That's why it was so refreshing to be at a packed house -- many sitting on the floor at Henry Boresch Memorial Gym -- on Friday night as Newton posted an impressive 33-25 victory over Kittatinny. Two longtime Sussex County rivals going at it, the way it should be, and fittingly where wrestling began in these parts.
Newton coach Eric Bollette said he had people telling him on Saturday that they enjoyed that match, even wrestlers from opposing teams at a quad involving North Warren, Dumont and Pascack Valley, as well as alumni.
"It was good. A lot of [our] freshmen liked the environment," said senior Jonathon Borgognoni, who delivered a 12-4 major decision over Kittatinny senior Shane Smith in a matchup featuring the last two Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament champions at 160 pounds.
Nathan Fitt was among three Newton freshmen getting their first taste of wrestling on a big stage.
"It was fun, biggest crowd of the year," said Fitt, whose 13-8 decision over Patrick Franco in a key bout at 106 set the tone for the Braves, who won eight bouts and finished with a 27-16 edge in takedowns (Fitt had six of those).
Speaking of tradition, Voorhees celebrated its 600th win as a program on Saturday with a 48-22 victory over Livingston as the Vikings swept a quad that also included Mahwah at Belvidere High School."We're part of a special program and you try to keep as many traditional matches as you can," Hall said after his team's 36-31 win over Warren Hills on Wednesday.
Hall said his wrestlers were awestruck when looking at the banners hanging on the gym wall at Warren Hills Regional High School.
"There's a special nostalgia. My kids don't know the tradition here at Warren Hills. They saw the [list of the school's 46 individual state champions] and were amazed. It's cool to have all of these connections and rivalries."
Amen to that. Let's keep as many going as we can in this age of mindless quads and tri-meets, and interest-killing realignments.
With the release of the unofficial sectional pairings on Sunday, we can start looking forward to what is shaping up to be perhaps the most entertaining of all in North 1, Group 2, where you have locals High Point, Newton and Kittatinny, along with Jefferson and Westwood.
Kittatinny (10-10) has dropped four in a row for the first time in recent memory, including Friday's loss to Newton and a 39-33 setback against Westwood on Saturday, in what is now looks to be a preview of the 5-4 matchup on Monday, Feb. 5.
High Point appears to have locked down the top seed, while Newton is the No. 2 seed. Jefferson, by virtue of a head-to-head win, will jump Kittatinny for the No. 3 seed, while Westwood's win will force the Cougars to hit the road as the No. 5 seed.
"It's unbelievable," Kittatinny coach John Gill when asked about the stacked section after the loss on Friday. "That's the way the chips fall, I guess. I still consider us a good team, then you've got [all the other teams] in the same section. There's probably three teams that deserve to be in Toms River [competing for the Group 2 championship on Sunday, Feb. 11]."
Now, onto this week's rankings:
1. Pope John (11-1) -- Lions cruised to a 52-18 win over state-ranked St. Peter's Prep on Wednesday in their only action of the week. Junior Joe Aragona (25-1 at 138) is sitting on 99 career wins and is looking to be the seventh to reach 100 at the Sussex County school. Senior Jake Rotunda (112-22) is their all-time wins leader. Interestingly, senior Jake Brown (11-1) recently dropped to 195. Keep an eye on him for the postseason and this week should he face Sparta ace Robert Gennat.
Up next: at Morris Hills on Monday; Mount Olive at home on Tuesday; Sparta at home on Wednesday; at Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on Friday.
Up next: at Morris Hills on Monday; Mount Olive at home on Tuesday; Sparta at home on Wednesday; at Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on Friday.
2. Hunterdon Central (17-1) -- Red Devils went 5-0 this week wins over Voorhees (56-15) on Monday -- putting them one win away from officially clinching the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title on Wednesday at Delaware Valley. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team also swept a quad on Saturday against Northern Burlington (60-9), Delran (62-18), Rancocas Valley (43-21) and Kingsway (55-12). Senior Hunter Graf (25-2 at 132) ranks fifth on the program's all-time wins list at 130-25, seven shy of Pat Strizki's school record.
Up next: at Delaware Valley on Wednesday; at West Morris on Friday; Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
3. Phillipsburg (10-2) -- Stateliners went 4-0 this week with wins over Warren Hills (53-14 on Monday); North Hunterdon (41-15 on Wednesday), Parkland (Pa.) (40-21 on Thursday) and state-ranked Southern (29-25 on Saturday). Coach Dave Post's team won eight bouts against the Rams, including a dominating 5-1 win by senior Brian Meyer (22-2) over Nicholas O'Connell in a clash between two of New Jersey's top 152-pounders. Meyer placed third and O'Connell eighth at 145 in last season's state tournament. Meyer also passed Post (111) and Matt Lane (113) for eighth on the school's wins list.
Up next: Voorhees at home on Wednesday; Ocean Township at home on Saturday.
Up next: Voorhees at home on Wednesday; Ocean Township at home on Saturday.
4. High Point (19-1) -- Wildcats went 5-0 this week and remained unbeaten against New Jersey competition, including wins over Hackettstown (37-24 on Tuesday) and Lenape Valley (55-9 on Friday) to officially clinch the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Freedom Division title. On Saturday, coach John Gardner's team, which is still without junior Devin Flannery (14-2 at 120), swept a quad with wins against Warren Hills (52-15) -- snapping a three-match skid in that series with its first win over the Blue Streaks since 2014 -- Cedar Grove (60-9) and Cranford (42-24).
Up next: North 1, Group 2 sectionals, TBA.
5. Newton (14-5) -- Braves also went 5-0 this week with wins over Wallkill Valley (75-3 on Tuesday) and Kittatinny (33-25 on Friday), before sweeping a quad at home on Saturday against North Warren (71-3), Dumont (68-6) and Pascack Valley (39-19), which is expected to contend for the North 1, Group 3 title. Juniors Wyatt McCarthy (26-2 at 145-152) and Luke Fischer (25-3 at 195) kept on rolling for coach Eric Bollette's team.
Up next: at Vernon on Wednesday.
6. North Hunterdon (11-4) -- Lions move up one spot this week following their 39-30 win over Delaware Valley on Monday before dropping a tough 41-15 decision at Phillipsburg on Wednesday. Junior Lorenzo Becerril (13-8) earned the Dan Hutchins Memorial Award as North's OW vs. the Terriers -- pinning favored Eli Kalfaian in a huge swing bout at 220 -- while junior Francis Vitelli added an important 5-4 win at 285.
Up next: Ridge at home on Tuesday; Bound Brook at home on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
7. Kittatinny (10-10) -- Cougars opened the week with victories over North Warren (49-19) and Hopatcong (64-12) on Tuesday to clinch the NJAC Colonial Division title, and a 38-35 victory against Sparta on Thursday before dropping four in a row against Newton (33-25 on Friday), Westwood (39-33), Emerson-Park Ridge (41-28) and Fair Lawn (40-30) on Saturday.
Up next: North 1, Group 2 sectionals, TBA.
8. Sparta (12-5) -- Spartans opened the week with a 33-26 loss to Jefferson on Tuesday and a 38-35 setback against Kittatinny on Thursday before bouncing back on Saturday with wins over Demarest (61-12), Pascack Hills (55-19) and Wallkill Valley (51-24). Senior Robert Gennat (26-1 at 195), who should be a strong medal contender in AC, moved into a tie for third place at 112-28 overall on the school's all-time wins list with Phil Takacs-Senske (112-27 from 1999-2003).
Up next: at Pope John on Wednesday; Kinnelon, Wayne Hills at Randolph on Saturday.
9. Voorhees (16-7) -- Vikings bounced back from a 56-15 loss to Hunterdon Central on Monday, to go 4-1 on the week, including wins over Warren Hills (36-31 on Wednesday), Livingston (48-22), Mahwah (42-33) and Belvidere (39-29). Senior Scott Fernandes (24-3 at 195) joined the Hunterdon County school's 100-win club on Saturday, while junior Lewis Fernandes (27-0 at 220) remained unbeaten. If you missed it, check out the school's list of memorable moments to help celebrate the 600-win milestone.
Up next: at Phillipsburg on Wednesday; Hasbrouck Heights at home on Friday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
10. Delaware Valley (7-9) -- Terriers rebounded from a 39-30 loss to North Hunterdon on Monday with three straight wins -- Bound Brook (41-33 on Wednesday), Marlboro (60-16 on Thursday) and Hillsborough (46-27 on Friday). Coach Andy Fitz's team, after closing out the regular-season slate this week has designs on a return trip to the Central Jersey, Group 2 final, but appear to be in the upper bracket with favorite Raritan, which will be the No. 1 seed.
Up next: Hunterdon Central at home on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
On the bubble: Hackettstown (9-10) -- Tigers scored a 34-30 win over Warren Hills on Thursday -- improving to 10-52 all-time against the Blue Streaks in a series dating to 1957. Senior ace Alex Carida (25-1 at 145) is three victories shy of eclipsing Joe Renne (123-35 from 2012-16) as the program's all-time leader. Carida, now 121-27, should do it in a quad against Manalapan and Montclair at Caldwell -- coach Frank Rodgers' home town -- on Saturday.
Up next: North 1, Group 2 sectionals, TBA.
5. Newton (14-5) -- Braves also went 5-0 this week with wins over Wallkill Valley (75-3 on Tuesday) and Kittatinny (33-25 on Friday), before sweeping a quad at home on Saturday against North Warren (71-3), Dumont (68-6) and Pascack Valley (39-19), which is expected to contend for the North 1, Group 3 title. Juniors Wyatt McCarthy (26-2 at 145-152) and Luke Fischer (25-3 at 195) kept on rolling for coach Eric Bollette's team.
Up next: at Vernon on Wednesday.
6. North Hunterdon (11-4) -- Lions move up one spot this week following their 39-30 win over Delaware Valley on Monday before dropping a tough 41-15 decision at Phillipsburg on Wednesday. Junior Lorenzo Becerril (13-8) earned the Dan Hutchins Memorial Award as North's OW vs. the Terriers -- pinning favored Eli Kalfaian in a huge swing bout at 220 -- while junior Francis Vitelli added an important 5-4 win at 285.
Up next: Ridge at home on Tuesday; Bound Brook at home on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
7. Kittatinny (10-10) -- Cougars opened the week with victories over North Warren (49-19) and Hopatcong (64-12) on Tuesday to clinch the NJAC Colonial Division title, and a 38-35 victory against Sparta on Thursday before dropping four in a row against Newton (33-25 on Friday), Westwood (39-33), Emerson-Park Ridge (41-28) and Fair Lawn (40-30) on Saturday.
Up next: North 1, Group 2 sectionals, TBA.
8. Sparta (12-5) -- Spartans opened the week with a 33-26 loss to Jefferson on Tuesday and a 38-35 setback against Kittatinny on Thursday before bouncing back on Saturday with wins over Demarest (61-12), Pascack Hills (55-19) and Wallkill Valley (51-24). Senior Robert Gennat (26-1 at 195), who should be a strong medal contender in AC, moved into a tie for third place at 112-28 overall on the school's all-time wins list with Phil Takacs-Senske (112-27 from 1999-2003).
Up next: at Pope John on Wednesday; Kinnelon, Wayne Hills at Randolph on Saturday.
9. Voorhees (16-7) -- Vikings bounced back from a 56-15 loss to Hunterdon Central on Monday, to go 4-1 on the week, including wins over Warren Hills (36-31 on Wednesday), Livingston (48-22), Mahwah (42-33) and Belvidere (39-29). Senior Scott Fernandes (24-3 at 195) joined the Hunterdon County school's 100-win club on Saturday, while junior Lewis Fernandes (27-0 at 220) remained unbeaten. If you missed it, check out the school's list of memorable moments to help celebrate the 600-win milestone.
Up next: at Phillipsburg on Wednesday; Hasbrouck Heights at home on Friday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
10. Delaware Valley (7-9) -- Terriers rebounded from a 39-30 loss to North Hunterdon on Monday with three straight wins -- Bound Brook (41-33 on Wednesday), Marlboro (60-16 on Thursday) and Hillsborough (46-27 on Friday). Coach Andy Fitz's team, after closing out the regular-season slate this week has designs on a return trip to the Central Jersey, Group 2 final, but appear to be in the upper bracket with favorite Raritan, which will be the No. 1 seed.
Up next: Hunterdon Central at home on Wednesday; at Hunterdon Central Duals on Saturday.
On the bubble: Hackettstown (9-10) -- Tigers scored a 34-30 win over Warren Hills on Thursday -- improving to 10-52 all-time against the Blue Streaks in a series dating to 1957. Senior ace Alex Carida (25-1 at 145) is three victories shy of eclipsing Joe Renne (123-35 from 2012-16) as the program's all-time leader. Carida, now 121-27, should do it in a quad against Manalapan and Montclair at Caldwell -- coach Frank Rodgers' home town -- on Saturday.
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