time the state final arrived, Esposito was carrying the lofty expectations and it seems they proved to be too much as he succumbed to Coluccio, 7-1.

Killian Coluccio - Lacey wrestling — Lacey’s Killian Coluccio defeats St. Joseph’s Montvale’s Charles Esposito 7-1 in their 113 lbs. final at the NJSIAA Wrestling Championships on March 14, 2026. | Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No points were posted in the first and then all Coluccio’s big maneuvers were delivered in the middle round with two takedowns and an escape. In fact, all the scoring occurred in the second as Esposito’s escape was allocated in that window as well. Like the first, the third would see no points earned by either party. Coluccio was second last year and third as a ninth grader.

Alvarez and the Intricacies of Second Place

St. Joseph Regional struggled in the final round and almost lost their hold on second place. St. Joseph was up 169-161 over Christian Brothers and had four in the finals with just two for the Colts. In addition, the Green Knights were expected to bring home title in three of those weights.

The finals kicked off with Pettit’s mind-blowing throwdown at 132 pounds and then Little suffered his fate to Gonzalez, becoming the first St. Joe grappler to fall short of expectations at 138. The other was Esposito at 113 pounds. It would have been shocking if Burke beat Sontz.

The Green Knights’ fourth finalist proved the pundits right when No. 7 Cristian Alvarez (285 pounds) controlled No. 14 Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) in an 8-1 decision. Vinciguerra was down 5-0 after the second period and gave up another takedown in the third period.

Alvarez’s four team points elevated them to 173. Duffy gained five for the Colts at 144, so they were only three out of second before Alvarez’s win. Kenny’s stick for Christian Brothers brought them within one in the final standings with 172 points. If Alvarez had failed, the Green Knights would have tumbled to third.

Bronze in the Worlds, Gold in Jersey

Another World Medalist made an appearance in Saturday’s finals when bronze winner No. 5 Tanner Hodgins of Howell brought the hammer down on No. 10 Nicolas Gonzalez (Mt. Olive) with a 20-7 major decision at 215 pounds. Gonzalez took down returning state runner-up No. 6 Dante DeLuca (Don Bosco Prep) in the semis, 19-11. Hodgins was third here a year ago.

Middletown North’s No. 16 Thomas Blewett is a junior that has never reached the Jersey Awards Stand until now and did so as the 106-pound champ after winning a 10-4 bout with Will Cruz of Paulsboro.

Team Standings (Top 10)

1-Delbarton 235

2-St. Joseph Regional 173

3-Christian Brothers Academy 172

1st Place Match

Cristian Alvarez (St Joseph (Montvale) HS) 35-0, Sr. over Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) 43-2, Sr. (Dec 8-1)

3rd Place Match

Thomas Borgia (West Morris Central) 46-2, Sr. over Jared Martini (Mt. Olive) 38-10, Jr. (Dec 7-1)

5th Place Match

Nicholas Duarte (Hillsborough) 45-4, Sr. over Trent Levash (Bridgewater-Raritan) 33-4, Jr. (Fall 4:42)

7th Place Match

Gabe Jang (Leonia/Palisades Park) 41-4, Sr. over Mohammad Targali (Matawan Reg) 43-6, Sr. (Fall 5:45)