AJ Fricchione has been a big name in the New Jersey wrestling scene taking 2nd in 2021 and 3rd in 2022. Fricchione competed for St Joes Regional in his first two high school seasons finishing in the blood round as a freshman and falling just short in the state finals as a sophomore down at 195.
This season Fricchione competed for the Bergen Catholic Crusaders and with the weight changes ended up going 215. He ended up placing third behind Martin Cosgrove and PJ Casale and as he enters his final high school season he has some big goals and expectations for himself as well as this stacked Bergen Catholic team.
General outlook for the Crusaders-
When asked about the general outlook for the Bergen Catholic team he believes they will remain the best team in the state and that things have changed this year and they will “show everyone what they are about”.
Talked about the impact Coach Dave Bell has on the program and how they have been holding open mats every week, and how this has helped the team bonding and morale.
Key wrestlers on the BC team-
We asked him who he thinks the key wrestlers on the team will be with guys that can step up in big moments. His response was himself, Ryan Ford, August Hibler, and Justin Onello.
He is confident in all the wrestlers on the team and stated that this will be a big year for all the kids who did not get to prove themselves as much as they would have liked to.
“A lot if not the whole team has been training and competing this offseason – in the offseason is where you really see guys take a big jump in skill, confidence, and pace.
Matchup you are looking forward to-
St Joes Regional is the match that he is looking forward to because of the dual atmosphere and wanting to show the state of New Jersey what Bergen Catholic is about.
Also talked about how since his transfer from St Joes he has received a lot of negative feedback and energy at dual meets and tournaments. The winner of the dual gets the bragging rights and that is what it is about.
Goals for the team-
Of course there is not much you can improve on when you were the top team in the state but he says they want to repeat and this time come out with an undefeated record.
They are losing 3 seniors most notably state finalist Dominic Brogna and champ Joe Cangro. He feels that they do have the talent to fill these spots with quality guys however and compete.
Personal goals for the season-
State champ. There is nothing left for him to do except that. Said it left a bad taste in his mouth after falling short two years in a row with a 2nd and 3rd place finish.
“I don’t want anything else other than to be on top of that podium in boardwalk hall holding that bracket”
Any individual matches in particular-
Not really he said but he will be looking to dominate every single match this season and he wants to show the gap that he has created between himself and the number two seed.
“I have made a very big jump in my technique and it’s going to take a lot to stop me on my feet this year”
“I will be excited for every match but I am most excited to wrestle the second seed”
Overall AJ will have a very big season ahead of him coming in as our number one ranked 215 pounder in the state of New Jersey. He will be one of the main leaders on a stacked Bergen Catholic team and will look to finally win a state title to end of his high school career.
