Phillipsburg (16-1), which won the Group 4 title on Sunday, is the highest ranked among the locals as the Stateliners finished in the No. 4 spot. Coach Dave Post's team also claimed the programs' 36th sectional title and won the Skyland Conference Raritan Division championship.
In all, the 'Liners went 7-1 against teams ranked in the final Top 20 -- with wins over Hunterdon Central, Delaware Valley, Hanover Park, Raritan, Middletown North, Mendham and Kittatinny. Their lone loss was 36-32 to Cranford on Jan. 7."We pretty much ran the gambit of Top 20 teams," P'burg coach Dave Post said on Sunday after a 35-24 victory over Mendham at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River secured the storied program's 21st state title and its fourth in a row.
Pope John (16-2), which won the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament team championship, is No. 6, while Hunterdon Central (24-3) is next at No. 7. The Red Devils, who set a school record for wins, were the Group 5 runners-up and won the Central Jersey, Group 5 sectional title.
Delaware Valley (23-3) checks in at No. 8 after winning its eighth Group 2 title and first since 1999, with a 30-28 victory over No. 10 Hanover Park. The Terriers' losses were to Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central and No. 3 South Plainfield, which is the top-ranked public school.
Rounding out the locals in the poll is Kittatinny, which entered the poll for the first time all season at No. 20.
The Cougars (19-5), who won the North 1, Group 1 sectional title, dropped a 44-16 decision to No. 9 Paulsboro in the Group 1 final. Coach John Gill's team was 0-5 against ranked teams -- losing to four state champions, including Howell, Hunterdon Central, Phillipsburg and Delaware Valley, this season.
North Hunterdon (17-6), which finished sixth in the Open Mike area rankings, just missed making the final poll, receiving seven votes. Coach Tim Flynn's Lions, who entered at No. 19 a week ago, were knocked out in the North 2, Group 4 semifinals with a 53-17 loss to No. 15 Middletown North.
Rank
|
School
|
Record
|
Votes
|
Previous
|
1
|
Bergen Catholic (13)
|
(14-4)
|
260
|
1
|
2
|
Delbarton
|
(16-3)
|
247
|
2
|
3
|
South Plainfield
|
(30-1)
|
234
|
3
|
4
|
Phillipsburg
|
(16-1)
|
221
|
5
|
5
|
Howell
|
(30-1)
|
202
|
8
|
6
|
Pope John
|
(16-2)
|
194
|
6
|
7
|
Hunterdon Central
|
(24-3)
|
182
|
7
|
8
|
Delaware Valley
|
(23-3)
|
165
|
11
|
9
|
Paulsboro
|
(23-0)
|
156
|
10
|
10
|
Hanover Park
|
(17-5)
|
142
|
9
|
11
|
Delsea
|
(24-5)
|
134
|
13
|
12
|
Cranford
|
(20-1)
|
120
|
4
|
13
|
Monroe Township
|
(18-2)
|
88
|
16
|
14
|
Raritan
|
(26-3)
|
85
|
14
|
15
|
Middletown North
|
(26-4)
|
67
|
17
|
16
|
Mendham
|
(22-4)
|
61
|
18
|
17
|
Seton Hall Prep
|
(25-2)
|
56
|
15
|
18
|
DePaul
|
(12-4)
|
49
|
20
|
19
|
Egg Harbor Twp.
|
(21-3)
|
35
|
NR
|
20
|
Kittatinny
|
(19-5)
|
15
|
NR
|
Others receving votes: North Hunterdon (17-6) 7; Don Bosco Prep (9-8) 6; St. Augustine Prep (18-8) 4.
NJWWA voting members (in alphabetical order): Donald J. Brower (MorrisCountyHSWrestling.com); Frank D'Esposito (TheShoreConference.com); Steve Falk (Asbury Park Press and app.com); Josh Friedman (Courier Post of Cherry Hill, Daily Journal of Vineland); Screwy Louie Lazzari (New Jersey historian); John Lewis (Burlington County Times); Ron Mazzola (NJWWA president, Region 5 ranking chairman); Tom McGurk (Courier Post of Cherry Hill); Anthony Spaulding (New Jersey Herald); Mark Trible (Courier Post of Cherry Hill); Greg Tufaro (Home News Tribune of East Brunswick); Mike Weilamann (Open Mike); Brad Wilson (Express-Times).
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