Wrestling: Clayton, Hawk on point (HWS rankings)

It was championship week in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area as High Point and Newton wrapped up NJAC division titles, while Phillipsburg and North Hunterdon are closing in on Skyland Conference titles.

Clayton with Mickey Thomas, Mark Veltri and Billy Smith

With the regular season winding down in a hurry, we'll have several teams vying for sectional championships starting on Feb. 10. 

High Point (13-5), which recently picked up the program's 800th victory, should be the No. 1 seed in North 1, Group 2. The 'Cats seem to be peaking at the right time and are led by senior Nick Clayton (17-3 at 150) and a group of improved upper weights. Clayton, a state qualifier and 101-33 overall, became the 17th member of the program's 100-wins club on Saturday.

Newton (7-9) wrapped up the NJAC Colonial Division title -- its first conference championship since winning the first Freedom Division crown in 2009-10 after the Sussex County Interscholastic League folded after the previous season. High Point won the last SCIL title in 2008-09.

'Liners leader

Phillipsburg (10-2), which is coming off a tough week and a 40-24 loss to archrival Easton (Pa.) on Saturday at the 25th Street Gym, looks to celebrate one of its own as senior Gavin Hawk (21-1 at 157) enters Monday's match against Warren Hills needing one win to become the storied program's all-time wins leader.

Hawk, who is 131-20 overall with 83 pins, matched fellow state runner-up Brian Meyer (131-35 from 2014-18) atop the victories board with a 4-1 decision in sudden-victory overtime against Easton star Justin Cosover.

P'burg also saw its five-match win streak in the series end as Easton (which enjoyed its largest margin of victory since a 39-15 triumph in 2012) prevailed for the first time since a 28-26 win on Jan. 20, 2018. The Red Rovers, who also scored their most team points since a 44-6 victory at The Pit in 2011, now own a 65-22 edge vs. the 'Liners since 1947.

Easton also gave coach Jody Karam (1-4 in the series), now in his fifth and final season, his first win over P'burg since guiding Delaware Valley to a 28-24 victory on Jan. 28, 1993. Karam is 2-8 overall against the 'Liners, including Del Val (1-2 in three seasons) and Liberty (Pa.), where he was 0-2 in the first two of 26 seasons with the Hurricanes from 1993-2019.

Now, onto this week's team rankings:

P'burg is 61-15 all-time vs. Warren Hills

1. Phillipsburg (10-2) -- Stateliners, ranked No. 11 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Top 20, opened last week with a 44-25 loss to No. 10 Rumson-Fair Haven before bouncing back with a 59-12 win over Bridgewater-Raritan. Coach Tim Longacre's team, which closed with a 40-24 loss to archrival Easton (Pa.) on Saturday, can secure the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with a win at Hunterdon Central on Friday.

Up next: Warren Hills at home on Monday; at North Hunterdon on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central on Friday.

2. Delaware Valley (11-3) -- Terriers, with a new-look lineup as Tristan Fawthrop (10-9) dropped to 106 and Julian Bednar (12-4) entered at 120, posted wins over Watchung Hills (47-21 on Tuesday) and Ridge (35-25 on Wednesday) before a 34-29 loss to No. 20 Cranford on Friday. Senior ace Jaden Perez (22-1 at 126) suffered his first loss -- 3-2 to Watchung Hills' fifth-place state medalist Anthony DiAndrea (his 100th career victory). Perez (107-19 overall) moved past Gage Crater (106-40 from 2016-20) for 12th place on his school's wins list.

Up next: at Pompton Lakes on Tuesday; Warren Hills at home on Saturday.

3. North Hunterdon (9-6) -- Lions routed Hunterdon Central (75-5 on Wednesday) and slipped past Bridgewater-Raritan (36-30 on Friday) before a 62-12 loss at Blair Academy on Saturday as North received two forfeit wins in that one. Coach Dave Bell's team can secure the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a win over Ridge on Friday. Seniors 

Joseph Celentano (12-10 at 120) and Evan Kinney (21-2 at 175) logged their 62nd and 60th career wins, respectively, last week. Freshman
Dajinder Dhillon (1-3 at 215-285) earned the Richard P. Boehmer Outstanding Wrestler Award, which is presented annually in the match against Hunterdon Central. He was joined center mat by North state champs Ricky Frondorf (2002-03), Mike Van Doren (1988), Logan Wadle (2023) and Dave Gaunt (1970-71).

Up next: Phillipsburg at home on Wednesday; Ridge at home on Friday; at Voorhees on Saturday.

HP has won 13 NJAC titles since the SCIL ended in 2009

4. High Point (13-5) -- Wildcats secured their first NJAC Freedom Division title since 2022-23 -- the program's 28th conference or league championship overall -- with a 64-11 thumping of Jefferson on Tuesday. Coach Billy Smith's team went 2-1 at the Pine Barren Duals on Saturday with wins over Peddie (74-3) and Red Bank Catholic (45-22) and a loss to No. 2 St. Peter's Prep (42-31). Smith is one shy of joining Jan Michaels (14-7 in 1993-94) as the only 'Cats coaches to win 14 duals in their first seasons at the helm.

Up next: at West Morris on Wednesday; Newton at home on Thursday.

5. Pope John (8-5) -- Lions are coming off a light week with only one dual meet -- a 34-27 loss at No. 12 Mount Olive, which won the Morris County Tournament team championship on Saturday. Coach Mark Piotrowsky's team, which doesn't have anything on the schedule as of yet this week, was down 31-3 midway through before winning six of the last seven bouts vs. Mount Olive.

Up next: at Governor Livingston on Feb. 5.

Warren Hills is 57-10 all-time vs. Hackettstown

6. Warren Hills (9-7) -- Blue Streaks bounced back from a 52-24 loss to Immaculata with a 61-17 waxing of Voorhees in the 52nd meeting of that series on Friday. Sophomore Aidan Webb (19-7 at 132) led the charge with his second victory over Christian Bollette this season -- a technical fall to go with an 8-5 decision in their fifth-place match at the HWS Tournament. Voorhees still owns a 31-21 edge in the series dating to 1976, but Hills has won eight of the last 12 meetings since 2016.

Up next: at Phillipsburg on Monday; at Hackettstown on Friday; at Delaware Valley on Saturday.

7. Kittatinny (9-8) -- Cougars rolled to a 46-25 win over Hopatcong-Lenape Valley on Tuesday and won their sixth straight meeting with Newton (57-11 on Thursday) before going 1-2 in a Saturday quad. Coach John Gill's team picked up the program's 697th win (55-23 over host Livingston), but dropped decisions to Old Tappan (48-27) and Watchung Hills (44-24). Senior ace Ethan Dalling (25-2 at 175), who's 120-23 overall, moved past former state runner-up Mike Weber (119-19 from 1998-2002) for 11th on the school's wins list. 

Up next: at Ridge on Wednesday.

8. Hackettstown (10-5) -- Tigers rebounded from a 44-36 loss to Morristown on Tuesday with a 42-30 win over Somerville in independent action on Alumni Night. Senior Zachary Calhoun (15-9 at 190) picked up his 50th career win, while sophomore Steven Vidal (20-4 at 106-113) logged his team-leading 20th victory.

Up next: Newton at home on Monday; Belvidere at home on Thursday; Warren Hills at home on Friday.  

9. Sparta (4-13) -- Spartans endured a tough 0-4 week, capped by losses to Ramapo (56-18) and Westwood (41-33) on Saturday. Senior star Logan Hrenenko (23-5 at 138-144), who is 108-40 overall. is one win shy of surpassing Chris DeBlock (108-23 from 1999-2003) for eighth on the school's career wins list. On Wednesday, Sparta will seek back-to-back wins in the series with Newton (35-14-1 overall lead) since winning four straight from 2014-17.

Up next: Morris Knolls at home on Monday; at Newton on Wednesday.

Washleski is 92-12 overall

10. Hunterdon Central (2-12) -- Red Devils went 0-2 in Skyland Conference matchups last week with losses to North Hunterdon (75-5 on Wednesday) and Hillsborough (58-15 on Saturday). Junior standout Rhett Washleski (22-2 at 150) is sitting on 92 career wins.

Up next: Watchung Hills at home on Wednesday; Phillipsburg at home on Friday.

On the bubble

Hopatcong-Lenape Valley (5-7) -- Patriots scored a 60-23 win over North Warren on Friday as senior Gage Graziano (20-3 at 144) improved to 95-30 overall as he looks to become the 17th member of the program's 100-wins club and first since Daniel Haws (109-27 from 2018-22).

Up next: at Wallkill Valley on Monday; Morris Hills at home on Friday; Hopewell Valley, Morris Knolls at Wayne Valley on Saturday.