3 New Jersey wrestlers win Beast of the East titles

Three-time state champion Anthony Knox led a strong showing by the Garden State at the prestigious tournament in Delaware.

St. Peter's Prep's Caedyn Ricciardi was one of three champions from New Jersey at the prestigious Beast of the East tournament at the University of Delaware. / CHRIS LACHALL/USA TODAY NETWORK ATLANTIC GROUP / USA TODAY NETWORK

New Jersey's wrestling stars delivered on the big stage at the Beast of the East tournament on Sunday.

Three Garden State wrestlers brought home titles at the prestigious tournament at the University of Delaware on Dec. 22, led by three-time state champion Anthony Knox of St. John Vianney. Caedyn Ricciardi of St. Peter's Prep, a defending state champion ranked No. 4 in the nation by SI, pinned Pope John XXIII's Carson Walsh at 3:31 to win his first Beast of the East title at 138.

In a showdown of the top two wrestlers in the country at 175, Blair Academy's William Henckel, a Penn State recruit ranked No. 2, beat No. 1 Ryan Burton of St. Joseph's-Montvale 5-3.

Knox, ranked No. 1 in the country at 126 by SI, dominated with a 13-3 major decision over No. 6 Keanu Dillard of Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) to win his third Beast of the East title. He won every bout by at least a major decision in an impressive showing. The Cornell recruit has only lost one match in his career.

In addition to Burton and Walsh, New Jersey had three other wrestlers finish as runners-up in their weight classes.

Defending state champion Sonny Amato of Rumson-Fair Haven, a sophomore ranked No. 8 in the country at 150 by SI, fell to No. 7 Zeno Moore of Lake Highland Prepatory School (Fla.) in a 4-1 decision.

At 215, Blair Academy junior Peter Snyder lost a 3-1 decision to Cash Colbert of St. Paul VI Catholic (Va.), and St. Joseph's-Montvale heavyweight Christian Alvarez lost 10-2 to Jacob Levy of Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), who is No. 11 in SI's rankings.

In addition, New Jersey had 20 other place-winners at the event, including third-place finishes by St. John Vianney's Patrick O'Keefe (132) and Rumson-Fair Haven's Connor Delaney (215).

Another significant development over the weekend was that St. Joseph-Montvale's Zach Ballante, the defending 150-pound state champion, is out for the season with an injury, head coach Tom Farinaro told NJ Advance Media. The South Dakota State recruit suffered the injury while wrestling at his club.