St. Mary, a small Catholic high school in Rutherford, New Jersey (arguably the toughest wrestling state in the country) – who just reinitiated their wrestling program last year after an over-a-decade hiatus – is in the process of re-building its program. The team, which was a 4-time state champion program, seems to be on the fast track in its re-building under the leadership of head coach Rickey Redd, who had impressive college wrestling successes at Centenary University.
In its first year back, the 2022-2023 season, it was a difficult campaign, with St. Mary having a 1 – 16 dual team record. The lone notable accomplishment was netted by the team’s 144-pounder, Anthony Moreno, who was named the North Jersey Wrestler of the Week by one of New Jersey’s leading newspapers, The Record (part of NorthJersey.com) after he won a District Title. In an article about this honor, the publication wrote:
“Moreno became the Gaels’ first district champion since their varsity return with a successful run as the 4th seed at 144. He completed it in dramatic fashion by outlasting Phillipsburg’s Patrick Day, 7-6, in sudden victory.”
Building on this, the 2023-2024 Gaels’ season has seen noticeable growth. This upward movement, which yielded 7 dual team victories (and a few near-miss wins) is rooted in an almost full lineup (only a hole at 150 lbs), with three standout wrestlers at its core: freshmen Mario Del Vecchio (126 lbs) and Christian Stocker (106 lbs) have joined Moreno. Collectively, the trio have pounded out nearly 110 victories already this season. Here’s a breakdown on this powerful trio:
OUTSTANDING RECORDS
In the 2023-2024 season, the following records have been accumulated:
Mario Del Vecchio: 39 – 7
Anthony Moreno: 39 – 8
Christian Stocker: 30 – 9
STATE LEADER IN PINS
In January, NJ.com (which includes The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest circulated newspaper), published an article with the headline, “St. Mary (Ruth.) freshman leads state in pins.” That freshman – who is actually a true freshman – is Mario Del Vecchio, the team’s 126-pounder. At the time of the publication of that article, Del Vecchio was leading all New Jersey high school wrestlers – from every weight class – with 17 pins. By the end of the season, Del Vecchio increased his state-leading pin total to 35 pins. He had the most pins in the State of New Jersey, for all high school wrestlers; tying him for that statewide lead was Joshua Baeza, a 12th grader from the Town of Kearny.
It seems that practically no one can get out of the first period with Del Vecchio, as according to TrackWrestling, he has the following pins this season:
9 sec, 11 sec, 12 sec, 12 sec, 15 sec, 18 sec, 18 sec, 19 sec, 21 sec, 23 sec, 26 sec, 26 sec, 31 sec, 35 sec, 38 sec, 38 sec, 40 sec, 41 sec, 45 sec, 48 sec, 50 sec, 51 sec, 1:01, 1:02, 1:08, 1:13, 1:30, 1:45, 2:06, 2:22, 2:26, 2:32, 2:42, 2:46, 3:09
In a social media post, Ken DeStefanis, a member of the United States Wrestling Hall of Fame who was a standout college wrestler and a 15-year head coach of a Division 1 program (the University of Central Connecticut), had this to say about Del Vecchio’s statewide pin-leading accomplishment: “Leading the state in pins is almost as good as being a state champ. It’s at least in the same category as a state placer.”
Ricky Marcus, the publisher of The Florida Wrestling Room (that state’s most widely read wrestling website/Facebook page), which covered Del Vecchio when he wrestled in Florida last season, said in a social media post, “To think he has more pins than any other wrestler in the entire state of NJ is mind boggling. But it really doesn’t surprise me…He placed in Florida [high school states] as a TRUE 8th grader…The best part about it is the fact that even in Florida last season, everyone knew what Mario Del Vecchio does but still could not stop it.”
It should be noted that Moreno and Stocker have also accumulated a significant number of pins this season.
Moreno pinned 24 of his opponents.
And Stocker pinned 18 of his opponents.
DEFEATING STATE PLACERS/STATE QUALIFIERS & RANKED OPPONENTS
MARIO DEL VECCHIO
Since the beginning of last season (approximately the last 15 months), Del Vecchio has defeated an astounding 45 high school State Champs, State Placers, and State Qualifiers. In a press release ESN reviewed, it listed all of these 45 victories (which ESN verified on TrackWrestling & FloArena)—and which are listed below:
(1) Major 9-0 Kai Plinski (West Virginia State Champ) – Columbus Day Duals; (2) Major 11-1 Lincoln Kelley (Virginia State Champ /Placed 7th at NHSCA) – Columbus Day Duals; (3) TF 16-0 Malachi Ortiz (Florida State Champ; Placed 8th at Fargo) – Big Man Duals; (4) Pinned Jack Oliver (Placed 2nd at Florida States) – Cradle Cancer; (5) Pinned Nathanial Overman (Placed 2nd at Florida States) – Big Man Duals; (6) Pinned Gian Ortiz (Placed 32nd at Florida States) – FL State Championships; (7) Dec 3-2 Topher Pearson (Placed 2nd at Florida States) – Suwanee Gator Cup; (8) Pinned Blaine Reed (Placed 4th at Florida States) – FL Region Finals; (9) Dec 4-1 Eli Jolicoeur (Placed 4th at Florida States) – Suwanne Gator Cup; (10) Pinned Alex Oberc (Placed 5th at Connecticut States) – Waterway Duals; (11) Major 10-2 Alex Giglietti (Placed 5th at Florida States) – Cape Coast Conference; (12) Dec 9-2 Jasper Croom (Placed 5th at Florida States) – Addidas Nationals; (13) Major 9-0 Alex Giglietti (Placed 5th at Florida States) – ECW Championships; (14) Dec 5-0 Kyle Brown (Placed 6th at Florida States) – Ironman Tournament; (15) Pinned Kamren Griffen (Placed 7th at Maryland States) – East Coast Catholic Classic; (16) Pinned Gustavo Ferreira (Placed 7th at Florida States) – Kiwanis Invitational; (17) Pinned Al’zaveon Harris (Placed 7th at Florida States) – FL State Championships; (18) Pinned Gustavo Ferreira (Placed 7th at Florida States) – Cape Coast Conference; (19) Pinned Jason Ramirez (Placed 8th at Florida States) – FL State Championships; (20) Pinned James Oliver (Placed 8th at Florida States) – Suwanne Gator Cup; (21) Maj 11-1 Brody Bogues (New Jersey State Qualifier) – NJ Officials Association Tournament; (22) Pinned Joseph Keeler (New Jersey State Qualifier) – New Jersey Regions; (23) Dec 3-2 Cole Rose (New Jersey State Qualifier/Nuway National Champ) – Columbus Day Duals; (24) Dec Joseph Keeler 7-0 (New Jersey State Qualifier) – Bergen County Tournament; (25) Pinned Ashton Kriss (Pennsylvania State Qualifier) – Waterway Duals; (26) Dec 14-13 Chris Manganiello (Connecticut State Qualifier) – East Coast Catholic Classic; (27) Pinned Kyle Pearson (Florida State Qualifier) – Kiwanis Invitational; (28) Pinned Brennan Ferguson (North Carolina State Qualifier) – Body Armor State Games; (29) Pinned James Aguilar (Florida State Qualifier) – Brandon Tournament; (30) Dec 12-5 Connor Harris (Florida State Qualifier) – Cradle Cancer; (31) Pinned Aaron Horr (Florida State Qualifier) – Florida District Finals; (32) Pinned Isaak Rodriguez (Florida State Qualifier) – Kiwanis Invitational; (33) Pinned Ethan Reilly (Florida State Qualifier) – Gauntlet on the Grove; (34) Major 10-1 Kyle Pearson (Florida State Qualifier) – Florida Regions; (35) Pinned Nick Lamery (Virginia State Qualifier) – Columbus Day Duals; (36) Pinned Dylan Dangle (Florida State Qualifier) – Brandon Tournament; (37) Pinned Ashton Swanson (Florida State Qualifier) – Florida Districts; (38) Dec 5-1 Ethan Reilly (Florida State Qualifier) – Adidas Nationals Prelim-Matches; (39) Pinned Kaden Barrial (Florida State Qualifier) – Merrit Island Dual; (40) Dec 7-0 Jacob Economon (North Carolina State Qualifier) – Body Armor State Games; (41) Pinned Ethan Reilly (Florida State Qualifier) – Florida Regions; (42) Dec 10-4 Vincenzo Lee (Florida State Qualifier) – Brandon Tournament; (43) TF 15-0 Stunner Hutchinson (Georgia State Qualifier) – Brunswick Tournament; (44) Pinned Ethan Warchol (Florida State Qualifier) – Knockout Summer Slam; (45) and (46) Pinned Coleman Finn (Connecticut State Qualifier) – Waterway Duals.
From the above list and beyond it, Del Vecchio has defeated several currently-ranked wrestlers in New Jersey: #8 at 126 lbs (Cole Rose); #21 at 132 lbs (Joseph Keeler); #25 at 126 lbs (CJ Anzaldo); #27 at 126 lbs (Jaton Wellington); #30 at 126 lbs (Lucas Silvestre); #30 at 120 lbs (Brody Bogues); and #32 at 126 lbs (Santino Leon). After pinning Maryland State Placer Kamren Griffen in the semi-finals at the East Coast Catholic Classic (a national tournament in Virginia) in January, Del Vecchio handed Connecticut’s #1 ranked 126-pounder Chris Manganiello his only season’s loss in a raucous 14-13 finals match victory.
ANTHONY MORENO
Since the beginning of last season (approximately the last 12 months), Moreno has defeated 6 State Qualifiers: (1) Dec 7-3 Xavier Ortega (New Jersey State Qualifier) – Waterway Duals; (2) Dec 3-2 Waylan Winnseman (New York State Qualifier) – Waterway Duals; (3) Dec 3-1 Patrick Day (New Jersey State Qualifier) – NJ District Finals; (4) Major 10-1 Walter Smith (Virginia State Qualifier) – East Coast Catholic Classic; (5) Dec 3-1 James Conklin (New Jersey State Qualifier) – Garfield Tournament 2022; and (6) Dec 7-5 Chris Fojon (New Jersey State Qualifier) – Bergen County Tournament, enacting a retribution win after Fojon had pinned Moreno earlier in the same tournament.
From the above list and beyond it, Moreno has defeated multiple currently-ranked wrestlers in New Jersey: #11 at 132 lbs (Xavier Ortega); #19 at 150 lbs (James Conklin); #20 at 144 lbs (Chris Fojon); #28 at 157 lbs (Patrick Day); #31 at 144 lbs (Brady Dransfield); and #31 at 157 lbs (Tommy Kousis).
CHRISTIAN STOCKER
Stocker wrestled in middle school last season. This season, he has defeated – 3 different times – #31 ranked Johnny Emes (106 lbs); two of those wins were by pins. Also, at the Columbus Day Duals, he majored 8-0 Tyler Campbell (Massachusetts State Qualifier)—and at the Waterway Duals, he pinned Bennet Palmeri (New York State Qualifier).
TOURNAMENT SUCCESSES THIS SEASON
Del Vecchio – a State Qualifier – took 3rd Place in the Regions in New Jersey this season. Winning the 1st place medal at the East Coast Catholic Classic (national tournament in Virginia), Del Vecchio also made it to the semi-finals (and took 5th place) at the Bergen County Tournament (perhaps most difficult county tournament in the country), won 1st place at the Rumble in the Pines Tournament, and took 2nd place at the Garfield Holiday Tournament.
Moreno – a State Qualifier – placed 2nd at the East Coast Catholic Classic (national tournament in Virginia), took 3rd place at the Bergen County Tournament (perhaps most difficult county tournament in the country), took 4th Place in the Regions, won 1st place at the Garfield Holiday Tournament, and won 1st place at the Rumble in the Pines Tournament.
Stocker took home a 5th place medal at the East Coast Catholic Classic (national tournament in Virginia), to go along with a 7th place medal at the Bergen County Tournament (perhaps most difficult county tournament in the country), and a 2nd place medal at the Rumble in the Pines Tournament.
LAST SEASON’S ACCOMPLSIHMENTS
In the 2022-2023 season – as an 8th grader – Del Vecchio placed 6th in the High School States in Florida. He was also a High School Region Champ, County Champ, and District Champ, with a 40 – 8 record (with 32 pins). Del Vecchio was also named First Team High School All-County by the Florida Today/USA Today newspaper (only 8th grader named).
In the 2022-2023 season, Moreno was 25 – 5 (11 pins). He added a District Champ title to that season.
Stocker wrestled in the New Jersey Middle School States in the 2022-2023 season, netting two victories in that tournament.
RANKINGS (NATIONAL & STATE)
Del Vecchio is ranked both on the national level and the state level…Nationally, he is ranked #6 in the nation for freshmen at 126 lbs on MatScouts’ Big Board; he is ranked #87 in the country overall – for freshmen in all weight classes – on MatScouts’ Big Board…On the state level in New Jersey, he was ranked #9 in his 126 lbs weight class – for all high school wrestlers, of all grades, in New Jersey – in NJ Wrestling Times’ Top 32. And he was ranked in the top 20 for his 126 lbs weight class – for all high school wrestlers, of all grades, in New Jersey – on Full Circle/Rokfin…And before he moved to New Jersey this past August, he was ranked #1 in the Florida 2023/2024 H.S. pre-season rankings at 120 lbs 1A by both Florida ranking organizations (The Florida Wrestling Room & Kabra Wrestling).
Moreno was ranked #22 in his 144 lbs weight class – for all high school wrestlers, of all grades, in New Jersey – in NJ Wrestling Times’ Top 32. And he was ranked in the top 20 for his 144 lbs weight class – for all high school wrestlers, of all grades, in New Jersey – on Full Circle/Rokfin.
Stocker was ranked #26 in his 106 lbs weight class – for all high school wrestlers, of all grades, in New Jersey – in NJ Wrestling Times’ Top 32.
OVERALL TEAM OUTLOOK
A few other St. Mary wrestlers to note: this season, Alfredo Bermudez (157 lbs) had a 22 – 16 record. Bermudez took home a 6th place medal at the East Coast Catholic Classic (national tournament in Virginia) and added a 2nd place medal at the Rumble in the Pines Tournament; he was also a Region Qualifier. Nasir Owens (175 lbs) was 13 – 7, D’Var David (113 lbs) was 15 – 16 (and placed 5th at Rumble in the Pines Tournament), and Landon Pena (285 lbs) was 14 – 15.
St. Mary placed 15th (out of 41 teams) at the Bergen County Tournament. The team also made it to the Non-Public B State Sectional Tournament this season (seeded 8th), but took a loss in the first round, in a close dual meet, to Holy Cross High School. With that – and the accomplishments of the star power detailed in this article – Coach Redd has seen a lot of successes for St. Mary’s re-minted wrestling program in a very short period of time. There are a lot of wrestling successes to look forward to from these individuals and this team.