The Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area's strength is on full display with five teams appearing in the season's first New Jersey Writers Association Top 20 poll.
Three traditional Skyland Conference powers -- North Hunterdon (No. 7), Hunterdon Central (No. 11) and Phillipsburg (No. 12) -- are among the local contingent, while High Point (No. 8) and Pope John (No. 9) represent Sussex County.
Hunterdon Central, the Group 5 runner-up last season, and Pope John, the Non-Public B runner-up, will be in action this weekend at the rugged Beast of the East Tournament in Newark, Del.
Hunterdon Central, the Group 5 runner-up last season, and Pope John, the Non-Public B runner-up, will be in action this weekend at the rugged Beast of the East Tournament in Newark, Del.
Eight-time defending Non-Public A champion Bergen Catholic is the consensus No. 1. The Crusaders, who have finished in the top spot every season since the poll's second year in 2014, return seven state qualifiers -- including six medal winners in last season’s NJSIAA State Championships -- and they added state placewinner Will Grater, a transfer from Don Bosco Prep.
Delbarton, whose lineup features eight returning state qualifiers, including six medalists, is expected to challenge Bergen Catholic for the top spot. The Green Wave open the season ranked No. 2.
St. Joseph-Montvale and Camden Catholic are ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, followed by No. 5 Kingsway, the state’s top-ranked public school with 10 letterwinners returning from last season's Group 4 championship squad.
Paulsboro, which enters the season ranked No. 6, returns six starters, including state champion Brandon Green and state runner-up Jacob Perez-Eli.
The Shore Conference features five schools in the preseason rankings. They are defending Group 5 champion Southern, Howell, Brick Memorial, Toms River North and Jackson Memorial.
North Hunterdon will get an early test at the prestigious Boresch Duals at Newton High School on Jan. 4. This year's field features five Top 20 teams, including Kingsway, Paulsboro, South Plainfield (No. 17), winner of the first NJWWA trophy in 2013, and Toms River North.
North Hunterdon will get an early test at the prestigious Boresch Duals at Newton High School on Jan. 4. This year's field features five Top 20 teams, including Kingsway, Paulsboro, South Plainfield (No. 17), winner of the first NJWWA trophy in 2013, and Toms River North.
Results of the NJWWA Top 20 poll, which features a dozen voting members, will appear weekly during the season in newspapers and on websites of participating media outlets.
No comments:
Post a Comment