Wrestling: Paulsboro joins rugged Boresch Duals

State wrestling powers just seem to keep finding their way to Newton High School.

Paulsboro, the reigning Group 1 champion and longtime South Jersey powerhouse, will join a stellar field for the 13th annual Henry Boresch Duals to be held on Jan. 6, 2018.

"We are very excited about the 2018 field," said Newton coach Eric Bollette, who has guided the Sussex County program for the past 16 seasons and a runner-up finish in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division in 2016-17.

"Since we started this tournament, we have set out to bring in a field that covers all areas of New Jersey. With the addition of Paulsboro and Northern Highlands, we now have teams from Bergen County to Salem and Burlington counties. We look forward to an exciting day of wrestling."

South Plainfield, last season's Group 3 champion, has been a regular in this event -- winning four of the last six championships, including back-to-back titles in 2016 and '17, and finishing second in '15.

Also returning is Hanover Park, the Group 2 runner-up, which dropped a 43-23 decision to South Plainfield in last season's Boresch Duals title match. Coach James LaValle's Hornets won their only championship in this event in 2014.

Caldwell, Morris Hills, Northern Burlington, Northern Highlands return to round out the eight-team field.

South Plainfield (30-1), which returns state placewinners Joe Heilmann (third at 120 pounds) and Zach DelVecchio (fourth at 220), finished as the highest-ranked public school at No. 3 in the final New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 25 poll. Paulsboro (23-0) was No. 9, followed by No. 10 Hanover Park (17-5), which features 126-pound state champion Nick Raimo.

Paulsboro, which will return nine starters and celebrate its 75th season in 2017-18, is a nice get by Bollette for this event. The Red Raiders, who have gone 656-42-4 in 31 seasons under coach Paul Morina and 1,133-88-12 overall, rarely venture to Northwest Jersey, and have not done so since their series with Phillipsburg ended in 2014 -- a 38-21 loss at The Pit.

"We are extremely excited to have perennial Top 10 teams," Bollette said. "Add in Caldwell and Northern Burlington, which have been consistent winners and teams that are on the cusp of the [NJWWA Top 25], and we have a very competitive field with some great potential team and individual matchups."

Newton has won its event four times -- 2007-10 -- and most recently made the championship match in 2011, a 41-24 loss to Raritan.

Memory lane of champions

2006 -- Don Bosco 50, Haddonfield 24

2007 -- Newton 54, Pequannock 9

2008 -- Newton 36, Haddonfield 31

2009 -- Newton 43, Haddonfield 18

2010 -- Newton 34, Don Bosco 32

2011 -- Raritan 41, Newton 24

2012 -- South Plainfield 47, Raritan 18

2013 -- South Plainfield 62, Raritan 8

2014 -- Hanover Park 35, Raritan 29

2015 -- Howell 40, South Plainfield 15

2016 -- South Plainfield 45, Howell 20

2017 -- South Plainfield 43, Hanover Park 23