Catalano, Grisko riding high for Highland

Matt Catalano is used to being in the lead, a place he will be more often than not when the individual portion of the high school wrestling season begins next weekend.

The 135-pound Highland junior is the favorite to win the District 30 and Region 8 titles, a year after winning the same honors at 130 pounds.

If he ever finds himself a little overconfident, Catalano can hark back to a Jan. 26 bout against Bound Brook's Nestor Taffur. A district champion in his own right, Taffur pinned Catalano in the third period. Catalano had been in control, leading, 8-0, before the fall.

"I just got caught . . . by a throw," Catalano said. "I'm glad I got that loss out of the way, and, hopefully, I'll learn from it."

Catalano is 30-1 heading into the individual tournament, which will start tomorrow with 32 district events around the state. Catalano's classmate, 215-pounder Joe Grisko, is one up on him at 31-0. Grisko is another District 30 champion who finished second in the state at 189 pounds to Holy Spirit's Mac Mancuso.

Grisko could find himself face to face with state-title contenders Bill Damiano of Lower Cape May and Gerald Hodges of Paulsboro in the regional tournament.

"I could definitely see that match happening," Grisko said of wrestling Hodges. "That's what I'm training for, not only wrestling, but also lifting weights. I know he's a great athlete."

Grisko and Hodges are very good football players. Highland coach D.J. Gore is expecting a titanic clash.

"Last year, [Mancuso] had an edge on Joe, as far as being a wrestler goes," Gore said. "I think with Hodges, they are just both great athletes. I think both could go into the match 36-0, and I think both would be a legit 36-0."

Catalano and Grisko, both products of Highland's junior program, are planning to erase memories of the 2007 state tournament. Making their first appearances, they combined to go 0-3 in Atlantic City.

"It was definitely all new to me. I wasn't prepared," said Catalano, who could face a stiff region challenge from Kingsway's John Renard. "Now I know what to expect. I think I'll be more comfortable."

Lack of respect?

Camden Catholic could have had the wind taken out of its sails following a December loss to top-ranked Eastern. The Irish are used to battling it out for the top spot in South Jersey, so an early-season loss could have been disheartening.

Instead, Camden Catholic appears to be peaking at the right time. Despite five more losses to out-of-area teams, the third-ranked Irish have posted notable wins over state powers Southern Regional and South Plainfield.

The emergence of 103-pounder Matt Sausman and Trey Patacky (130) have given a boost to a formidable Irish lineup featuring standouts Taylor Walsh (125), Jackson Brady (145) and Dakota Moore (152). Patacky recently upset Washington Township's Frank Higgins, a District 30 champ last season. Sausman is 22-5.

Tri-County Tournament.

The most glaring result of the Tri-County Conference tournament? Anthony Rizzolo of Deptford beating Delsea's Luke Fedechko, 2-1 in overtime, in the 130-pound final.

Fedechko was a region runner-up and eighth in the state last year at 119. Rizzolo lost in the 130-pound regional final to Catalano after beating Renard in the semifinals.

Tournament suggestion.

Christmas tournaments, county tournaments, conference tournaments, and a variety of dual tournaments. High school wrestling has it all, so why not another idea?

How about a 16-team tournament featuring the champions from South Jersey's 11 divisions, plus five wild-card teams, one from each of South Jersey's leagues - the Olympic, Colonial, Burlco, Tri-County and Cape-Atlantic?

Works out perfectly.

It's doubtful all the teams and conferences would want to participate in such a stacked event when the playoffs are on the horizon, so hold the tournament in mid- to late January and, if needed, invite the most deserving teams from the previous year.

Group 1 history.

Though Paulsboro has won every South Jersey Group 1 title since 1980, teams in the section this year have won sectional titles in the past.

Collingswood won the South Jersey Group 2 title in 1996, and Pennsville has four Group 2 sectional titles to its credit. Haddonfield has never won a sectional title. None of those teams has a state title.

Keeping score.

Bill Damiano of Lower Cape May beat Joe Ali of Sterling, 7-2, at 215 pounds in Sterling's 48-15 victory. Damiano is a candidate for a title in District 32, Ali in District 28. Ali also had a good win, beating Collingswood's Anthony Maloney, 5-3. Maloney won a district title last year while at Camden Catholic.

Camden Catholic's Walsh beat Washington Township's Anthony Curcio, 7-0, at 125 pounds in the Irish's 57-9 win last Thursday. Both qualified for states last year at 112, with Curcio finishing eighth.

Mike Moore of Willingboro beat John Darling of Moorestown, 4-3, in the final bout Friday to give the Chimeras a 31-29 win. Moore and Darling could meet in the District 26 tournament next week.

Team Record

Records through Tuesday. Last week's rank in parentheses.

1.

Eastern (1) 25-2

2.

Delsea (2) 19-1

3.

Camden Catholic (3) 24-6

4.

Pennsville (4) 21-1

5.

Collingswood (5) 21-2

6.

Cinnaminson (6) 22-3

7.

Haddonfield (8) 16-4

8.

Paulsboro (9) 18-5

9.

St. Augustine (10) 18-4

10.

Timber Creek (7) 20-3

Under consideration (listed alphabetically):

Absegami (14-6), Delran (21-6), Hammonton (18-3), Rancocas Valley (16-5), Schalick (19-5).

- Thomas Ryan