Wrestling: District, region realignment (statewide)

The 32 district and eight region alignments for 2020-21 and 2021-22 were released on Thursday following final approval by the NJSIAA Rules Committee.

As was first reported on Wednesday by Open Mike, Phillipsburg shifts back to Region 3, while North Hunterdon moves back to Region 4, joined by Delaware Valley and Voorhees.

According to New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association president and West Morris coach Ken Rossi, host sites for districts and regions have yet to be determined. Phillipsburg, which hosted District 9 and District 13 the previous four seasons under realignment, is joined in District 10 by Belvidere and Hackettstown. Warren Hills is now in District 12.

High Point is once again housed in District 1.

North Hunterdon, coming off the program's first unbeaten campaign and a Group 4 state title, is joined by Voorhees in District 13, while Delaware Valley is in District 15. The Terriers have moved out of Region 5 for the first time since coming over from Region 1 in 2001.

High Point, last season's Group 2 state champion, is the only Sussex County school to stand alone in a district as the Wildcats are in District 1. Newton, Pope John and Sparta are in District 3, while Kittatinny, North Warren and Vernon-Wallkill Valley, a first-year co-op, is in District 4.

Lenape Valley and Hopatcong remain in Region 2 with both in District 8, while Hunterdon Central is the only local team in Region 5 as the Red Devils return to District 17.

Here's the complete list statewide with Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex schools in bold:

REGION 1

DISTRICT 1

• High Point 
• Cresskill
• Don Bosco Prep 
• Emerson-Park Ridge
• New Milford
• Pascack Hills
• Pascack Valley
• River Dell
• Tenafly
• Waldwick-Midland Park

DISTRICT 2

• Demarest
• Glen Rock
• Indian Hills
• Northern Highlands
• Old Tappan
• Ramapo
• Ramsey 
• Ridgewood
• St. Joseph-Montvale
• Westwood

DISTRICT 3

• Newton 
• Pope John
• Sparta
• Dumont
• Hawthorne
• Lakeland
• Mahwah
• Pequannock
• West Milford

DISTRICT 4

• Kittatinny
• North Warren
• Vernon-Wallkill Valley
• Butler
• Jefferson
• Kinnelon
• Manchester Regional
• Pompton Lakes
• Wayne Hills

REGION 2

DISTRICT 5

• Bergen Catholic
• Bogota-Ridgefield Park
• Clifton
• Dwight Morrow
• Elmwood Park
• Fort Lee
• Garfield
• Passaic
• Wayne Valley

DISTRICT 6

• Bergenfield
• Paterson Eastside
• Hackensack
• Paterson Kennedy
• Leonia-Palisades Park
• Paramus Catholic
• Passaic Tech
• Passaic Valley
• Teaneck
• West Essex

DISTRICT 7

• Boonton
• Montville
• Morris Catholic
• Morris Hills
• Morris Knolls
• Mountain Lakes 
• Parsippany
• Parsippany Hills
• Roxbury

DISTRICT 8

• Hopatcong 
• Lenape Valley
• DePaul
  
• Dover
• Fair Lawn
• Hasbrouck Heights
• Lodi
• Mount Olive
• Paramus
• Saddle Brook

REGION 3

DISTRICT 9

• Belleville
• Bloomfield
• Cedar Grove
• Cliffside Park
• Delbarton
• Hoboken
• Kearny
• Nutley
• Orange
• Union City

DISTRICT 10

• Belvidere
• Hackettstown
• Phillipsburg
• Columbia
• Glen Ridge
• Hanover Park
• Rutherford
• Verona
• Whippany Park

DISTRICT 11

• Barringer
• Livingston
• Lyndhurst-North Arlington
• Morristown
• Newark Academy
• Seton Hall Prep
• Weehawken
• West Morris
• West Orange
• Wood-Ridge 

DISTRICT 12

• Warren Hills
• Becton
• Caldwell
• East Orange
• Madison
• Mendham
• Montclair
• North Bergen
• Randolph
• Secaucus

REGION 4

DISTRICT 13

• North Hunterdon
• Voorhees
• Cranford
• Elizabeth
• Irvington
• Kennedy Iselin
• Millburn
• New Providence
• Rahway

DISTRICT 14

• Bound Brook
• Brearley-Dayton
• Newark East Side
• North Plainfield
• Plainfield
• Ridge
• Roselle Park
• South Plainfield
• Union

DISTRICT 15

• Delaware Valley
• Bernards
• Bridgewater-Raritan
• Colonia
• Governor Livingston
• Pingry
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood
• Summit-Chatham
• Watchung Hills
• Weequahic

DISTRICT 16

• AL Johnson 
• Bayonne 
• Carteret  
• JP Stevens       
• Linden             
• Newark Collegiate  
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• St. Peter's Prep          
• Somerville
• Westfield

REGION 5

DISTRICT 17

• Hunterdon Central
• Franklin
• Hillsborough
• Manville
• Montgomery
• Princeton
• Rutgers Prep
• St. John Vianney
• Sayreville
• West Windsor North

DISTRICT 18

• East Brunswick 
• Holmdel
• Hopewell Valley
• Manalapan
• New Brunswick
• North Brunswick
• South Brunswick
• South River 
• Spotswood

DISTRICT 19

• Edison 
• Marlboro
• Metuchen
• Middlesex-Dunellen
• Old Bridge
• Piscataway 
• Rumson-Fair Haven
• St. .Joseph-Metuchen
• Woodbridge

DISTRICT 20

• Highland Park
• Keansburg
• Keyport-Hudson
• Matawan
• Middletown North
• Middletown South
• Perth Amboy
• Raritan
• Red Bank Catholic
• Red Bank Regional

REGION 6

DISTRICT 21

• Christian Brothers Academy
• Hamilton West
• Jackson Liberty
• Lakewood
• Manasquan
• Ocean Township 
• Point Pleasant Boro
• St. Rose
• Steinert
• Toms River North

DISTRICT 22

• Allentown
• Bordentown-Florence
• Colts Neck
• Freehold Boro
• Howell
• New Egypt 
• Robbinsville
• Trenton Central
• Wall

DISTRICT 23

• Asbury Park
• Brick Memorial
• Brick Township
• Freehold Township
• Long Branch
• Monmouth
• Neptune
• Point Pleasant Beach
• Shore Regional

DISTRICT 24

• Burlington City    
• Ewing         
• Hightstown
• Jackson Memorial
• Lawrence
• Monroe Township      
• Northern Burlington  
• Notre Dame          
• Nottingham 
• West Windsor South     

REGION 7

DISTRICT 25

• Burlington County Tech
• Burlington Township
• Central Regional
• Donovan Catholic
• Lacey
• Manchester Township
• Southern
• Toms River East
• Toms River South

 DISTRICT 26

• Cinnaminson
• Delran
• Highland 
• Holy Cross
• Pemberton
• Rancocas Valley
• Riverside
• Seneca
• West Deptford
• Willingboro

 DISTRICT 27

• Camden Catholic
• Cherokee
• Cherry Hill East
• Cherry Hill West
• Lenape
• Maple Shade
• Palmyra
• Pennsauken
• Shawnee
• Triton Regional

 DISTRICT 28

• Audubon          
• Camden  
• Collingswood               
• Gloucester City
• Haddonfield      
• Haddon Heights            
• Haddon Township     
• Moorestown       
• Paulsboro           

REGION 8

DISTRICT 29

• Clearview
• Deptford
• Gateway-Woodbury
• Kingsway
• Paul VI-Haddonfield
• Pennsgrove
• Pitman
• Salem
• Sterling

 DISTRICT 30

• Buena
• Eastern
• Hammonton
• Lindenwold
• Overbrook
• St. Joseph-Hammonton
• Timber Creek
• Washington Township
• Williamstown
• Winslow Township

 DISTRICT 31

• Cedar Creek
• Clayton-Glassboro
• Delsea
• Holy Spirit
• Middle Township
• Millville
• Middle Township
• Pennsville
• Schalick-Cumberland
• Vineland
• Woodstown

 DISTRICT 32

• Absegami        
• Atlantic City         
• Barnegat      
• Egg Harbor Township      
• Lower Cape May      
• Mainland           
• Oakcrest            
• Ocean City         
• Pinelands       
• St. Augustine Prep  

Wrestling: P'burg back in R3; North returns to R4

The more things change the more they stay the same.

With the district and region alignments for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons set for final approval during the NJSIAA rules committe meeting on Thursday, Open Mike has learned that Phillipsburg will shift back to Region 3 -- where the Stateliners competed in 2017 and '18 under the first round of realignment -- after competing in Region 4 the past two seasons.

North won a District 20 title this past season.

In addition, North Hunterdon will move back to Region 4 at Union High School, along with Delaware Valley, which had been in Region 5 since 2001, to reunite with Voorhees. That leaves Hunterdon Central as the only remaining school from the county in Region 5.

Phillipsburg, which will be in a district with Hanover Park, is once again be paired with Belvidere, Hackettstown and Warren Hills in Region 3, which includes Delbarton and Seton Hall Prep, has been held at West Orange High School for many years, though P'burg has applied to host a region tournament in recent seasons.

The Stateliners won team titles in District 9 and District 13 the previous four seasons of realignment, the last two championships by an average margin of 148 points. In addition, coach Dave Post's teams advanced all 14 wrestlers to Region 4 last season, including nine district champions, and 12 out of that district, which housed eight other teams from Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, in 2019. P'burg figures to be a host for District 10, which includes Belvidere and Hackettstown. Warren Hills will be in District 12 with Randolph serving as the host site.

As was the case in the previous four years of realignment, most of the Sussex County schools stay in Region 1 at West Milford, though High Point is the only school not in a district with a local team. Hopatcong and Lenape Valley stay in Region 2 at Mount Olive.

The executive committee voted unanimously in early May to adopt a new method to construct realignment for the district and region tournaments in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The new metric revolved around how the 32 power schools in the state were determined -- team power points over the previous two seasons instead of the three- and five-year averages used in previous years (75 percent) and individual performance (25 percent) or top 16 finishes at the state tournament.

Another key change was that a region can have no more than five teams or fewer than three of the power 32 schools. Once the power teams were determined and placed in regions according to their northing numbers, the remaining schools were snaked into districts. The top eight schools in each region could not move once placed in districts, but others in some cases were shifted depending on proximity to host schools. For instance, Delbarton (District 9), P'burg, Seton Hall Prep (District 11) and Mendham (District 12) were the top four power schools in Region 3, followed by Warren Hills, West Morris (District 11), Hanover Park (District 10) and Kearny (District 9).

Local change at the top

In somewhat of a surprise, Larry White announced on Monday that he will resign as executive director of the NJSIAA effective on June 30. On Wednesday, former South Hunterdon star athlete Colleen (McCrea) Maguire, who had previously served as the body's finance director, was named chief operating officer and will handle day-to-day affairs.

Maguire was a two-sport star in field hockey and girls basketball at South Hunterdon in the early 1990s. She is a Hall of Fame member at South and George Washington University, where she lettered all four seasons on the basketball court. Maguire is regarded as one of the best female basketball players ever produced in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.

According to sources, Maguire was heavily involved in wrestling circles this past season, serving as a point person in discussions to move the state team championships to Rutgers for 2021.