Gardner gets 300; Newton set for Jack Welch Duals

John Gardner joined some elite company on Wednesday night, and as expected, was rather subdued about hitting another coaching milestone. The main thing for the longtime High Point coach is that his team earned an important divisional win.

After collecting victory No. 299 on Tuesday night -- 48-23 over Hasbrouck Heights in an independent matchup in Wantage -- Gardner joined the 300-win club as High Point earned a 38-30 victory over Jefferson in an NJAC Freedom Division clash in Jefferson Township.

T-shirt commemorating John Gardner's 300th win. (HP Wrestling)

"It was cool. It was nice," said Gardner after his team's victory on Wednesday night during a phone conversation.

Gardner now stands at 300-89-2 in 18 seasons at his alma mater, where he won a state title in 1990 at 189 pounds before going on to wrestle at Clemson University. He's also one of just four wrestlers to win four Region 1 titles (known as Region 4 when he competed from 1987-90).

Only Kittatinny's John Gill (523 and counting), Hunterdon Central's Russ Riegel (469) and Steve Gibble (348), Rick Thompson (345 wins with Mountain High, Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, Voorhees and Franklin) and Voorhees' Bob Hall (332) have amassed more coaching wins than Gardner in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.

More importantly, the 'Cats (8-3, 2-0 division) can claim their first Freedom Division title outright with a victory at Hackettstown on Monday. Lenape Valley, which dropped a 28-27 decision to High Point on Jan. 6, is 2-1 in the four-school division. Jefferson dropped to 11-4, 1-2.

Gardner, who surpassed his former coach Jeff Hull (288-104-4 in 27 seasons) last season for most wins at High Point, scored his 200th win against Vernon -- 64-12 at home on Jan, 21, 2010 -- nearly six years ago to the day he got No. 300.

HIGH POINT 38, JEFFERSON 30

182 -- Jr. Jakob Jakova (10-2), J, p. Sr. Kurt Rosner (0-1), 1:22.
195 -- Sr. Kevin Lewis (14-7), HP, p. Jr. Victor Schiavao (2-7), 5:24.
220 -- Jr. Cliff Rutter (9-11), HP, p. Jr. Cole Benfatti (12-8), 4:14.
285 -- Sr. Avery Sheruda (17-3), J, p. So. Thomas Hubmaster (3-8), :57.
106 -- Fr. Devin Flannery (14-6), HP, d. Fr. Mason Godfrey (17-3), 9-6.
113 -- So. Maverick Liebl (8-5), HP, d. Fr. Ryan Richards (10-10), 3-1.
120 -- Sr. Justin Liebl (14-7), HP, d. Fr. Mike Jack (6-9), 4-2.
126 -- Sr. Chris Shrieks (15-6), J, d. So. Trey Osborn (7-11), 2-0 SV.
132 -- Jr. Mark Bohn (15-1), J, p. Jr. Derek Sarapuchiello (2-3), 1:15.
138 -- So. Shane Kobis (15-7), HP, p. Fr. Ryan Tripodi (7-9), 3:47.
145 -- Sr. Jared Kobis (14-0), HP, tf. Fr. Robert Ferucci (9-8), 16-1, 5:01.
152 -- So. Shane Connolly (17-5), J, d. Jr. Aric Wingle (9-3), 6-1.
160 -- So. Rob Turro (11-6), HP, p. Sr. Daun White (6-11), 5:57.
170 -- Fr. Justin Randzio (6-9), J, p. Sr. Liam Gorman (11-8), 3:46.
Records -- High Point 8-3, 2-0; Jefferson 11-4, 1-2.

Braves withdraw from Jack Welch

With the impending forecast of a blizzard in some parts of New Jersey starting Friday night, Newton cancelled its plans to attend the Jack Welch Duals at Moorestown High School this weekend.

Newton (5-8), was slated to be the only local team in the tournament, drawing the No. 14 seed, but the Braves had to withdraw due to weather concerns on Friday morning. Coach Eric Bollette's teams had finished second twice in eight previous appearances at the duals.

Christian Brothers Academy, ranked No. 13 by the NJ Wrestling Writers Association, was the No. 1 seed, but the Shore Conference school withdrew from the event on Thursday night. Long Branch, another Shore team, moved up to the top seed, while Williamstown replaced CBA in the field.

Pairings and seeds for Friday's opening round (updated Thursday night):

Pool 1

1-Long Branch vs. 16-Riverside
8-Buena vs. 9-Cherokee

Pool 2

5-Bound Brook vs. 12-Delran
4-Egg Harbor Township vs. 13-Haddon Township

Pool 3

3-St. Peter's Prep vs. 14-Newton
6-Northern Burlington vs. 11-Holy Cross

Pool 4

7-Open vs. 10-Moorestown
2-Collingswood vs. 15-Williamstown