Day 1 of the 2023 Beast of the East is in the books, and it has not disappointed up to this point. We have some of the top high school wrestlers in the country competing this weekend for the title of Beast of the East and will continue tomorrow morning beginning with the quarterfinals. Most of the highly-seeded guys have gotten to the quarterfinals unscathed, but tomorrow could be a different story. Here we break down some of the quarterfinals you won't want to miss.

120 lbs - Lukas Littleton Mascaro, Malvern Prep vs. Leo DeLuca, Blair Academy

We start out with an absolute banger at 120 pounds. Both of these guys have been dominant through day one with #2 DeLuca earning a technical fall and two first-period falls to get to the quarterfinals, while #12 Littleton Mascaro won his opening match 14-3 and followed that up with two first-period falls as well. These two were in the same Ironman bracket a week ago that DeLuca went on to win while Mascaro finished seventh. I expect this one to be very competitive and could be a wild start to the day if Mascaro would be able to pick up the upset. 

120 lbs - Mason Ziegler, Quakertown vs. Aaron Seidel, Northern Lebanon

Two Pennsylvania studs will meet up on the bottom side of the loaded 120-pound bracket. Ziegler is currently ranked #17 in the country up at 126 pounds and was PIAA AAA state runner-up last season. Seidel is coming off of a super impressive run to a Super 32 title in October and is a two-time PIAA AA state champion. Ziegler picked up a big win over #4 (at 113 lbs) Landon Sidun in the round of 16 and will be looking to continue his run and give Seidel just his second high school loss in his career. 

126 lbs - Anthony Knox, St. John Vianney vs. Brian Melamud, Bergen Catholic

#1 Anthony Knox has been all business today as he picked up three first-period falls and only spent 2:25 on the mat through day 1. Brian Melamud is on a run of his own, however, as he took out both the 8 and 9 seeds to make the quarterfinals. Melamud will need to bring his A-game to take out the best guy in the country and stop Knox on his journey to a second straight Beast of the East title. 

132 lbs - Caedyn Ricciardi, St. Peter Prep vs. Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South

Both of these guys really impressed me on day 1. Ricciardi was a Beast runner-up a year ago and was dominant through the round of 16 with two technical falls and a 5-0 decision. Mutarelli was a National Prep champion in 2022 before having his season cut short last year due to injury, but is competing for a new school this year in Council Rock South and picked up right where he left off with a solid run to the quarterfinals. I expect a lot of points to go on the board in this one as both guys have open styles and like to let it fly. 

157 lbs - Charlie Scanlan, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Frank DiBella, St. Joseph's Regional

Charlie Scanlan has mostly been a backup wrestler for the powerhouse team of Bethlehem Catholic throughout his career but has never let that hold him back from picking up big wins and competing at a very high level. He proved that point in both the round of 32 and round of 16 as he defeated both the 16 seed Elliot Humphries and the 1 seed Max Nevlin. Frank DiBella has been fourth in the state of New Jersey the last two seasons and squeaked out tight wins in both his round of 32 and round of 16 as well. The winner of this one could go on a run and really establish themselves on the national scene. 

157 lbs - Paul Ognissanti, Blair Academy vs. Max Stein, Faith Christian Academy

Paul Ognissanti was the top seed at Ironman last weekend but fell in the quarterfinals before going on to finish fifth. The #18 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds is looking to right that wrong this weekend and has been putting up major points so far. He will be taking on the 2 seed at this weight, Max Stein. Stein is a past Pennsylvania state place winner and was in a scare in his round of 32 against Lucas Boe he came out on top of, 3-1 in sudden victory before a dominant 9-0 performance in the round of 16. The 7-seed Ognissanti will be looking to pull off an upset of his own this weekend. 

175 lbs - Gage Wright, Parkland South vs. Brayden Zuercher, Nazareth

#2 Gage Wright had one of the most impressive runs you could imagine last weekend to an Ironman title and has continued that run this weekend. Wright has picked up three falls to secure his spot in the quarterfinals and has been so fun to watch. While Brayden Zuercher has had a slow start to the season, entering the weekend 5-3 on the year. Zuercher hasn't let that affect his performance this weekend clearly as he has been utterly dominant, including a 12-0 major decision over the #8 seed and a fall over the #9 seed. This one could be very entertaining as Wright has a very open style and Zuercher is on a heck of a run with the winner likely getting #3 Ryan Burton in the semifinals. 

285 lbs - Mark Effendian, Faith Christian Academy vs. Rocco Dellagatta, St. Joseph's Regional

A top-20 national battle to end this list. #13 Mark Effendian started off his tournament with a 3-0 decision but turned it up in the round of 16 and picked up a first-period fall. #16 and recent Cornell commit Rocco Dellagatta has been dominant with two falls. Don't be surprised if this one ends in a fall and the winner will likely get #4 Carter Neves in the semifinals. 

Tune in for all of these and many more exciting Beast of the East quarterfinals tomorrow morning at 8:30 ET LIVE on FloWrestling!