Wrestling: New Jersey Writers Association Top 20

Following a strong showing at the 15th annual Henry Boresch Duals on Saturday, North Hunterdon enters the week ranked as the top public school in the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20 poll.

The Lions (6-0), who move up two spots in the rankings to No. 5, beat No. 8 Kingsway, 40-21, in the Boresch Duals title match after scoring a 39-29 victory over No. 12 Paulsboro in the semifinals. The rugged field also included No. 11 Toms River North, which knocked off Paulsboro in the third-place match, and No. 18 South Plainfield, which finished fifth.

In all, there are four teams representing the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area in the latest poll, including No. 6 High Point (1-0), which moves up two spots this week. Coach John Gardner's Wildcats, who opened their dual season with a 48-24 win over Kittatinny last Thursday, will host No. 9 Howell in an independent clash on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Pope John (1-0) and Phillipsburg (2-0) round the out the local contingent at the 10th and 13th spots in the rankings. The Lions and Stateliners, along with High Point, figure to be the main contenders for the team championship on Saturday in the 11th annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

P'burg, which is coming off independent victories over Raritan and Monroe, won its tournament-best sixth team title in 2019.

No. 1 Bergen Catholic, which opened the season with a fourth-place finish at the Beast of the East, ranks seventh nationally, according to InterMat, and hasn’t lost to an NJSIAA opponent since 2012.

With a runner-up and a trio of third-place individual finishers, No. 2 Delbarton placed fourth over the weekend at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in California.

No. 3 St. Joseph-Montvale, which placed 11th at the Beast of the East, also won its second straight Bergen County title, despite competing in that tournament without three of its top wrestlers, who were held out as a precaution.

Wrestling with its full lineup for the first time this season, No. 4 Camden Catholic claimed the team championship over the weekend at the Sam Cali Invitational, where Brandon Mooney (152), Martin Cosgrove (195) and Hunter Suter (220), who garnered Outstanding Wrestler honors, won individual titles.

Hunterdon Central and Jackson Memorial, which entered the season ranked 11th and 20th, respectively, in the NJWWA preseason poll, dropped out of the rankings.

Results of the NJWWA Top 20 poll, which features a dozen voting members, will appear weekly during the season in newspapers and on websites of participating media outlets.

Rank	School	Record	Previous
1	Bergen Catholic	(1-0)	1
2	Delbarton	(1-1)	2
3	St. Joseph-Montvale	(0-0)	3
4	Camden Catholic	(1-0)	4
5	North Hunterdon	(6-0)	7
6	High Point	(1-0)	8
7	Southern	(5-0)	13
8	Kingsway	(4-1)	5
9	Howell	(5-0)	14
10	Pope John	(1-0)	9
11	Toms River North	(6-2)	19
12	Paulsboro	(3-2)	6
13	Phillipsburg	(2-0)	12
14	St. Augustine	(3-0)	10
15	Seton Hall Prep	(2-1)	15
16	St. Peter's Prep	(0-1)	16
17	Brick Memorial	(4-0)	18
18	South Plainfield	(7-2)	17
19	West Essex	(3-0)	NR
20	Paramus Catholic	(0-0)	NR

Others receiving votes: Montville

NJWWA voting members listed in alphabetical order: Donald J. Brower (GardenStateHSWrestling.com); Frank D’Esposito (theshoreconference.com; Steven Falk (Asbury Park Press and APP.com); Sean Farrell (The Record of Hackensack and NorthJersey.com); Jane Havsy (Daily Record and DailyRecord.com); “Screwy” Louie Lazzari (New Jersey wrestling historian); John Lewis (Burlington County Times and phillyburbs.com); Ron Mazzola (NJWWA president and Region V ranking chairman); Tom McGurk (Courier Post of Cherry Hill); Andy Mendlowitz (Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com); Greg Tufaro (Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com); Michael Weilamann (Open Mike).