Three points.

Three, lousy, stinking points.

That is all that kept Morris Knolls’ Ryder Stambach from qualifying for the state wrestling tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City last winter.

Beginning with the districts on Feb. 22, the 138-pound senior gets one more crack at qualifying for AC.

Last year, Stambach lost a 6-3 decision to Fair Lawn’s Brody Bogues in the Region 2 wrestleback semifinals. The top four wrestlers at each weight automatically qualify, so Stambach was sent home … painfully close to making the states.

He is now 26-6 and has made great strides since last year, including:

Second at the Morris Knolls Christmas Tournament.

First at the Gary Vittorio Christmas Tournament at Par Hills.

Fourth at the Morris County Tournament at Mount Olive.  

“Making states is my main priority this year,” he said. “It’s all I’ve been focused on since the beginning. I have a very good opportunity to make states this year. Last year I came up 3 points short, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

“My season has actually gone exceptionally well. I improved a lot and am having a great season. Although there is always stuff to improve on. I’m very happy with how it’s going so far.”

Qualifying for the states is something every high school wrestler dreams about and Stambach is no different. 

“It would be a huge wrestling accomplishment to me,” he said. “I am going to try my hardest to wrestle the best I can in the states and hopefully upset some wrestlers who are favorited.

“I have been wrestling since I was 4 years old. Shout out to my dad who got me into the sport. I’ve never looked back. Wrestling was made for me. I grind every year to become a better wrestler than I was the year before.”

My Grouping of the Wrestlers

We are in the midst of the sectional team tournament, but it is never too early to look ahead to the state individual tournament. 

There are several classifications of wrestlers in the Morris-Sussex area to keep an eye on this postseason.

I’ve divided them into five groups.

Classification No. 1: Returning Delbarton state champions such as Cameron Sontz, Ryan DeGeorge, and Allessio Perentin, who are bidding for another first-place finish. Perentin, one of the best in the school’s rich history, is gunning for No. 3.

Classification No. 2: Green Wave wrestlers such as Tommy Marchetti (120), Chase Quenault (138), Jayden James (150), and Carl Betz (190), who are ready to place highly on the Boardwalk Hall podium, if not win it all. Quenault (seventh at 132 last year) and James (runnerup at 138 last year) have already been impactful in AC.

Classification No. 3: Pope John’s quartet of Carson Walsh (138), Donny Almeyda (144), and Jake Holly (113), and Dalton Weber (132) – all of whom figure to pile up wins on the Boardwalk and make their presence felt in AC. Walsh was a runnerup at 132 last year. Almeyda was fourth last year at 138. Weber was third at 126 last year. Holly was eighth at 106 last year.

Classification No. 4: Public school guys like Hanover Park’s Vincenzo LaValle (190), Kittatinny’s Ethan Dalling (175), West Morris’ Brody Neil (120) and Tommy Borgia (Hwt.), and Mount Olive’s Anthony Piemonte (126). All of them are ready to place highly, if not win a state championship.  LaValle was a runnerup last year at 190. Neil was seventh at 106.

Classification No. 5: Solid, under-the-radar wrestlers who have never been to Atlantic City but are making a strong bid such as the aformentioned Stambach.

Here are some wrestlers who are in the same boat as Stambach, having just missed the cut in qualifying for AC last year and bidding to get to the Boardwalk this time.

Luke Baitzel (Kinnelon) – Baitzel is rehabbing from injury and hopes to be back for the districts, according to Colts coach Anthony Colabella. Baitzel narrowly missed qualifying for AC last year, losing in the Region 1 wrestleback semifinals to Joseph Lucarello, 12-3.

Luke Brown (Sparta) – Brown saw his bid to get to AC thwarted by Ramapo’s Zak Darwish in the Region 1 consolation semifinals. He is back at 190 and hoping to make it one more round this time.

Justin Bullock (Mount Olive) – Bullock (150) has been one of the best wrestlers for the Marauders, one of New Jersey’s best public school teams. Bullock captured an MCT crown when he beat Roxbury’s Charlie Bacinsky in one of the wildest finals bouts in recent memory, 8-5 in overtime. He had a big year last year and narrowly missed going to Boardwalk Hall as he fell to Pburg’s Gavin Geleta in the Region 2 wrestleback semifinals.

Sean Curnow (Morristown) – The junior found himself in a deep 157-pound weight class at the MCT and ran into Hanover Park’s eventual champion Nando Ott in the quarters on the way to a 12-4 defeat. Curnow was one win away from Boardwalk Hall last year as he lost an 8-3 decision to West Essex’s Nick Janish.  

Rinaldo DiGiacopo (Mountain Lakes) – DiGiacopo has had a historic season for the Lakers, becoming only the second MCT champion in school history and the first wrestler at the school to win an MCT since Austin DiMarco in 2010 when DiGiacopo pinned Morristown’s Dimitrio Mihalakako in the finals in 4:48. DiGiacopo came close to AC last year but was pinned in the Region 2 wrestleback semifinals by St. Thomas Aquinas’ Nazareth Pina in 1:26.

True DiGiuseppe (Vernon) – The Vikings 175-pounder reached the H-W-S semifinals before losing to North Hunterdon’s Evan Kinney by fall in 5:09. DiGiuseppe wound up forfeiting in the third-place match and wound up taking fourth. He narrowly missed qualifying for AC last year, losing in the Region 1 semifinals wrestlebacks to Kittatinny’s Bryce Coesfeld, 9-4.

Frank Figel (Jefferson) – The sophomore reached the MCT semifinals before he was pinned by Dover’s eventual runnerup Jayden Mendez in 1:58. Figel took fourth after losing a wild one in the third-place consolations to West Morris’ Mark Montoure, 14-13.

Colton Jaust (High Point) – The Wildcats are on their way to another appearance in the Groups and Jaust has done terrific work in the middle of their lineup. He was nosed out of AC at 120 last year, losing in the Region 1 wrestleback semifinals to Butler’s Jason Chrostowski, 73. 

Rylan Jones (Montville) – Jones (132) made a bid for AC but it fell short in the Region 2 wrestleback consolations when he dropped an 8-5 decision to Mount Olive’s Piemonte. Jones had a tough draw in the MCT and lost to returning state qualifier and eventual MCT champion Rafe Fonte of Mendham, 8-3.

Dominick Kraemer (Montville) – Kraemer has had a strong year but was surprised early in the MCT by West Morris’ tough freshman Christopher Kowalik and lost a wild 11-10 match. Kraemer almost made the states last year but fell one match short, losing in the Region 2 consolation semifinals to St. Joseph-Montvale’s Kaleb Jackson by technical fall, 23-7 (5:01).

Gavin Mericle (High Point) – Mericle, who attends Sussex Tech, captured the H-W-S when he majored P-Burg’s Ben Ellis in the finals, 10-1. DePaul’s Josh Turner ended Mericle’s dream of getting to the Boardwalk in the Region 1 consolation semis last year, 5-2.

Mark Montoure (West Morris) – Montoure just missed going to AC when he lost in the wrestleback semifinals to Delaware Valley’s Jake Taylor by fall in 1:14. Montoure has responded with a big senior year, placing third in the MCT after beating Jefferson’s Frank Figel, 14-13.

Joseph Rowinski (Hackettstown) – Rowinski was nosed out of Region 3 in the wrestleback consolation semis at 103 when he lost a 7-2 decision to Pope John’s Jake Holly. Rowinski has had a big year at the same weight for the Tigers, with the highlight being a 10-9 major over North Hunterdon’s Cayden Wadle to win the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex championship.

Colin Smyth (Mount Olive) – Smyth’s season got off to a late start due to an injury but he is rounding into form and a threat to get to AC next month at 144 pounds. He came oh-so-close last year but lost in the Region 2 wrestleback consolations to Noah Zindaki of Wayne Valley, 16-5. 

Henry Saxon (Morristown) – Saxon has built on a strong year last year by placing third at the MCT, beating West Morris’ Christopher Kowalik in the third-place consolations in OT, 9-6. He was very close to qualifying for AC last year but finished one round away as he lost in the wrestleback semis to Belvidere’s Kyle Blew, 7-3.

Joey Tantawi (Hanover Park) – Tantawi has one of the key contributors for the Hornets all year. He was crowned MCT champion after he beat Boonton’s Arthur Landkof in the finals, 14-9. In the Region 3 wrestleback semis, he was pinned by Kearny’s Joshua Baeza in 1:51 in the region blood round.

Kevin Wilson (Pope John) – Wilson made the Region 3 semifinals but was injured and then couldn’t compete in the wrestlebacks, ending his season. He has been in and out of the lineup this year but is a threat to reach AC when healthy.