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  • Weighing In, S2, Ep7: Howell’s Tanner Hodgins joins, plus ‘an all-time moment’ & more

    Weighing In, S2, Ep7: Howell’s Tanner Hodgins joins, plus ‘an all-time moment’ & more
    2026/01/28
    In this episode of the Weighing In podcast, NJ.com high school wrestling reporters Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Bill Evans, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis break down all the storylines from last week, including Delbarton's massive win over Faith Christian (PA), and Howell wrestler Tanner Hodgins joined the show to give his take on his season so far. County Tournaments took centerstage last week, and our reporters give their takeaways from those events, and they preview the upcoming week. 0:00: Recapping last week's action, which was led by Delbarton's win over Faith Christian (PA), the No. 2 team in the country. It will be interesting to see where Delbarton will be ranked when the next national rankings come out. St. Joseph (Mont.)'s Ryan Mitchell and Mikey Bautista had a great week. 6:35: The Shore Conference Tournament didn't have a lot of its top talent there, but Tanner Hodgins was one of the standouts during the event. Sonny Amato from Rumson-Fair Haven rolled to a title and won his 100th career bout. Julian Zargo from St. John Vianney was on top of his game as a three seed. 14:35: South Jersey had the Pine Barrens dual, which had a stacked schedule with plenty of Top 20 teams there. St. Peter's Prep won the dual, but it was closer this time around than in recent years. Overall, it was an entertaining dual meet with good teams. Washington Township beat Kingsway in one of the top South Jersey duals this season. 19:10: Up in Essex County, Seton Hall Prep dominated the Essex County Tournament on the way to another county title, including Rocco Salerno winning his fourth county title. There was some controversy there as far as who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after the event. 23:40: Old Bridge won its first-ever Greater Middlesex County Tournament title, with the school opening in 1995. Old Bridge had over 240 points. 26:00: There were plenty of surprises last week, including Passaic Tech winning the Passaic County Tournament. The Shore Conference Tournament did have a surprise in Keansburg's Shawn Retta, who won his 100th match. 30:30: Updated individual ranks are out, and 120 pounds is super intriguing. JoJo Burke is close to returning from injury, which will make it even tougher for everyone at that weight class. Will everyone try to avoid Paul Kenny from CBA at 126? And 106 continues to be volatile. 39:50: Interview with Howell's Tanner Hodgins, who breaks down his commitment to Oklahoma State, his Shore Conference title and much more. 59:40: Previewing the upcoming week, which is headlined by Delbarton traveling to take on Blair. Delbarton might be the underdog heading into the dual, even though they just put Faith Christian last week. The top two teams in the Shore Conference will meet when Southern takes on CBA. South Jersey has a really good schedule, including a couple of tris and quads. Colts Neck takes on Middletown South for a division championship and then Jackson Township at Howell, which NJ.com will be broadcasting live on Wednesday evening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 15 分
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep6: Interview with No. 1 heavyweight Cristian Alvarez, girls wrestling & more

    Weighing In, S2, Ep6: Interview with No. 1 heavyweight Cristian Alvarez, girls wrestling & more
    2026/01/21
    In this episode of Weighing In, NJ.com reporters Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Bill Evans, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis break down an action-packed and storyline-filled week of wrestling last week, which included four wrestlers capturing titles at Escape the Rock. One of those, St. Joseph (Mont.) heavyweight Cristian Alvarez, the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 285, joins the show to talk about his title and St. Joe's. NJ.com girls wrestling reporter Mike Holcombe also joins the show to break down the girls wrestling scene as it is picking up around the state. The reporters then discuss the updated individual weight rankings and preview the upcoming week. 0:00: Last week was another action-packed and storyline-filled one, highlighted by the Escape the Rock Tournament with four winners, including Cristian Alvarez from St. Joseph (Mont.) and Paul Kenny from CBA. Two Blair wrestlers also won titles at Escape the Rock. 7:25: The Bergen County Tournament was also last week, which was filled with plenty of storylines, while Bergen Catholic beat Paramus Catholic in a thrilling dual. Matt Mulligan had a great week for Bergen Catholic. Ramapo had two champions at the Bergen County Tournament, the first time that Ramapo had two champions in the county tournament since 2004. Pascack Valley also had a great showing at the Bergen County Tournament with two champions. 14:50: Cranford continued its dominant run in the Union County Tournament, winning its 11th straight county tournament title. 19:45: Meanwhile, Jackson Township is making a ton of noise in the Shore Conference and in the state, including beating No. 12 Rumson-Fair Haven. Jackson does have a huge dual coming up when it takes on No. 7 Southern. 23:00: Delaware Valley continues to have a strong season, even though the team might not have a superstar wrestler this year. Delaware Valley just finds a way to win, and the team knows its identity and is wrestling as good as anybody right now. 26:30: Interview with St. Joseph (Mont.) wrestler Cristian Alvarez, who won an Escape the Rock title this past weekend. He had to rally for his title after being down early. St. Joe's has a huge week ahead when it takes on Paramus Catholic and Bergen Catholic. 34:30: Girls wrestling is picking up steam this season, and NJ.com girls wrestling reporter Mike Holcombe joined the show to talk all things girls wrestling as Jackson Township continues its dominance, while Central Regional is getting healthy. High Point's Ella Poalillo, who might be the best girls wrestler in the state, got tested last week but found a way to get a win. 47:00 Updated individual ranks are out, and 144 is starting to become the weight class that is capturing the attention of our NJ.com reporters. Are there some standout wrestlers like Sonny Amato and Sammy Spaulding going to drop in weight, which could shake up weight classes? One volatile weight class is 106, which saw the rankings change. 56:30: County Tournaments take centerstage this weekend, including Morris, Passaic, Shore, Essex, GMC and CVC Tournaments. Meanwhile, Delbarton takes on two out-of-state powers. Bergen Catholic takes on St. Joseph (Mont.) and St. Peter's Prep takes on Blair. Washington Township travels to Kingsway on Wednesday in a dual between two rivals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 10 分
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep5: Weighing In, S2, Ep5: A wrestling powerhouse proves us wrong, impressive standouts & more

    Weighing In, S2, Ep5: Weighing In, S2, Ep5: A wrestling powerhouse proves us wrong, impressive standouts & more
    2026/01/15
    In this episode of Weighing In, NJ.com reporters Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis recap another action-packed week of wrestling, including a state powerhouse proving us wrong. The reporters discuss the latest Top 20 rankings, as well as the new individual rankings and the deepest weight classes in the state. They also pick one impressive wrestler and preview the coming week. 0:00: It was an action-packed schedule last week, including the H/W/S Tournament at Phillipsburg. North Hunterdon won its first team title at H/W/S since 2020, with plenty of wrestlers standing out for coach Dave Bell's squad. Delaware Valley also had an impressive run at the H/W/S Tournament, finishing in third place behind North Hunterdon and Phillipsburg. Paramus Catholic swept a quad that had some stacked teams. DePaul also had a strong showing in that quad, along with Delsea. 11:35: Lower Cape May swept the Cinnaminson Duals and improved to 10-0. Lower Cape May is a contender in Group 2 and could be a foil to Rumson-Fair Haven. Rumson does have five hammers who can put up bonus against anyone in Group 2. 15:30: An updated Top 20 is out, and Phillipsburg proved several people wrong, including some of our reporters. Seton Hall Prep, Old Bridge and Delaware Valley are three teams knocking on the door, while Middletown North had a tough week, while Don Bosco Prep stayed in the Top 20, even though it had four losses, all of which came against Top 20 teams. RBC is a dark horse, and two teams from South Jersey are on the bubble as well are Washington Township and Kingsway. 30:15: Updated individual rankings are out. A loaded weight class, and the deepest is 215. Don Bosco's Dante DeLuca has been so strong this year after wrapping up the football season. Another deep weight class is 106, with an impressive list of underclassmen, and so is 190. 39:35: There are a bunch of wrestlers that have impressed us over the last couple of weeks, including Toms River East's Ricky DeLorenzo, who is a championship contender. Joe Rowinski from Hackettstown won his second H/W/S Tournament title last weekend at 120 pounds. Southern's Levi Foote continues his impressive season, being a versatile wrestler and doing whatever his team needs him to do. Caldwell's Teagan McOmish has come out of nowhere and won his first bout of the season. 50:00: This week and weekend features another jam-packed schedule with Escape The Rock as the headliner in Pennsylvania, with a lot of potential intriguing matchups. The Bergen Catholic Tournament is this weekend at Garfield Middle School. The Somerset County Tournament is also this weekend, and Immaculata is a team to watch. Meanwhile, Cranford has won 10 straight Union County Tournament titles and will be looking to make it 11 in a row. And we can't forget about girls wrestling, which has Queen of Hills at Morris Hill, the GMC Tournament on Sunday, and the Shore Conference Tournament on Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 3 分
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep4: Rutgers wrestling coach Scott Goodale talks Anthony Knox, NIL & more

    Weighing In, S2, Ep4: Rutgers wrestling coach Scott Goodale talks Anthony Knox, NIL & more
    2026/01/14
    In this episode, NJ.com reporters Bob Badders, Bill Evans and Joe Zedalis are joined by Rutgers wrestling coach Scott Goodale, who picked up a major commitment last week as four-time New Jersey state champion Anthony Knox signed with the program. Goodale discusses recruiting Knox and the timeline for that decision and how it unfolded after Knox decommitted from Cornell. Goodale also talks about the NIL space Rutgers is in, which has been a point of emphasis from athletic director Keli Zinn. Goodale provides updates on his team and what he misses most about coaching high school sports. 0:00: Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale joins the show. He touches on the reaction from Anthony Knox signing with Rutgers and the impact he will have. He joins a list of former four-time New Jersey high school state champions joining Rutgers. 4:45: The possibility of Knox signing with Rutgers after decommitting from Cornell. Family played an important role in Knox staying home after leaving Cornell. 7:30: Any concerns with Knox having scheduled two more appearances in Collingswood Court, and were there any concerns from the athletic department on signing him? And is this a chance for him to write his own ending at Rutgers? 11:45: Signing Knox is a boon for Rutgers because it means that Rutgers should be taken seriously and that Knox’s NIL package, which is reported to be about $200,000, is an important step for the university’s athletic department. 13:35: What does Knox’s arrival mean for future recruits and current wrestlers like Ayden Smith? 16:30: New athletic director Keli Zinn has had a huge impact since she took the job, especially in the NIL space. Goodale said he’s happy with how things are going in NIL, and Zinn has gotten the program to a good place on that end and across the board at the university. 20:20: The transfer portal and the NIL space have changed athletics around the country. It’s become a more transactional sport, and Goodale is continuing to build relationships by recruiting differently. 23:15: The signing of Knox and Rutgers’ commitment to NIL has the potential to change the future outlook of the program. Goodale expects both of those to influence recruiting for the best moving forward. 26:20: Rutgers has been close to beating one of the blue-blood programs, but hasn’t broken through just yet. Does it weigh on Goodale? He said he loves dual meets and thinks his team will be good in a tournament setting. And his approach of not ducking anybody and his take on last season as the team finished 11th in the country. 34:00: What it means for Rutgers to host the team wrestling state championships and the growth of girls' wrestling around the country. There has been some talk of bringing a women’s wrestling program to Rutgers. 36:30: Recruiting New Jersey and different parts of the country, and the advantages that Rutgers has to recruit in the area and nationally, and Goodale shares his thoughts on the New Jersey high school wrestling season and how it stacks up nationally. 48:30: Southern’s success as a public high school in this day and age, and Doug “Dewey” Withstandley, a Jackson guy, now coaching at Southern. And Goodale’s favorite play call when he was a football coach at Jackson, and what he misses most about coaching high school sports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep3: Interview with Delbarton coach Bryan Stoll, state rankings & more

    Weighing In, S2, Ep3: Interview with Delbarton coach Bryan Stoll, state rankings & more
    2026/01/07
    In this episode, Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis recap another action-packed week of wrestling around the state, with the headline being Delbarton winning its third consecutive Catholic Schools Duals title with a win over Christian Brothers last Saturday. Ryan Patti conducts an interview with Delbarton coach Bryan Stoll on what he's seen from his team so far this season, including the possibility of the Green Wave finishing as the nation's No. 1 team. The first in-state top 20 was released, with plenty of movers and shakers, while the first state individual rankings in each weight class was also released. Girls wrestling is also picking up, and we conclude the episode with each reporter discussing the biggest dual meets this weekend. 0:00: Recapping the Catholic School Duals as Delbarton won its third consecutive title as the Green Wave defeated Christian Brothers, even without four starters in the lineup. St. Peter's Prep and Bergen Catholic were impressive as well. St. Joseph (Mont.) will be fine, even though they are dealing with some injuries right now. And is Camden Catholic being overlooked? 17:50: An interview with Delbarton head coach Bryan Stoll, who recapped the Green Wave's third consecutive Catholic School Duals title. Delbarton is also off to a 9-0 start, and senior Jayden James won the Ironman title earlier this season. Also, can Delbarton finish as the No. 1 team in the country? 29:45: The first in-season Top 20 is out. Southern has made a statement to begin the season. Howell is another Shore Conference team that is impressing so far this season. Howell just beat Phillipsburg on Monday in "The Pit." Southern, Howell and Delsea could all end up finishing as the No. 1 public school team in the state when it's all said and done. 49:50: The first in-season individual rankings of the season are out. Some weight classes are deep, while some are top-heavy. A couple of weight classes that are deep are 106, 120 and 126, while 132 is very interesting. 57:50: Girls wrestling had some interesting results recently, including two reigning state champions going down. Jackson Township keeps dominating on the team side. 59:30: Previewing the biggest dual meets of the weekend, including the H/W/S Tournament and a couple of major Shore Conference duals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 7 分
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep2: Recapping Beast of the East, sleeper teams & a stacked weekend slate

    Weighing In, S2, Ep2: Recapping Beast of the East, sleeper teams & a stacked weekend slate
    2025/12/30
    In this week's episode, NJ.com reporters Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Bill Evans, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis recap the last 10 days of the New Jersey high school wrestling season, which was filled with plenty of storylines around the state. Down in Delaware, the Beast of the East concluded, with New Jersey wrestlers impressing, no more than Santino Rodriguez. The Sam Cali Invitational and Mustang Classic also took place, while the reporters break down sleeper teams and the upcoming weekend slate, which is stacked. 0:00: Recapping the last two weeks of action, including Santino Rodriguez's performance at Beast of the East down in Delaware. Woodstown's Matteo Vinciguerra also had a great showing down at Beast of the East. 6:12: The Sam Cali Invitational also took place this past weekend, and Paramus Catholic had a strong showing at the tournament. Lower Cape May is also showing it could be a force throughout the season, and it is deserving of its state ranking. The Fab 50 duals also took place. 17:30: The Mustang Classic featured some of the best wrestlers in the state at Brick Memorial. Jake Clayton from Point Pleasant Boro was impressive, while Camden Catholic showed out and had a ton of winners. 29:30: As the calendar flips to 2026 this week, there are a handful of teams that are being slept on, including Paramus Catholic, Pascack Valley, Franklin, Union, Bridgewater-Raritan, Middletown North, Jackson Township, Shawnee and Kingsway. 47:00: The Mustang Classic honored former Brick Memorial coach Dennis Giannios, and the tournament will be named in his honor moving forward. 48:50: Injuries are creating intriguing storylines for programs early on in the season, with plenty of wrestlers gearing up to come back once the calendar flips to 2026. 55:15: It's a stacked weekend across the state, which the Catholic Duals at Christian Brothers lead on Friday and Saturday. A quad match at Mount Olive featuring Southern, High Point and West Essex. Camden Catholic, Paramus Catholic, Don Bosco Prep and Pope John will have a quad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 11 分
  • Weighing In, S2, Ep1: N.J. wrestling podcast returns as season is filled with storylines

    Weighing In, S2, Ep1: N.J. wrestling podcast returns as season is filled with storylines
    2025/12/19
    In the first episode of Season 2 of Weighing In, NJ.com wrestling reporters Jake Aferiat, Bob Badders, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis touch on some of the top storylines they've seen through the first week of the season and what to expect this year. The reporters discuss what teams have their attention this season, as well as some of the wrestlers not being talked about enough. The reporters preview the Beast of the East, which returns this weekend, and we end the podcast with what to watch for the rest of the month before the calendar flips to 2026. 0:00: Early thoughts on the season, including the reigning NJ.com wrestler of the year, Jayden James of Delbarton, winning the Ironman title. Speaking of Delbarton, they are loaded and have a chance to make history this season. Christian Brothers has high expectations this season, while Southern and Howell have a ton of talent as well. 9:10: Some news out of Phillipsburg, who will not be on the mat for a couple of weeks because of a skin outbreak. 10:52: Which teams have our attention right now and will have our attention moving forward during the season? Warren Hills had an impressive dual win over Hunterdon Central. How do the North Non-Public powers stack up with one another? 30:15: There's a ton of talented wrestlers in the state, but there are plenty of others who are not getting the notoriety that they deserve, like Rumson's Sonny Amato, Pope John's Dalton Weber, and more. 44:25: The Beast of the East is this weekend, which is one of the best tournaments in the country. Over 30 state medalists will be in attendance representing New Jersey, and numerous preseason Top 20 teams will also be present. 53:45: What are some things to watch before the calendar flips to 2026? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 7 分
  • Weighing In, Episode 10: Talking Knox's legacy & final thoughts on all 14 weights in A.C.

    Weighing In, Episode 10: Talking Knox's legacy & final thoughts on all 14 weights in A.C.
    2025/03/14
    The season is now over after 14 wrestlers were crowned as state champions at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City last weekend. The three-day tournament was as good as it could be expected. From dominant favorites, to surprising underdogs and, of course, Anthony Knox's chase for a fourth title, it was a weekend to remember. And now, our wrestling reporters are here to break it all down and put a final bow on the 2024-25 season. 0:00: Anthony Knox wins his fourth title; what's his legacy? 6:47: Cam Sontz wins 113 11:45: Paul Kenny gets CBA back on top at 120 15:25: Knox wins 126, what else stood out? 18:06: Spaulding wins thrilling 132 title 21:36: Ricciardi impressive again at 138 23:26: Mele stuns way to 144 crown 28:42: Jayden James dominates at 150 31:35: Stout wins best championship bout 35:32: Perentin rolls to another title at 165 36:36: Burton dominates in battle of D1 recruits 42:04: Ludington makes history at Brick Memorial 45:41: Harris prevails in tough 215 bracket 48:30: Dellagatta caps unbeaten season at 285 51:51: Burke holds of Coluccio at 106 53:21: What are the best storylines heading into next season? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 3 分