After a 34-30 loss to state champions Montville in the semifinals in the state sectionals, the Indians turn to the individual District 4 tournament. Hosted at Pascack Valley, five PV wrestlers received top five seeds in the tournament that starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The top three in each weight class move on to next week’s Region 1 Tournament at West Milford High School.

Team Outlook: This year, the Indians are in District 4 instead of District 1. With the rules implemented two years ago, the NJSIAA reconfigures the Districts every two years. For the past two years, PV has competed with High Point, Newton, Westwood, Old Tappan, Ridgewood, Ramapo, and Dumont in District 1. This year’s new alignment presents an interesting dynamic. The teams are not as good, but they have less past history with each other’s wrestlers. PV did not wrestle many of these teams in a dual this season, although it did compete in tournaments with a few of them. The Indians to be in the hunt for a top three team finish, as the main competitors include Don Bosco, West Milford, and Butler. Bosco rates as the favorite, as it finished third in the Bergen county tournament while the Indians finished fourth.

District 4:

• Sparta
• Don Bosco Prep
• Butler
• Pascack Valley
• Cresskill
• West Milford
• New Milford
• Lakeland
• Tenafly
• Waldwick

Complete brackets can be found here.

Pascack Valley Wrestlers:

106:

6. Noah Martin (Fr. 10-13) 

Top Seed: Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco; So. 5-1)

113:

4. Jake Averna (Sr. 9-7)

Top Seed: Cooper Stewart (Sparta; Jr. 31-4)

120:

7. Bradley Zirlin (Sr. 7-14)

Top Seed: Spencer Stewart (Sparta; So. 31-4)

126:

7. Drew Petaccia (Fr. 7-5)

Top Seed: Garrett Stewart (Sparta; Jr. 33-2)

132:

3. Tyler Pizzi (So. 25-6)

Top Seed: Will Grater (Don Bosco; Jr. 19-8)

138:

8. James Allmers (Jr. 7-9)

Top Seed: Christopher Hwang (Sparta; Sr. 20-8)

145:

7. Sean Sheehy (Jr. 6-17)

Top Seed: Ryan Cawood (Don Bosco; Sr. 14-8)

152:

1. Matt Beyer (Sr. 25-0)

Top Seed: Beyer

160:

1. Stephen Soravilla (Sr. 24-8)

Top Seed: Soravilla

170:

1. Luke Petaccia (So. 23-9)

Top Seed: Petaccia

182:

1. Tommy Chiellini (Sr. 29-1)

Top Seed: Chiellini

195:

2. Jack Tsokanos (Sr. 18-14)

Top Seed: Joey Heisler (West Milford; Jr. 16-8)

220:

8. AJ Menendez (Jr. 4-4)

Top Seed: Mike Podmokly (West Milford; Sr. 20-12)

285:

2. Andrew Demboski (Sr. 21-11)

Top Seed: Jonathan Alvarado (Don Bosco; Sr. 18-5)

Opponent Outlooks:

Wrestlers to Watch

(Editor’s note: Weight classes are based on where wrestlers competed for most of the season.)

Sparta

1. Cooper Stewart (113) — Placed fourth at 106 in District 3 in 2018.

1. Spencer Stewart (120) — Placed third at 113 in District 3 in 2018

1. Garrett Stewart (126) — Placed third at 126 in District in 2018

1. Christopher Hwang (138)

Notes: The Spartans have a top-heavy but unbalanced lineup with the four above but little depth. Cooper defeated Averna in Pascack Valley’s 2018 North 1, Group 3 sectional final victory over Sparta.

Don Bosco:

1. Will Grater (132)— Placed eighth in the state at 120 in 2018.

2. Nick Franco (138; So. 13-9)— Placed second in District 3 at 132 in 2018.

1. Ryan Cawood (145) — Placed second in District 3 at 145 in 2018.

3. Christian Jimenez (152; Jr. 17-9) — Placed second in District 3 at 152 in 2018.

1. Jonathan Alvarado (285)

Notes: Grater is the lone returning 2018 state placewinner in the entire tournament. He defeated Pizzi 10-0 in the third-round match in this year’s Bergen County tournament. Alvarado defeated Demboski in the Sam Cali Tournament on Jan. 5.

Butler:

2. Ben Bariso (120; Sr. 28-2) — Placed second in District 2 at 106 in 2018

2. Brett Redner (106; Fr. 23-9)

2. Julian Amadio (126; Jr. 17-3)

4. Justin Chrostowski (132; So. 25-6)

5. Lucas Steenstra (138; So. 20-9)

2. Steven Schubert (160; Sr. 24-6)

Notes: Bariso had a big win against Emerson/Park Ridge’s Nick Babin in a dual match on Feb. 6. This year, he was the Mountain Lakes tournament champion at 120. In the Morris County tournament, Reder placed seventh, Bariso placed second, Amadio placed fifth, Steenstra placed eighth, and Shubert placed eighth.  

West Milford:

2. Trevor Fleet (132; Sr. 30-1) — Placed second in Region 1 in 2018

2. Craig Blumeling (152; Sr. 26-6)

1. Joey Heisler (195)

1. Mike Podmokly (220)

Notes: In District 3, the Highlanders came in fourth in team standings in 2018. They advanced to the state sectional tournament and lost in the first round against Paramus. Trevor Fleet is the only returning placer, as he was the 126 champion. In the 2019 Passaic County tournament, Trevor was the champion, Reilly and Blumeling were runner-up, and Podmokly finished in the top 4.

Cresskill:

3. Owen Ross (126; 32-3) — Placed second in District 4 at 126

2. Kenny Spadaccini (145; Sr. 30-4)

2. Tim Coffey (170; Jr. 28-6)

3. Luis Abreu (220; So. 18-15)

Notes: Ross is the only returning District placer for this squad. The senior placed seventh at 132 in the county tournament. 145-pounder Kenny Spadaccini came in fourth place at 145 in the County tournament.

Lakeland:

3. Rob Danza (120; Jr. 20-9)

4. Tyler Mursch (138; Jr. 23-6)

4. Kevin Lacouture (145; Jr. 19-11)

3. Billy Barna (160; Jr. 25-6)

Notes: Christopher Castiglia came in second for Lakeland at 120 in District 2 in 2018. Danza, Mursch, and Barna all finished top 4 at the 2019 Passaic County Tournament.

New Milford:

3. Paul DiMarco (138; Jr. 24-8)

Tenafly:

4. Andy Jeon (182; So. 14-6)

Waldwick:

3. Myles Leonard (106; 27-9)

4. Matt Guerra (126; Jr. 26-10)

The only wrestler to place in District 4 last year from Waldwick was Joseph Parsons, who was the 138 champion and placed sixth in Region 1. Back in the Bergen County tournament, Guerra placed eighth while Leonard placed fifth.