Wrestling: 'Liners peaking?; Power points, notes

What a difference a week -- or nearly two -- can make for a wrestling team which at one point saw its season seemingly on the brink.

Phillipsburg, coming off one of its worst losses in over a quarter century, has righted the ship in a big way, as evidenced by a complete dismantling of archrival Easton on Tuesday night, when the Stateliners won 12 of 14 bouts in a 51-9 win -- their largest margin of victory in a series that began in 1948.

James Day (22-2 at 126 pounds), who is three wins shy of 100, was among six senior winners against the Red Rovers.

High Point and North Hunterdon won state titles in 2020.

"This group of seniors are 3-0, with a season off, and scored 40, 42 and 51 points against Easton," first-year head coach Brad Gentzle told Mike Moore of Stateliner Sports during the postmatch interview. "It's a credit to this group of seniors who have really been through it all going back to freshman year. Going through junior year, COVID year, and everything we dealt with in the offseason, all the adversity we faced. They just continue to work and it's all about them."

P'burg (9-1), which won just three bouts in a 35-15 loss to Warren Hills on Jan. 14, has reeled off five straight wins since, including an impressive 44-14 victory over North Hunterdon on Jan. 19. That run also includes wins over Livingston (37-22), Kittatinny (57-6) and Belvidere (76-3). 

But the lopsided win over Easton is the biggest story for a rabid and loyal fan base which has had to endure many nights on the other end in this rivalry. The Red Rovers, now at their lowest point in the series since the early 1960s, hold a 62-20 edge overall, but have dropped three straight for the first time since a nine-match skid from 1963-71. The 'Liners have won four of the last five and six of eight, and their 51 points in the latest matchup is a series high, while the 42-point spread is the most since a 34-8 win in 1970. Keep in mind that there were only 12 weight classes from 1959-86.

P'burg outscored Easton, 133-53 in the last 3 meetings.

With sectionals rapidly approaching, Phillipsburg, ranked No. 13 in the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, seems to be peaking at the right time. Credit Gentzle and his staff as that loss to Warren Hills, which did not sit well with the program and the community, could have quickly swung the season in an entirely different direction.

"We've got more ahead for sure," Gentzle said. "This is goal No. 1. We want to beat Easton and we want to be Group [5] state champions. That's where we turn our attention now, preparing for a really tough Southern team this weekend, who we very well could see again. Couple matches next week with Del Val and Hillsborough and Bound Brook to kind of get us ready for sectional week the following week."

P'burg is currently the No. 1 seed in North 2, Group 5, though it could be in jeopardy of not reaching the 10-match minimum (the NJSIAA on Friday extended the cutoff to Sunday). Wednesday's 76-0 win over Montgomery was nine (Easton is out of state and doesn't count) and Southern on Saturday is 10, but the forecast is showing the potential for heavy snow in the south. Belvidere was a late addition to the schedule a week ago.

The sectional tournaments begin with two rounds on Monday, Feb. 7. On opening night, 1 wrestles 8 and 5 faces 4 (3 vs. 6 and 7 vs. 2 at the other site) with the winners meeting in the semifinals under the new format. The sectional finals will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 9, and the Group semis on Friday, Feb. 11. The Group championships in the five public and Non-Public A and B brackets are set for Sunday, Feb. 13 at Franklin High School. 

"It will be a different setup this year than all of us are used to in the past," Gentzle said. "But everything's been different so I'm all for it. Let's see how it goes."

Group 5 is by far the most difficult on the public side. Livingston is expected to come out of North 1, while Howell and Hunterdon Central are the favorites in Central Jersey. Southern, which owns an 8-6 lead in the all-time series (including five postseason meetings) with P'burg, and Kingsway are on a collision course for the title match in South Jersey.

Lion pride

North celebrates its sectional title in 2020.

North Hunterdon (12-4) started its week off in fine fashion with a 40-20 waxing of Delaware Valley on Tuesday. The Lions, who were coming off a third-place showing at the North Warren Patriot Duals, are seeking the program's 16th sectional title after winning the North 2, Group 4 and Group 4 championships in 2020.

Junior Jack Van Doren (11-11 at 120-126) was the North Hunterdon recipient of the Dan Hutchins Outstanding Wrestler Award. Hutchins, a former state placewinner for Del Val was tragically killed in an automobile accident on Father's Day in 2002. The Del Val gym was named in his honor in 2013. It was great to see his father, Don, and brother, Phil, a Terriers assistant coach, present the awards. Don Hutchins still does a tremendous amount of charity work in Dan's memory.

Congratulations to Jack Van Doren (Jr.) for winning this year’s Dan Hutchins Outstanding Wrestler Award. @NHHS_Lions @NorthJungle @NHHSBoosterClub @bradwsports @PatLanniHS @ZedalisJoseph @Mike_Weilamann @GardenStateHSW @DVRWrestling @delphinewspaper pic.twitter.com/8iLFw1ratI

— North Hunterdon HS Wrestling (@NorthHuntHSWres) January 26, 2022

Coach Chris Hrunka's team is certainly battle tested having competed at the Sam Cali Tournament in December, along with the Boresch Duals and Patriot Duals, which have become two of the toughest events on the New Jersey schedule. That showed against Del Val (11-3), which is eyeing a run at the Group 1 title.

North, which is sitting on 793 wins as a program, will be the top seed and overwhelming favorite in North 2, Group 4, while Mount Olive (North 1), Middletown South (Central) and Brick Memorial (Central) are the other state title contenders.

Sussex scene

Kittatinny needed a get-right match and coach John Gill's team got one with a thrilling 39-36 win over Newton for its third straight victory in that crosstown rivalry on Tuesday at Henry Boresch Memorial Gym. The Cougars (12-2), who saw their 11-match win streak to open the season snapped in a 43-21 loss to nemesis High Point on Jan. 19, were overwhelmed two nights later at home in a 57-6 defeat against Phillipsburg --its worst loss in the 27-year history of that series since a 59-6 setback in 2015.

Against Newton, sophomore Bryce Coesfeld delivered a key 3-1 decision over Takeo Sibblies at 150, while sophomore Tucker Lockburner essentially dashed the Braves' upset hopes with a pin at 175.

Kittatinny is now 34-17 all-time vs. Newton.

"They match up really well with us. Where they're strong we're not so strong. It was a wonderful match, a great high school match to watch," said Gill, now 34-12 all-time against Newton. "I'm certainly happy after the pounding we took last week, we needed something like this."

Newton (6-6), which has improved tremendously since the start of the season, a credit to head coach Eric Bollette and outstanding assistants Andy Iliff and Teddy Sibblies, won seven bouts (including five pins) and had Kittatinny on the ropes. Bollette is now 6-18 against his alma mater and former coach as his 2009 and '10 North 1, Group 1 sectional title teams won four in a row, snapping the program's 22-match skid from 1990-2008. The Braves could be a tough out in North 1, Group 2, with High Point sitting as the sectional favorite.

Kittatinny, which scored a 30-29 win over Delaware Valley on Jan. 15, knows it will have to tighten things up in the quest to secure the program's 23rd sectional title and fourth since 2016. 

"We've just got to toughen up in a couple spots. Not all of our holes should be pins," said Gill, whose team will be the top seed in North 1, Group 1. "[Opponents] shouldn't be getting all these sixes. We have to work on that. We don't have a lot of time."

Here are the final set of power points before Saturday's cutoff (records are through Jan. 22):

Group 5

North 1

Livingston (9-2, 30.60); Passaic Tech (9-4, 26.60); Morristown (9-4, 26.00); Clifton (5-8, 25.20); North Bergen (5-1, 24.17); West Orange (1-4, 23.20); Bloomfield (3-9, 22.20); East Orange (1-4, 20.20); Paterson Kennedy (2-3, 18.00); Columbia (2-6, 17.50); Montclair (2-6, 16.50); Paterson Eastside (0-4, 15.25); Passaic (0-6, 13.33); Union City (0-3, 10.33)

North 2

P'burg leads HWS with 38 sectional titles. 

Phillipsburg (7-1, 32.00); Westfield (10-5, 27.20); Franklin (8-4, 26.10); Watchung Hills (7-6, 26.00); Newark East Side (7-1, 24.50); J.P. Stevens (6-7, 23.90); Bridgewater-Raritan (4-4, 22.38); Bayonne (4-6, 21.40); Plainfield (3-4, 18.86); Elizabeth (2-6, 18.75); Perth Amboy (3-6, 18.33); Summit-Chatham (3-4, 18.29); Piscataway (3-11, 17.80); Union (1-12, 15.50)

Central Jersey

Howell (13-3, 33.50); Old Bridge (10-6, 28.50); Hunterdon Central (9-3, 28.10); Rancocas Valley (13-3, 27.10); Freehold Township (9-6, 26.20); Monroe Township (12-2, 26.20); Hillsborough (4-8, 26.10); Marlboro (5-9, 24.80); Edison (5-6, 21.60); South Brunswick (5-5, 21.10); North Brunswick (5-4, 20.33); East Brunswick (2-11, 15.70); New Brunswick (2-10, 15.60); Trenton Central (2-8, 14.90)

South Jersey

Southern (10-0, 32.20); Kingsway (6-1, 29.43); Cherokee (12-5, 26.50); Williamstown (10-3, 26.30); Washington Township (10-5, 26.20); Lenape (7-3, 24.40); Egg Harbor (5-14, 24.20); Highland-Triton (6-8, 23.80); Toms River North (5-11, 22.70); Cherry Hill East (6-7, 21.60); Eastern (3-6, 20.33); Vineland (3-7, 15.30); Atlantic City (0-6, 11.00)

Group 4

North 1

Mount Olive (11-1, 34.00); Morris Knolls (11-4, 27.60); Ridgewood (9-3, 27.20); Northern Highlands (6-6, 26.70); Bogota-Ridgefield Park (10-1, 26.00); Randolph (6-9, 25.50); Fair Lawn (6-8, 24.30); Lyndhurst-North Arlington (4-4, 23.38); Ramapo (4-9, 22.00); Belleville (5-7, 21.80); Cliffside Park (4-6, 20.20); Vernon-Wallkill Valley (2-11, 19.90); Hackensack (2-7, 18.89); Leonia-Palisades Park (0-6, 12.33)

North 2

North Hunterdon (11-4, 31.80); Woodbridge (10-4, 26.70); Irvington (7-1, 26.25); Sayreville (10-6, 26.20); Kearny (7-1, 25.38); Scotch Plains-Fanwood (8-2, 25.00); Iselin Kennedy (8-5, 24.80); Ridge (5-6, 24.20); Colonia (5-8, 23.50); Montgomery (5-6, 22.70); Middletown North (3-7, 22.10); Millburn (3-5, 20.88); Linden (3-4, 19.29); Barringer (0-4, 17.50)

Central Jersey

Middletown South (8-3, 30.30); Brick Memorial (12-2, 29.50); Jackson Memorial (11-4, 29.40); Freehold Boro (8-4, 27.60); Long Branch (7-7, 26.10); Manalapan (8-9, 26.00); Princeton (9-2, 25.90); Colts Neck (6-9, 25.30); Hightstown (7-5, 23.10); Red Bank Regional (6-6, 22.20); Bordentown-Florence (2-5, 20.71); Steinert (3-8, 17.00); West Windsor North (0-11, 13.90); West Windsor South (0-13, 11.50)

South Jersey

Shawnee (13-1, 28.00); Northern Burlington (13-2, 27.10); Moorestown (10-7, 26.80); Pennsauken (8-9, 25.90: Hammonton (9-4, 25.80); Toms River East (8-7, 25.00); Toms River South (7-7, 24.90); Central Regional (7-10, 24.50); Clearview (3-4, 23.33); Schalick-Cumberland (5-10, 23.30); Cherry Hill West (10-7, 20.70); Millville (3-3, 20.20); Lakewood (1-9, 17.00)

Group 3

North 1

Montville (6-3, 27.89); Morris Hills (13-4, 27.20); Old Tappan (9-1, 26.80); Pascack Valley (10-4, 26.60); Paramus (9-3, 26.10); Wayne Hills (6-6, 25.20); Garfield (6-3, 24.67); Wayne Valley (5-8, 22.50); Tenafly (5-5, 19.60); Sparta (2-10, 19.20); Dover (3-9, 17.60); Bergenfield (3-9, 17.60); Teaneck (2-10, 17.10); Dwight Morrow (0-3, 10.67)

North 2

Warren Hills (9-3, 31.70); West Essex (9-5, 31.30); Cranford (11-4, 28.60); Mendham (9-4, 27.40); West Morris (6-11, 27.00); Roxbury (6-6, 25.50); Parsippany Hills (8-8, 24.50); Rahway (3-4, 23.43); Newark Collegiate (0-2, 18.50); Brearley-Dayton (2-5, 18.14); North Plainfield (2-5, 17.86); Orange (2-2, 17.50); Fort Lee (2-8, 15.20); Nutley (0-10, 12.80)

Central Jersey

South Plainfield (7-2, 31.22); Robbinsville (13-2, 27.10); Wall (10-6, 26.70); Hopewell Valley (10-1, 26.60); Ocean Township (9-3, 26.10); Lawrence (9-4, 25.90); Brick Township (8-7, 24.80); Matawan (7-8, 24.60); Somerville (4-8, 24.50); Ewing (5-2, 23.71); Jackson Liberty (5-4, 23.11); Hamilton West (7-3, 22.50); Neptune (1-17, 15.90); Allentown (2-9, 15.20)

South Jersey

Delsea (12-3, 31.90); Lacey Township (14-3, 30.90); Seneca (10-5, 26.20); Absegami (8-7, 26.10); Mainland (8-5, 25.30); Gateway-Woodbury (6-7, 24.70); Pemberton (8-6, 24.40); Ocean City (4-9, 22.80); Westampton Tech (6-4, 22.80); Pinelands (3-10, 20.90); Burlington Township (2-11, 19.80; Timber Creek (4-5, 19.44); Winslow Township-Edgewood (0-13, 13.80)

Group 2

North 1

High Point state champs John Gardner, Brian Soldano and Billy Smith.

High Point (5-4, 28.56); Jefferson (14-1, 28.20); River Dell (11-5, 27.80); Newton (6-5, 26.40); Pascack Hills (8-2, 26.00); Westwood (8-7, 25.50); Ramsey (6-7, 24.80); Indian Hills (8-4, 24.60); Demarest (8-2, 24.40); Lakeland (4-6, 23.56); Dumont (5-5, 22.70); West Milford (4-8, 21.80); Manchester Regional (3-3, 20.83); Mahwah (2-10, 16.60)

North 2

Hanover Park (9-4, 27.20); Governor Livingston (7-2, 26.89); Madison (8-4, 26.00); Caldwell (8-4, 26.00); Voorhees (8-4, 25.90); Passaic Valley (7-5, 24.80); Rutherford (6-3, 24.11); Hackettstown (3-10, 23.70); Bernards (5-4, 22.89); Elmwood Park (4-12, 21.20); Becton-Wood-Ridge (4-5, 20.22); Lodi (3-8, 19.20); Parsippany (2-7, 18.78)

Central Jersey

Raritan (13-4, 31.50); Rumson-Fair Haven (6-5, 26.70); Point Pleasant Boro (11-1, 26.70); Middlesex-Dunellen (9-6, 25.40); Manasquan (9-3, 25.30); Delran (8-5, 25.20); Cinnaminson (4-10, 24.80); Holmdel (7-8, 24.80); Monmouth (5-7, 21.70); Metuchen (4-5, 21.44); Manchester Township (3-8, 19.80); Nottingham (4-7, 17.30); South River (1-7, 14.75); Carteret (0-8, 13.25)

South Jersey

Collingswood (13-1, 27.00); Lower Cape May (11-3, 26.60); Haddonfield (11-6, 26.30); West Deptford (8-6, 26.20); Haddon Heights (6-7, 25.10); Middle Township (7-4, 23.00); Sterling (5-10, 22.60); Clayton-Glassboro (4-6, 21.40); Oakcrest (3-6, 20.56); Deptford (2-5, 18.29); Barnegat (2-8, 17.80); Cedar Creek (2-7, 15.78)

Group 1

North 1

Kittatinny (11-2, 28.90); Butler (15-3, 27.00); Pompton Lakes (10-1, 26.00); Cresskill (10-5, 25.90); Emerson-Park Ridge (7-3, 24.80); New Milford (6-8, 24.80); Pequannock (5-10, 24.20); Lenape Valley (5-4, 23.89); Hawthorne (6-4, 23.70); Glen Rock (2-4, 21.67); North Warren (1-10, 19.10); Kinnelon (0-17, 19.00); Hopatcong (0-11, 14.60); Waldwick-Midland Park (0-10, 13.50); Saddle Brook (1-7, 13.38)

North 2

Roselle Park (7-2, 26.00); Hasbrouck Heights (8-5, 25.70); Mountain Lakes (7-5, 24.80); Johnson (5-10, 23.80); Verona (6-5, 23.10); Whippany Park (3-10, 22.30); Secaucus (4-8, 21.10); Boonton (3-8, 20.80); Glen Ridge (3-3, 20.67); Cedar Grove (4-9, 19.70); Hoboken (2-3, 16.80); Belvidere (1-7, 16.29); New Providence (0-11, 14.60); Weehawken (0-4, 12.00)

Central Jersey

Delaware Valley (11-2, 30.20); Manville (10-0, 26.30); Shore Regional (11-5, 26.00); Point Pleasant Beach (9-6, 25.80); Keansburg (6-8, 23.00); Bound Brook (3-10, 22.50); Spotswood (6-9, 22.00); Asbury Park (4-5, 21.00); New Egypt (4-5, 19.67); Highland Park (3-9, 17.10); Willingboro (2-13, 15.60); Keyport-Hudson (1-7, 14.00); Burlington City (0-5, 13.20); Riverside (0-10, 11.90)

South Jersey

Paulsboro (10-0, 27.10); Gloucester City (10-6, 26.70); Audubon (12-3, 26.60); Woodstown (7-3, 24.40); Pennsville (6-6, 23.80); Palmyra (6-7, 23.70); Haddon Township (6-7, 22.70); Pitman (8-7, 22.30); Buena (4-9, 21.40); Lindenwold (3-8, 16.10); Penns Grove (1-9, 15.30); Overbrook (1-9, 15.30); Maple Shade (1-8, 13.33); Salem (0-6, 10.33)  

Non-Public

North A

St. Peter's Prep (5-0, 33.40); Bergen Catholic (4-1, 32.75); St. Joseph-Montvale (5-0, 32.40); Delbarton (9-0, 32.33); Seton Hall Prep (8-2, 29.00); Paramus Catholic (6-1, 29.00); Don Bosco Prep (4-3, 25.57)

North B

Pope John (4-3, 28.86); St. Thomas Aquinas (12-4, 27.50); Pingry (7-1, 24.25); DePaul (4-6, 21.10); Newark Academy (2-4, 21.00)

South A

St. John Vianney (9-2, 30.80); Christian Brothers Academy (9-2, 29.60); St. Joseph-Metuchen (12-3, 27.90); Camden Catholic (6-1, 26.57); St. Augustine (4-2, 26.33); Paul VI-Haddonfield (4-10, 22.20); Notre Dame (6-13, 21.40)

South B

Red Bank Catholic (10-2, 26.50); Holy Spirit (6-4, 23.90); Donovan Catholic (5-8, 23.30); St. Joseph-Hammonton (3-12, 17.50); Holy Cross (1-12, 16.40); Rutgers Prep (1-10, 15.20); St. Rose (0-12, 14.10)