Wrestling: Groups format gets major makeover

Note: Updated with boys and girls individual tournament info.

With the New Jersey high school wrestling season set to commence in 11 days, major changes to the sectional and state team championships are in order for 2022 and beyond.

Open Mike was first to repot on Monday night that the Group semifinals will be held on Friday, Feb. 11, leaving just the five public championships, along with the Non-Public A and B title matches, to be contested at a neutral site on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022.

In addition, there will be two rounds (as in prior years) of sectional matches on Monday, Feb. 7. The top seed would host the Nos. 5, 4 and 8 seeds, while the second seed hosts Nos. 3, 6 and 7. The winners would meet in the finals on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Sectional classifications were released last month.

High Point celebrates its G2 title in 2020.

In previous seasons, the sectional team tournaments ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the Group semifinals and finals held together at a neutral site on Sunday. The state team championships had formerly been housed at Trenton or Toms River over the past two decades. 

This year's Group finals site is Franklin High School, while sources say the semifinals involving sectional champions may pit North 1 vs. North 2 and Central Jersey vs. South Jersey, eliminating traditional seeding by power points. This setup for the semis also cuts down on unreasonably long travel issues (Kittatinny traveling to Paulsboro in Group 1 as an example). But this and individual seeding is subject to change across the board due to COVID-19.

One major push for the change is that the Group championships for 2022 fall on Super Bowl Sunday, resulting from this season's National Football League expansion to 17 regular-season games. As a result, the NJSIAA, it seems, is concerned about the availability of tournament workers who want to watch the Super Bowl.

Another is the NJSIAA's desire to hold future state team championships at Rutgers University, which had been previously been discussed during the 2019-20 campaign before COVID-19 wiped out all team tournaments last season. The one hang up is that Rutgers only wants the championship matches and not the state semifinals. The new format solves that potential issue.

But semifinals ahead of the Sunday championships will likely not sit well with some coaches and fans. Pairing the sectional winners in each of the five public Groups by geography and not power points may result in the two best teams meeting in the semis rather than the championship match.

North Hunterdon was the G4 champion in 2020.

Toms River and Phillipsburg, which is now has the girls individual state tournament, seemed to be the frontrunners, but Franklin, which is more centrally located and is a sizeable facility, won out.

This is certainly shaping up to be a banner season for the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area, with as many as eight teams poised to make sectional title runs. 

Phillipsburg (now in North 2, Group 5), North Hunterdon (the 2020 North 2 and Group 4 champion), Delaware Valley (Central Jersey, Group 1) and Warren Hills (North 2, Group 3) should be favorites in those respective sections, along with High Point (North 1, Group 2), Kittatinny (North 1, Group 1) and Pope John (Non-Public North B) in Sussex County. Hunterdon Central (Central Jersey, Group 5) is also expected to be in title contention.

The state also released sites for the boys individual districts and regions. The one big change is that regions will now be a two-day event -- Friday and Saturday -- instead of the traditional three. Hunterdon Central will again host Region 5.

Phillipsburg will host District 10, which includes Belvidere and Hackettstown.

The girls region sites are Franklin (north) and Williamstown (south).