There's a whole lot of shaking things up on the Hunterdon County scene as Delaware Valley and Hunterdon Central received boosts in the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, released on Wednesday morning.
The Terriers are the Hunterdon-Warren Sussex area's highest climbers as Hunterdon Central (8-2) moves up two spots to No. 13. Phillipsburg (8-0) holds steady at No. 9 as the Stateliners have a huge week on tap with matches at No. 7 Southern in a potential Group 5 title preview (the Rams own an 8-7 lead in the all-time series including six postseason meetings) on Thursday and archrival Easton (Pa.) on Saturday.
Warren Hills (6-1) checks in at No. 12 for a second straight week.
Delaware Valley, which finished tied with Warren Hills for second place in the HWS Tournament team standings (177 1/2 points) on Saturday, enjoyed its strongest showing at the event since a previous-best third-place finish in 2014.
In addition, senior Garrett Tettemer made his season debut and return to the Alexandria Township school after spending two seasons at Notre Dame-Green Pond (Pa.) by winning the 165-pound title. The PIAA Class AA state medalist last season is the Terriers' first champion since 2017 (Kyle Lightner at 195). Coach Andy Fitz's team, which rekindles its rivalry with No. 20 Raritan in a road match on Thursday, also produced four finalists (after being shut out in 2022) for the first time as junior Jake Taylor (120), sophomore Jaden Perez (126) and senior Chris Colasurdo (150) were runners-up.
Hunterdon Central, which took a 30-26 loss to Warren Hills in a tough battle last Thursday, crowned a trio of HWS champions in junior Anthony Rossi (113), freshman Rhett Washleski (144) and junior Thomas Brunetti (175). Rossi, a two-time state qualifier and HWS champ with 66 career wins, earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award (only the second for Central and first since former state champion Alex Shaffer in 2010) after knocking off North Hunterdon senior Logan Wadle, 7-5, in sudden-victory overtime.
Wadle (16-2), a two-time state medalist and 2020 HWS champ who is sitting on 90 career wins, led 4-1 in the third period on the strength of two takedowns before Rossi (19-2) converted a takedown with 15 seconds left in regulation to force OT. Central, which had three HWS champs only once previously in 2010, joined Phillipsburg, Pope John and North Hunterdon with a trio of winners in the tournament's 13th version.
Central will meet host and 15th-ranked Mount Olive as part of a triangular meet, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, on Saturday morning.
North Hunterdon, which is slated to compete in the North Warren Patriot Duals along with No. 11 St. John Vianney on Saturday, was led by first-time winners Daniel DeLusant (150), Alex Uryniak (190), who enters the week with 90 career wins, and Brendan Raley (215). The Lions have produced the second-most champions with 24, while P'burg leads with 33.
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| 'Liners with their 8th HWS team trophy (Twitter @PBurgHSWrestlin) |
Hawk (18-3), who is 53-12 overall, will look to become his school's first three-time champion in 2024. Only seven wrestlers in tournament history have won at least three, including Pope John's JoJo Aragona (2016-19) and Eddie Ventresca (2017-20), who are the only four-timers. Lions sophomore Carson Walsh blitzed the field at 126 pounds to win his second title on Saturday. Voorhees junior Logan Wiecoreck (157) was the Vikes' first winner since Fernandes in 2019.
Warren Hills, which is sitting on 795 wins in the program's 87th season, had three runners-up in freshman Augie Szamreta (106), along with seniors Shawn Redfield (138) and Jarett Pantuso (215). The Blue Streaks host Montgomery in a Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash on Wednesday and will compete in the rugged Jack Welch Duals, which includes No. 1 Delbarton and No. 5 Delsea, on Friday and Saturday.
Also receiving votes: Old Bridge (8-2) 8; South Plainfield (6-4) 1
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