One team is looking to annex history while the other is hoping to rewrite it.
That’s the setting for Wednesday night’s fourth annual NJIC Wrestling Championship pitting three-time winners Emerson/Park Ridge and host Butler scheduled for 7 p.m. at Butler High School.
In a battle between two of North Jersey’s top-ranked programs, the title tilt will be the final tune-up for both teams before the team state tournament kicks off next Monday with the sectional quarterfinals. Emerson/Park Ridge earned the top seed in North 1 Group 1 and Butler is the fourth seed.
Emerson/Park Ridge (13-8), eighth in the latest NorthJersey.com rankings and Division-1 regular season champions, has won all three NJIC titles since the format was created, beating Pompton Lakes each time by significant margins. Last year the Cavos rolled past the Cardinals 55-15.
In last week’s league playoff semifinal round, Emerson/Park Ridge defeated Division-2 champions Elmwood Park 56-18.
“We’re down a bit this year compared to previous years,” said Emerson/Park Ridge coach Stan Woods, who is in his 53rd season. “We’ve wrestled an extremely competitive schedule this year by design. I wanted to challenge the team, especially our younger wrestler.”
The Cavos are young with three freshman and three sophomores in the starting lineup. But despite their youth, the co-op program is loaded with talent, particularly in the lighter weights starting with three-time Bergen County champion and state runner-up Nick Babin (120 pounds, 27-0). Senior Logan Mazzeo (126 pounds, 26-1) and freshman Louden Mazzeo (132 pounds, 24-3) follow, giving Emerson/Park Ridge a 1-2-3 punch and advantage over most opposing lineups.
Casey Allen (195 pounds, 23-1) gives the Cavos strength in the upper weights.
“There’s six underclassmen in our lineup and I’m pleased with how they’ve responded,” Woods added. “For us, it’s not about the losses. We’ve faced some very good teams this season and it’s helped everyone get better. We compete to get better and to prepare ourselves for the postseason.”
Butler (13-1), ranked fifth in the latest northjersey.com poll, is competing in their first NJIC championship since joining the conference last year. The Bulldogs captured the Division-4 regular season title and are coming off last week’s 42-30 conference playoff victory over Division-3 champions Pompton Lakes.
“We like where we are at this time of the year. That’s when you want to start peaking,” Butler coach Jason Luciani said. “We’ve wrestled our own competitive schedule and we had a nice showing in last week’s Morris County Tournament.”
The Morris County school counters with a talented lineup of their own, featuring four wrestlers in the latest North Jersey individual rankings. Sophomore Brett Redner (106 pounds, 18-2), Julian Amadio (132 pounds, 19-1), Justin Chrostowski (145 pounds, 18-2), and senior Jake Luciani (170 pounds, 18-2) gives the Bulldogs balance.
Redner, Chrostowski and Luciani reached the MCT semifinals with Redner finishing third and Chrostowski and Luciani fourth.
“It’s only our second year in the conference, but we feel that our team is as good as it’s ever been and we have a good chance at a title,” Jason Luciani said. “It’s exactly where we thought we would be when the season started.”
Keep an eye on a potential key anticipated matchup on Wednesday between Louden Mazzeo and Amadio at 132 pounds.
Both teams have faced similar opponents this season in Pascack Valley and Lyndhurst, yielding similar results.
Emerson/Park Ridge defeated Pascack Valley 46-30 on Dec. 23 and Butler beat the Indians 45-29 on Jan. 4.
The Cavos defeated Lyndhurst 54-28 on Jan. 11, while the Bulldogs rolled past Lyndhurst 57-18 on Jan. 20.
