Top 25 New Jersey High School Wrestling State Rankings (12/17/2024)

See which high school wrestling teams are competing for New Jersey supremacy as the season gets underway.

Ryan Burton, SI's top-ranked 175-pounder, leads a St. Joseph's-Montvale team that starts the season at No. 1 in the New Jersey Wrestling Team Top 25 rankings. / Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK

With 11 of last year's 14 state champions back this season and a group of powerhouse squads ready to make noise, New Jersey wrestling should once again be among the nation's best this winter.

The weekend of Dec. 7-8 marked the start of the season, with most teams competing in tournaments and many of them not deploying their full lineups yet.

There are no top 10 clashes this week on the dual meet schedule, but individual stars will be looking to get into form with the prestigious Beast of the East tournament coming up in Delaware this weekend.

Here's a look at New Jersey's top teams in the early going.

1. St. Joseph's-Montvale

Ranked as the No. 3 team in the country in the latest SI National Team Wrestling Rankings, the Green Knights are led by three returning state champions. Senior Ryan Burton is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 175 by SI, junior Johnathon McGinty is a returning state runner-up ranked No. 5 at 120, senior Adrian DeJesus is ranked No. 9 at 132, and senior Zach Ballante is the reigning N.J. 150-pound champ. St. Joe's was dealt a blow when state champion heavyweight Rocco Dellagatta transferred to St. John Vianney, but it added transfer Anthony Harris, a senior who was second in the state at 190 at St. Peter's Prep in 2023. He is ranked No. 5 in the country by SI at 215.

2. Delbarton

The reigning Non-Public A champions return three state champions, including two-time winner Alessio Perentin at 165, who is ranked No. 5 in the country by SI. The nation's No. 6 team in SI's rankings also includes sophomore Cam Sontz, who won the 106-pound state title last season, and sophomore Ryan DeGeorge, the reigning 126-pound champion. Sontz is ranked No. 5 in the country at 113 by SI and DeGeorge at No. 30 at 132. The highest-ranked of them all is junior Jayden James, who was a state runner-up last season and is SI's top-ranked wrestler at 150. Sophomore Gabriel Logan is also one to watch at No. 14 at 157. The Green Wave opened the season with nine individual champions at the Caldwell Tournament to roll to the team title.

3. Blair Academy

The perennial power checks in at No. 15 in SI's latest national team rankings. The Buccaneers are led by four nationally-ranked wrestlers, including SI's No. 1 120-pounder, Leo DeLuca. The other stars include sophomore Michael Batista (no. 17 at 113), senior William Henckel (No. 2 at 175), and junior Peter Snyder (No. 16 at 189). Henckel is committed to NCAA wrestling power Penn State. Batista, Henckel and Snyder were three of eight champions that Blair had crowned at the Robin Leff Tournament at Southern to open the season.

4. St. Peter's Prep

The Marauders, ranked No. 24 in the nation by SI, are led by returning state champion Caedyn Ricciardi, who is committed to Navy. He is No. 4 in the country at 138 in our rankings. They also return senior Max Nevlin, who was fifth at 157 last season, and junior Salvatore Borrometi, ranked No. 20 by SI at 120. One tough loss was senior Anthony Harris, a state runner-up in 2023 who transferred to St. Joseph's-Montvale.

5. St. John Vianney

The defending Non-Public B champions bring back three-time state champion Anthony Knox, SI's top-ranked wrestler at 126, who is committed to Cornell. They also added another state champion, senior heavyweight Rocco Dellagatta, who transferred to the Shore Conference school from St. Joseph's-Montvale to give St. John Vianney a formidable squad coming off their best year in program history. Dellagatta is ranked No. 3 at 285 by SI. The Lancers also return three other state place-winners from last season, including senior Patrick O'Keefe, ranked No. 22 by SI at 132, and senior Jake Zaltsman, ranked No. 20 at 138.

6. Southern

The Rams check in as the top public school in New Jersey after rolling to last season's NJSIAA Group 5 crown. While they lost some star power to graduation, they return a trio of state place-winners led by junior Anthony Mason, who was the runner-up at 106 last season. They also add talented freshman Cade Collins, ranked No. 15 at 106 by SI, who beat Blair Academy's Eddie George to win the title at 106 at Southern's Robin Leff Tournament. Senior Wyatt Stout, who was fourth in the state at 144 last season, started the season with a bang by winning his fourth Robin Leff title with a 9-8 victory over Camden Catholic's Kage Jones, who was second in the state at 157 last season.

7. Christian Brothers Academy

Yet another Shore Conference team in the top 10, the Colts are led by sophomore Paul Kenny, who took third at 113 last season and is ranked No. 22 in the country at 126 by SI. Sophomore Brock Oizerowitz is also back after placing 8th at 175 as a freshman, and Kenny's younger brother, Sean Kenny, is a freshman standout ranked No. 4 in the country by SI at 106. CBA picked up at 47-24 win over No. 17 St. Joseph's-Metuchen to open its dual meet season.

8. Camden Catholic

Another perennial contender, the Irish bring back 11 of their 14 starters, including returning state finalist Kage Jones at 157 and junior Sammy Spaulding, who is ranked No. 23 in the nation at 126 by SI after finishing fourth in the state last season. They look to be at the front of the pack in the hunt for the Non-Public B title this season. They started the season at the Robin Leff Tournament at Southern, where Michael Craft took the 150-pound title, and Jones (157) and Jaden Simpson (175) each finished second.

9. Don Bosco Prep

The Ironmen lost a pair of talented transfers, but still bring back state medalists Dante DeLuca (5th at 215), Santino Rodriguez (6th at 120 in 2023) and Nevin Mattessich (5th at 190). Mattessich has committed to Brown University.

10. Rumson-Fair Haven

The Bulldogs are coming off their best season in history after capturing the NJSIAA Group 2 crown, and they are geared up for another run. They are led by defending state champion Sonny Amato, a sophomore who won the title at 144 last season and is ranked No. 8 in the country at 150 by SI. They return almost their entire starting lineup. Senior Conor Delaney, a Princeton recruit ranked No. 17 by SI at 215, is another star to watch. Rumson opened the season at the Ricky I Memorial Tournament at Governor Livington but rested the bulk of its lineup.

11. Bergen Catholic

The Crusaders return three state medalists as they look to reclaim their status as a perennial top-five team after finishing 7-7 last season. Leading the way is junior Joey Canova, who is ranked No. 9 at 157 by SI. Senior Benji Shue (4th at 285) also returns, and Bergen Catholic has added a pair of state qualifiers in transfers Sowzy Tsay and Joey Rondinelli.

12. Phillipsburg

Another yearly contender, the Stateliners are now in Group 4 after reaching the Group 5 final last season and falling to Southern for their only loss of the season. Senior Gavin Hawk, a Princeton recruit, is back after finishing as the runner-up at 150 last season. He was one of seven champions for Phillipsburg at the season-opening John and Betty Vogeding Tournament at Paulsboro to power them to the team title.

13. Delsea

The Crusaders have won three straight Group 3 titles and have the firepower to make it four in a row behind senior Jamar Dixon, who was 7th in the state at 150 last season. They also return sophomore Amari Vann, an honorable mention selection by SI at 120. He won the title at 120 at the season-opening Robin Leff Tournament at Southern. Junior Sal Marchese, a defending Region champ, took home the title at 215.

14. St. Augustine

The Hermits are young but should get better as the season goes along while they work in a talented group of freshmen. They are led by junior Anthony Depaul, who took 5th at 138 last year. He won the title at 144 at the season-opening Robin Leff Tournament at Southern and was the only Hermit to reach the finals.

15. Paramus Catholic

The Paladins bring back three state qualifiers, but their full lineup won't be in effect until after the first 30 days of the season when transfers are eligible. They added one of the most high-profile transfers in the state in Seach Hibler, who was the runner-up at 126 last season and came over from Leonia-Palisades Park. They also add a talented freshman class that includes Hibler's younger brother, River, to help make up for the graduation of a great senior class.

16. Ridge

The Red Devils rolled to a pair of lop-sided wins over Bernards and New Providence to start the season as they go for an encore to their first Group title since 1986 last season. They are led by returning district champion Tanner Connelly. Ben Chacko (106) picked up a title at the season-opening Ricky I Memorial Tournament and is part of a strong group of lower weights.

17. St. Joseph's-Metuchen

The Falcons ran into No. 7 Christian Brothers Academy in a 47-24 loss early in the season but are coming off a 20-win campaign that included a second straight Greater Middlesex Conference title. They also are challenging themselves with a rugged schedule featuring duals against four other teams ranked in the top 25. They bring back four state qualifiers, including Julian Arango (113) and Morgan Schwarz (157), who both picked up wins against CBA.

18. Seton Hall Prep

The Pirates return six state qualifiers and will look to put more of them on the podium this year after a challenging schedule that includes this weekend's Beast of the East. Junior Rocco Salerno leads the way after taking seventh in the state at 215 last season.

19. Mount Olive

The Marauders will look to try to get back to the Group 4 final and finish the job after losing to Ridge last season, although Phillipsburg is now another formidable obstacle in the way. They return five state qualifiers, led by senior Tyler Cumming, who was a region runner-up at 215 last season. Mount Olive gets an early test when it wrestlers Group 4 contender Warren Hills on Dec. 19 and follows that with a big match against No. 12 Phillipsburg on Dec. 21.

20. Brick Memorial

The Mustangs return one of the best wrestlers in their illustrious history in two-time state champion Harvey Ludington, who recently committed to NCAA power Iowa. He is ranked No. 1 in the country at 190 by SI. Brick Memorial also brings back region champion Ben Szuba to give it a formidable group of upper weights that also includes junior Trey Tallmadge, who is also a star linebacker on the football team. The Mustangs should be in the mix for the Group 3 title. They will certainly be battle-tested after being realigned into a Shore Conference division that includes four teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. They face No. 6 Southern on Dec. 18 to see where they stand in the early going.

21. Cranford

Cranford reached the Group 3 final last season for the first time in 38 years and returns state runner-up Jordan Chapman. The Rutgers recruit is ranked No. 6 in the country at 175 by SI. The Cougars get an early test when they wrestle Immaculata on Dec. 17.

22. Caldwell

The Chiefs are coming off a sectional title last season and return state qualifier Carmine Sipper at 113 to lead an experienced lineup. They opened the season with a 57-15 win over Kittatinny.

23. Kingsway

The Dragons are a yearly contender who return senior Tommy DiPietro, who won the Region 8 title at 144 last season. They finished second in team points to Phillipsburg at the season-opening Vogeding Tournament at Paulsboro, where Ryan Preziosi took the 120-pound title and Ramon Alfonso Arroyo won the title at 138.

24. Washington Township

The Minutemen return junior Colton Hagerty, who took seventh in the state at 113, and will look to break through against rival Kingsway in the postseason. Junior Christian Hoopes is a returning district champion who came up just short of a medal in Atlantic City last season.

25. Howell

The Rebels will have an uphill battle in the postseason with Southern in their way, but they return sophomore Tanner Hodgins among three state qualifiers. Hodgins finished sixth in the state at 165 as a freshman and is ranked No. 12 in the country at 190 by SI.