Some of New Jersey’s top high school competitors ventured across the state line last weekend to tangle with top national competition at Escape The Rock. Here’s a look at some of the Garden State’s best performers at the tournament staged just outside Philadelphia. 

Charlie Esposito (SR) — St. Joseph Regional, 113 pounds

Two-time state medalist Charlie Esposito delivered one of the weekend’s biggest upsets. Esposito navigated his way to the 114-pound Escape The Rock semifinals, where he took on National Prep, Fargo, Ironman, and Beast of the East finalist Justin Farnsworth. Esposito held his own and trailed 1-0 against the #2 113-pounder in the country heading to the third period, where he picked up a reversal with under a minute to go and held Farnsworth down to take the 2-1 win and punch his ticket to the finals. Esposito ultimately fell to PIAA champion Braiden Lotier, 8-3, but it was an impressive run for Esposito in a loaded 114-pound bracket, and he looks poised to close out his career with a state championship after a runner-up finish a year ago. 

Watch Esposito Defeat #2 Farnsworth

Paul Kenny (JR) — Christian Brothers Academy, 126 pounds

After bonusing his way to a Powerade title last month, returning New Jersey state champion and national #3 Paul Kenny posted another dominant performance this weekend for the 127-pound Escape The Rock championship belt. Kenny posted a fall, a technical fall, and two seven-point decisions to set up the finals showdown with fellow Garden State competitor #17 Mikey Bautista. Kenny picked up his third bonus-point win over Bautista this season with a 13-2 major decision for his second Escape The Rock title. 

Watch Kenny Win Escape The Rock 

Brian Little (JR) — St. Joseph Regional, 138 pounds

Another standout performance at Escape The Rock came at 139 pounds, where Brian Little went on a run to the finals as the #8 seed. Little opened his tournament with a 19-4 technical fall and a default win over PIAA medalist Gunnar Maciejewski in a match he was winning 20-8. That win set up his quarterfinal bout with three-time PIAA champion #6 Keanu Dillard. Little was on the attack start to finish, and a second-period takedown was the difference as he took out Dillard 4-1. Little followed that up with a 4-3 decision over three-time New Jersey state medalist Chase Hansen in the semifinals before dropping a hard-fought 9-4 decision to Tyler Conroy in the finals. Little will look to keep this momentum rolling into the postseason and get on the podium in Atlantic City for the first time in his career. 

Watch Little Defeat #6 Keanu Dillard

Robert Duffy (SR) — Christian Brothers Academy, 144 pounds

Returning state medalist and national #9 Robert Duffy continues to shine in his senior season, as he finished third in a deep 145-pound Escape The Rock field. Duffy picked up two bonus-point wins to open the tournament before defeating Powerade finalist and #6 Weston Borgers, 5-3, in a scramblefest of a quarterfinal. Duffy battled hard in the semifinals and had to go for a big move late as he trailed 1-0 against #2 Tyler Dekraker, but gave up the seven-pointer to lose 8-0. In the third-place bout, Duffy bested two-time state medalist Anthony Depaul, who picked up a huge win in his own right over #5 Matthew O’Neill in the quarterfinals with an insane buzzer-beater takedown to win 3-1. Duffy used a second-period rideout and escape in the third to defeat Depaul, 1-0. 

Watch Duffy’s Win Over #6 Borgers

Tanner Hodgins (JR) — Howell, 190 pounds

Two-time state medalist #10 Tanner Hodgins cruised to the semifinals with a fall and two technical falls before meeting Beast of the East champion #9 Dominic Sumpolec in the semifinals. The U17 World bronze medalist used a late third-period takedown to beat Sumpolec in an epic back-and-forth battle before falling in the finals to #8 Salah Tsarni of Blair Academy for the second time this season. 

Watch Hodgins Defeat #9 Sumpolec

Nicolas Gonzalez (SR) — Mount Olive, 215 pounds

Returning state medalist Nicolas Gonzalez picked up two massive wins on his way to the runner-up finish at Escape The Rock at 215 pounds. Gonzalez opened his tournament with a fall and a technical fall before exploding to a 10-4 lead on #13 Decker Bechtold in the quarterfinals before Bechtold was forced to default due to injury. In the semifinals, Gonzalez took out the top-seeded Cash Colbert, 10-5, in a match he controlled from neutral, as he won the takedown battle three to zero. Gonzalez ran into a red-hot returning PIAA champion, Elijah Brown, in the finals, who defeated Gonzalez by fall and won the outstanding wrestler award for bonusing his way through the tournament. 

Watch Gonzalez Defeat #17 Colbert

Cristian Alvarez (SR) — St. Joseph Regional, 285 pounds

Returning state runner-up Cristian Alvarez followed up a Powerade championship last month by winning another loaded 285-pound bracket at Escape The Rock. Sixth-ranked Alvarez picked up a second-period fall over #15 Isaiah Taylor in the semifinals to set up a Powerade semifinal rematch with #12 Cael Mielnik in the finals after Mielnik took out #8 Lukas Zalota in his semifinal with a late reversal and rideout. The 285-pound final was the last match of the tournament, and it felt like a main event as both guys battled back and forth for every point. Ultimately, it was Alvarez who came away with the 13-12 win. With titles at Powerade and Escape The Rock, Alvarez is certainly riding a lot of momentum towards the postseason in the pursuit of his first state championship. 

Watch Alvarez Pin #15 Taylor

New Jersey High School Premium Rankings

Check out the New Jersey High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents, and overall historical performance patterns. 

The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining its season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.