Wrestling: Young 'Liners are key to sectional 6-peat

There's something about Phillipsburg wrestling and sectional titles that seem to go hand-in-hand.

Freshman David Pierson and sophomore Gage Horvath scored key decisions in tossup bouts at 170 and 220 pounds, as the Stateliners earned a 28-19 win over upset-minded North Hunterdon in the North 2, Group 4 final and 65th meeting in the series on Friday night at Phillipsburg High School.

P'burg eyes its 6th straight Group 4 title on Sunday. (Courtesy of Dave Post)

Phillipsburg (17-2), which also handed North Hunterdon a 30-24 loss on Jan. 16, won eight bouts to capture the program's sixth straight sectional title and its 38th overall out of a possible 40 since the tournament began in 1980.

The 'Liners will next face Wayne Valley, while Jackson Memorial squares off against Kingsway in the Group 4 semifinals at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in Toms River. The title match is set for 5 p.m.

North Hunterdon (20-3), which was seeking its first title since 2015 and looking to end a 16-match skid in the series dating to 2008, has lost seven straight postseason meetings against P'burg since a 27-24 victory in the 1993 Group 3 final at The Pit. Coach Chris Hrunka made some good moves on the scale, but the Lions lost two bouts in overtime, including a 3-1 win by senior TJ Abode over Kyle Anderson at 152. Abode also scored a key 5-4 when they met in the previous dual meet last month.

Two-time state placewinner Cody Harrison followed with a 4-1 win over North senior Michael Wilson at 160 in a matchup of Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex champions before Pierson put P'burg in control with an 8-6 win over James Holder, who dropped from 182 and wrestled at 195 in the previous dual.

Holder (22-9), who was pinned by Austin Roth last time against P'burg, gave up a penalty point for clubbing the head and Pierson was awarded two more points on stall calls.

That loss forced Hrunka to roll the dice and keep Ian Gaburo at 195, where he dropped an 8-4 decision to Roth. Horvath followed with a 2-1 win over Kyle Schultz in a tiebreaker that gave the Stateliners, now 56-8-1 all-time against the Lions, a 24-9 lead through 10 bouts. Freshman James Day sealed it with a major at 106.

PHILLIPSBURG 28, NORTH HUNTERDON 19

126 -- Sr. Travis Jones (28-3), P, p. Fr. Aaron Wysocki (1-3), :30.
132 -- Sr. Connor Robinson (25-7), NH, d. Sr. Bryce Parenti (22-11), 3-2.
138 -- Jr. Evan Klimas (22-8), NH, d. Sr. Luke Hardin (9-17), 15-8.
145 -- Sr. Kyle Tino (24-9), P, d. Sr. Luke Hanlon (21-11), 10-5.
152 -- Sr. TJ Abode (17-12), P, d. Jr. Kyle Anderson (15-13), 3-1 SV.
160 -- Sr. Cody Harrison (27-2), P, d. Sr. Michael Wilson (29-3), 4-1.
170 -- Fr. David Pierson (14-15), P, d. So. James Holder (22-9), 8-6.
182 -- So. Nathaniel Fossett (20-3), NH, d. Jr. Jacob Wicks (19-12), 4-2.
195 -- Sr. Austin Roth (25-5), P, d. Jr. Ian Gaburo (20-7), 8-4.
220 -- So. Gage Horvath (16-15), P, d. So. Kyle Schultz (14-13), 2-1 TB.
285 -- Sr. Lorenzo Becerril (20-7), NH, d. Jr. Cody Cruts (11-17), 1-0.
106 -- Fr. James Day (24-9), P, md. Fr. Nick DeLorenzo (16-16), 11-2.
113 -- So. Frank Diesso (27-5), NH, d. So. Logan Maczko (24-9), 7-0.
120 -- So. Connor Quinn (18-11), NH, md. Fr. Joey Innamorato (10-17), 17-6.
Records -- North Hunterdon 20-3; Phillipsburg 17-2.