With a second place finish at the Beast of the East and overwhelming victory at the Bergen Holiday Tournament and fresh off a third-place finish at the Clash in Minnesota, Bergen Catholic, ranked first in The Record’s North Jersey Top 25, will turn its attention to some of the best New Jersey has to offer in the inaugural Garden State Duals at Rutgers Saturday.
The Crusaders are the favorite in the star-studded tournament that features St. Peter’s, which just finished seventh at the Clash, and Delbarton. Also competing from North Jersey will be River Dell, Passaic Valley and New Milford.
Also this weekend, second-ranked Don Bosco will be in Virginia for the Virginia Duals. Also competing from New Jersey will be defending champion South Plainfield, Camden Catholic and Timber Creek.
Click the link below for a short preview of the Garden State Duals and a schedule.
Bergen Catholic, which also has its first Big North United Division showdown against resurgent DePaul Friday night at 5:30, went 4-2 at the Clash, winning its pool and going 1-2 in the championship round.
Unbeaten Nick Suriano (113) and Johnny Sebastian (182) lead a deep lineup with few holes to speak of.  Tyler Casamenti (120) and Pete Lipari (126) give the Crusaders a formidable block in the lower weights while they are hard to match from 152 on with Joe Grello (152), Jordan Pagano (160), Kevin Mulligan (170), Sebastian (182), Christian  Jenco (195) and Danny DeLorenzi who slots into the lineup at 182 or 195 to create the best lineup.
The Crusaders are in a pool with Passaic Valley, Holy Cross and Shawnee. The Holy Cross match could set up a dream showdown between Sebastian, a two-time returning state champ and reigning Beast of the East champ, and Holy Cross 195-pounder Matt Correnti, who finished second at the Beast after placing in Atlantic City last season.
Delbarton and St. Peter’s are both in the other bracket, meaning BC would only have to face one depending on where each team finishes in its bracket. The last time BC met St. Peter’s in 2012, the Crusaders won by criteria in the North Non-Public A sectional final on the way to the first of its two back-to-back Non-Public A state titles in 2012 and 2013.
Peter’s is led by Connor Burkert (138), Jordan Fox (220) and Alec Kelly (106).
A matchup between Delbarton could feature a showdown between Beast champions Ty Agaisse of Delbarton (106) and Suriano (113). Also Delbarton’s Josef Johnson vs. Mulligan at 170 could be a key bout.
River Dell is led by Bergen Holiday Tournament runner-up Cenzo Cariddi (160), along with D.J. Tirelli (132), Tyler Kallensee (152) and Chris Kallensee (126). Passaic Valley has been battling injury problems early in the season with four of its top wrestlers out and just recently got  Mo Darwish (160) and Chris Armagno (195) back.
New Milford is led by heavyweight Zac Suarez, a third-place finisher in the Bergen Holiday Tournament.
GARDEN STATE DUALS
at College Ave. Gym, Rutgers, New Brunswick
FIRST SESSION, 9 a.m.
Shawnee vs. Holy Cross
Bergen Catholic vs. Passaic Valley
St. Peter’s vs. River Dell
Delbarton vs. New Milford
SECOND SESSION, 11 a.m.
Bergen Catholic vs. Shawnee
Holy Cross vs. Passaic Valley
River Dell vs. New Milford
Delbarton vs. St. Peter’s
THIRD SESSION, 1 p.m.
Bergen Catholic vs. Holy Cross
Shawnee vs. Passaic Valley
St. Peter’s vs. New Milford
Delbarton vs. River Dell
FOURTH SESSION, 3 p.m.
Winner Pool A vs. Winner Pool B
Second Pool A vs. Second Pool B
Third Pool A vs. Third Pool B
Fourth Pool A vs. Fourth Pool B