February 9, 2018- The Middletown North community has had this match-up circled on their calendars since the 2017-18 wrestling campaign kicked off in November.  The highly anticipated NJSIAA State Tournament rematch between the No.1 seed Middletown North Lions and the No.2 seed Phillipsburg Stateliners will take place Friday night at the Lion’s Den at 7PM.  The Lion’s will have home-school advantage when they take on one of  New Jersey’s top ranked teams.  Middletown North has had a tremendous season, which has allowed them to earn the top seed in the NJSIAA North 2 Group 4 Championship.  Coach Sirchio, who has led the program since 2006, is looking to lead the Lions to their first state sectional title since 1996.  “This is a tremendous opportunity for our young student athletes to be recognized for their sacrifice and dedication to our program.  Going out a state champion against arguably one of the best teams in the state of New Jersey would be an amazing experience and well deserved for this terrific group of men,”  said Sirchio.

The Lions have had strong campaigns from the entire roster this season.  The Lions have also had consistency from starters: Thomas O’Keefe, Tyler Klinsky, Fred Luchs, Stanley Wojdylak, Nicko Cofone, Jacob Anderson and Austin Dewise.  Coach Sirchio believes that the middle weight classes will be the deciding factor in this year’s battle.  Coach Sirchio also believes that hosting the match this year is a significant advantage. “Having this match in our building and in front our fans is a huge emotional gain for our squad.  Knowing that the entire Middletown North community will be supporting our men and attending this event is a huge positive.”  Sirchio feels that the crowd size is going to be very large and said that the school has already set up contingency plans for the excess crowd.  Principal Patricia Vari-Cartier stated, ” Due to the high attendance expectation for this event, our technology department will be streaming the match live in one of the other gym facilities on a large projection screen.  We understand that we may not be able to accommodate everyone due to fire code restrictions, so we believe this is the best solution to provide everyone an opportunity to be a part of this terrific night”.