2016 USAW Junior Duals

New Jersey Jr. Duals Team Preview

New Jersey Jr. Duals Team Preview

Junior Duals kicks off the week, and New Jersey is another state that will have a talented roster from top to bottom. They finished last year with a third-p

Jun 21, 2016 by Chase Lynn Lynn
New Jersey Jr. Duals Team Preview
Junior Duals kicks off the week, and New Jersey is another state that will have a talented roster from top to bottom. They finished last year with a third-place finish, their highest since 2009 when they took second and lost to Ohio in the finals. The Garden State could be the favorite to take the freestyle crown this year in Tulsa--its team consists of 12 nationally ranked wrestlers, and half of them are students at prep school Blair Academy.

No. 13, Michael Colaiocco (113) - Just a freshman, it's quite a surprise to see the 106-pound National Prep champion on the team New Jersey junior roster. The Blair wrestler took 5th at Fargo last year at 100lbs and spent majority of the season nationally ranked at 106lbs.

No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (120) - He kicked his senior season off by winning a Super 32 title at 113 lbs and went on to win a New Jersey state title a few months later. The future Northwestern wrestler represented his home state last year at Junior Duals, and boasts an overall record of 7-0.

Watch Rivera win a Super 32 belt over fellow New Jersey foe, Pat Glory.

No. 8 Ty Agaisse (126)
- A four-time state placer and three-time state finalist, Agaisse lost to No.1 Nick Suriano in back-to-back seasons in the state finals. Agaisse did not compete at Fargo last year, but did as a cadet in 2014, and placed third at 113 lbs. 2016 national prep runner-up and No. 20 Zach Sherman is also listed on New Jersey's roster at 126 lbs.

No. 11 Require Van Der Merwe (138) - He claimed his first national prep title this season at 132 lbs. He is just one of several Fargo All-Americans on this roster, and placed fourth last year.

No. 19 Andrew Merola (152) - Merola is another young buck for team New Jersey. In his sophomore campaign, Merola earned a national prep title this season with Blair Academy. He has one of the better resumes when it comes to competing nationally at the freestyle level--he won a Fargo title in Greco last summer and placed fourth later in the week in freestyle. Earlier this month, Merola reached the podium in both freestyle and Greco at UWW Cadet Nationals, and placed fifth and eighth.

No. 7 Kyle Bierdumpfel (160)
- A two-time Fargo place winner, Bierdumpfel adds to the Jersey talent. The Harvard commit was a member of last year's dual team, and suffered only one loss the entire tournament.

Watch Bierdumpfel give cadet world champion Jared Verkleeren all he wants at WNO.

No. 4 Brandon Dallavia (170)
- The Blair wrestler brought home third place from Fargo last season in freestyle. He went undefeated for New Jersey in both styles at Cadet Duals in 2014. The 2016 national prep champion will join his teammate, Van Der Merwe, at Stanford in the fall.

No. 12 Joe Grello (182)- He was a member of the U.S. Cadet World Team last summer despite taking second at UWW Cadet Nationals at 76kg. His opponent, Jelani Embree, suffered an injury before the world championships and Grello was the next man in line for the job. Despite his international experience, Grello did lose two matches at last year's Junior Duals. He competed at Fargo in 2014, placing fourth at 160 lbs. This season he won a Doc Buchanan and New Jersey state title.

No. 1 Chase Singletary (220) - A Florida native, team New Jersey gets the benefits of Blair being located in Jersey by having the No. 1 195-pounder in the country on their team. Singletary was a runner-up at UWW Freestyle World Team Trials and placed fifth at UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals.

Watch Singletary take out No. 1 Nick Reenan.

No. 5 Kevin Mulligan (195)
- The two-time New Jersey state champ has placed twice at Fargo. He went 6-2 at Junior Duals last season.

No. 20 Eric Chakonis (HWT) - He is a New Jersey state champion, and went 4-1 at Junior Duals last year.



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