It's a little early, or maybe not, to start thinking about the 2012-13 high school wrestling campaign. But some big matchups are already scheduled or still in the works for next season.
High Point vs. Phillipsburg?
High Point coach John Gardner recently told me that he is hoping to get Phillipsburg on the schedule for next season or at least for the following year. That is great news to me and for area fans. It's the kind of match that should and needs to happen every season. We just don't get enough big matches in these parts and High Point against P'burg is a big draw with rabid fan bases in both counties.
The Wildcats beat the Stateliners for the first time in 2009, a 30-22 victory in front of a packed house at The Pit. Phillipsburg leads the all-time series, 15-1, dating to 1989. The teams met annually from 1989-99, including five postseason clashes. Prior to '09, the only meeting in between was in the 2003 Group semifinals, a 45-22 win for the 'Liners.
P'burg coach Dave Post said he welcomes a renewal to this series, for the coming season and beyond.
"Rivalry matches are huge," said Post, who was a senior on that '03 P'burg team that defeated High Point. "It's part of the thing that people interested [in the sport]. They have special memories of matches long ago. It's history. Being from P'burg it's great because people remind us every single day about historical facts."
High Point was a young team this past season and reached the Group 2 semifinals. Freshmen Dom Gallo, Mike Derin and Jason Gaccione are budding stars for the 'Cats, along with sophomore Kyle Stoll.
Phillipsburg returned to glory in every way this season, winning a Group 4 state title -- its 17th championship overall -- and crowning an individual state champ for the first time since 1996 as senior Brandon Hull won the 220-pound title in AC. Hull and Post are still making their guest appearances all over the town.
It's a shame that these great programs have met only twice since 1999. While we're on the subject, High Point vs. Warren Hills and High Point vs. Delaware Valley should also be on the schedule each and every season.
High Point is 9-8 all-time against the Blue Streaks -- including a 58-9 win in the last meeting in 2007. The schools met 15 times from 1976-93 and just twice since. The High Point-Del Val series stands at 5-5-1, with the 'Cats winning the last three, including a 55-15 win in 2008. Those two met nine times from 1984-97, but only twice since.
Spicing up the Patriot Duals
We could see a rematch between last year's Group 1 finalists as Bound Brook and Kittatinny will participate in next year's event.
North Warren athletic director John Simonetti also confirmed that Pequannock, Mendham, West Essex, Morristown, Hopatcong and the host Patriots round out the eight-team field.
Bound Brook defeated Kittatinny, 34-32, for the state championship at Toms River North on Feb. 11.
It's rare to see two teams that figure to challenge for the same Group title to meet during the regular season, but I can't wait to see it. Kittatinny was young last season and returns District 3 champions and Nick Romyns, Kieran Gerrity, along with Region 1 qualifiers David Popek, Tom Murphy, Jake Brook, Dylan Wunder and Garrett Armstrong..
South Plainfield back in Newton
The state's No. 1 club will make a return trip to Newton High School for the eighth annual Henry Boresch Duals in early January. Coach Kevin McCann's Tigers are the defending champions, knocking off Raritan, 47-18, for the championship in last year's event.
Newton coach Eric Bollette also received commitments from Hanover Park, Morris Knolls, Boonton and Waldwick/Midland Park. Livingston and Raritan may also complete the eight-team field.
In that event, the Boresch Duals could feature last year's Group 3 (South Plainfield) and Group 2 (Raritan) champs, along with the Group 1 runner-up (Hanover Park).
Livingston features former Belvidere coach Tom Noto, who joined the program as an assistant last year. You can't tell me he wasn't a big reason why Jason Estevez earned a third-place medal at this year's state tournament. Noto can flat out coach and schools that need a solid, young head coach are missing the boat with this guy.
Just my 2 cents
The Region 1 ranking committee needs to understand the process so that the deserving teams don't get shafted in the Coaches' Top 25. How can it let Morris Knolls be ranked ahead of Kittatinny?
No. 22 Morris Knolls lost to West Orange, 36-32, in the North 1 Group 4 final, and really didn't have a signature win this season other than No. 9 Delbarton early in the season. It's a same West Orange team that lost to Phillipsburg, 53-7, in the Group 4 semifinals.
Kittatinny (16-5) beat No. 18 Toms River South, 34-32, at the end of the season -- the same TRS team that defeated Raritan, the Group 2 champ. Additionally, the Cougars had a two-point loss to No. 10 Bound Brook in the Group 1 semifinals, and gave No. 2 P'burg a much better match in a 36-18 loss when you compare the Knolls-West Orange score.
Coach John Gill's team also defeated No. 19 High Point for the District 3 title. Now, the early-season loss to Warren Hills is what kept Kittatinny out of the running for a top 25 bid, since the Blue Streaks were ranked ahead of Kittatinny in Region 1. Hogwash. That was very early in the season with a disqualification loss in the final bout that determined the outcome. Four of the Cougars' five losses were to state-ranked teams, including No. 7 Timber Creek and No. 19 High Point.
Region 6 got it right. Knowing that Delsea would be ranked high in Region 8, the shore folks made sure Raritan, which beat Delsea for the Group 2 title, would be high on its board. The result: Raritan was the No. 14 team and Delsea ranked No. 15 in the final top 25.
See how that works Region 1 reps. And Nutley at No. 24? What good team did it beat this season?
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