Wrestling: HWS moves on up in NJWWA Top 20

This is a huge week for the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area. It started off with Monday night's much-anticipated 75th meeting between Warren Hills and Phillipsburg, and concludes with the 13th HWS Tournament on Saturday at Phillipsburg High School.

Phillipsburg got the ball rolling with an impressive 31-22 victory over Warren Hills, which was seeking back-to-back wins in the series for the first time since 1990, after a 35-15 shellacking of the Stateliners at home last season. That also was the same year of the Blue Streaks' last road victory (32-31 at The Pit).

P'burg (6-0), fresh off winning the Cougar Classic Duals title at Cranford High School, moved up one spot to No. 9 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, released on Tuesday. In all, five area teams once again grace the latest poll, including Warren Hills (No. 12), Hunterdon Central (No. 15), North Hunterdon (No. 18) and Delaware Valley (No. 19).

Coach Brad Gentzle's team, which got a scare in a 32-30 win over No. 20 Cranford this weekend, won eight bouts against Warren Hills and atoned for Phillipsburg's lone loss in a 17-1 campaign last season that culminated with the program's first Group 5 championship -- the Stateliners' 23rd state title overall. A year ago, Hills, which is 15-60 all-time its Warren County nemesis, won the first 11 bouts en route to snapping a 33-match skid in the series with its most lopsided win over P'burg since its days as Washington High School (32-8 in 1954).

"It was a whole lot of fun. [Warren Hills] is a great team, obviously," Gentzle told Mike Moore of Stateliner Sports during a postmatch interview. "It felt good for our guys to kind of avenge that loss from last year. It meant a lot to the kids. They were ready to wrestle."

P'burg celebrates its Cougar Classic Duals title (PHS wrestling Facebook page)

There were good efforts all-around for the 'Liners, but the 8-5 win by ever-improving junior Dawson McWilliams (11-6) over talented Streaks freshman Davey Rhinehart (10-2) in the seventh bout at 113 pounds put P'burg in the driver's seat. A four-point move in the first period helped set the tone for McWilliams, who wrestled a smart technical match by staying low and preventing Rhinehart from getting off any clean low-single attempts. McWilliams also countered a single-leg shot and secured a huge takedown of his own in the second period.

Warren Hills (5-1) held the edge in takedowns for the second straight meeting (20-17 this time and 24-14 last year), but the Streaks couldn't finish on their feet in several tight bouts and left some potential bonus points on the mat.

The Streaks will have little time to lament the loss as they prepare to host Hunterdon Central at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Central (6-1) also is in the midst of a tough stretch and coming off a 64-7 loss to No. 4 St. Peter's Prep at the Williamstown Duals on Saturday. Coach Jon Cantagallo-Rohm's team, which wrestles a brutal schedule overall, travels to North Hunterdon for a key showdown on Tuesday. In addition, the Red Devils, who should be in contention for the HWS Tournament team title, will face P'burg, Delsea (No. 8) and Mount Olive (No. 16) later this season. 

North Hunterdon (5-1) had a strong showing in the 17th Henry Boresch Duals at Newton on Saturday. The Lions, who won the title in 2020 and finished second in '22, opened with a 48-24 win over Howell in a rematch of last year's title match. Coach Chris Hrunka's team dropped a tough 39-35 decision to No. 14 South Plainfield in the semifinals before closing out the day with a 39-34 victory against Paulsboro in the third-place matchup.

Delaware Valley (7-1) established itself as the clear-cut favorite in Group 1 with a 46-20 win over Kittatinny in a rematch of last year's state final. In fact, all four sectional title contenders went at it on Saturday as Paulsboro squeaked by Hanover Park, 37-34, in the opening round at the Boresch Duals.

The Terriers also knocked off dangerous West Morris, 38-33, as part of a quad on Saturday. That North 2, Group 3 section, which includes Warren Hills, Cranford, West Essex and West Morris, will be fun to watch come February.

Rank	School	Record	Votes	Previous
1	Delbarton	(5-2)	160	1
2	Bergen Catholic	(4-0)	152	2
3	St. Joseph-Montvale	(7-2)	144	3
4	St. Peter's Prep	(6-0)	135	4
5	Paramus Catholic	(5-0)	129	5
6	Christian Bros. Academy	(4-6)	118	6
7	Southern	(6-0)	112	7
8	Delsea	(5-0)	106	8
9	Phillipsburg	(6-0)	90	10
10	St. Joseph-Metuchen	(5-0)	87	11
11	St. John Vianney	(4-1)	83	9
12	Warren Hills	(5-1)	76	13
13	St. Augustine Prep	(3-1)	57	12
14	South Plainfield	(5-2)	52	14
15	Hunterdon Central	(6-1)	47	17
16	Mount Olive	(4-2)	45	16
17	Don Bosco Prep	(3-0)	37	15
18	North Hunterdon	(5-1)	22	19
19	Delaware Valley	(7-1)	11	20
20	Cranford	(8-1)	10	NR

Also receiving votes: Kingsway (4-2) 7; West Morris (4-1) 1
Listed in alphabetical order: Donald J. Brower (gardenstatehswrestling.com); Frank D’Esposito (shoreconferencewrestling.com); Steven Falk (Asbury Park Press and APP.com); Sean Farrell (The Record and NorthJersey.com); Tom McGurk (Courier Post and courierpostonline.com); Andy Mendlowitz (Courier News, Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com); Michael Weilamann (Open Mike and mikeopen.blogspot.com), Brad Wilson (lehighvalleylive.com/The Express-Times).