Those loud noises you may have heard over the past few days resulted from a few sticks of dynamite being tossed into the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, courtesy of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.
As a result of both outcomes, Del Val (12-3) is the highest climber this week as coach Andy Fitz's surging squad jumped seven spots to No. 12 in the poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. P'burg, which came in as the third-ranked public school, dips to No. 13 in our last regular-season poll. The final Top 20 will be revealed following next week's sectional and Group tournaments.
"The kids wrestled their hearts out," said Fitz, whose teams were previously 0-12 vs. P'burg, in a text message after the match. "Really proud of them."
And if things weren't already a mess, the win over Warren Hills, which had won three in a row against the Terriers, created a crazy triangle as the Blue Streaks beat Hunterdon Central (30-26 on Jan. 12), which had knocked off Del Val (43-18 on Dec. 30). Might as well throw No. 16 North Hunterdon into the mix for good measure as the Lions lost to Central (38-27 on Jan. 10) and No. 14 Warren Hills (35-34 on 8-6 margin of bouts won on Thursday), but defeated Del Val (35-33 on Jan. 18).
P'burg (10-2, 3-0 division) slipped four spots, while Central (15-3, 3-0) crept up two spots to No. 11. We can hardly wait to see what happens next when the teams meet on Thursday to decide the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title at the Field House.
Even more bizarre, Del Val beat the team that defeated all three schools that knocked off the Terriers, as Warren Hills took down Raritan (32-26 on Dec. 22), Hunterdon Central and North Hunterdon (which can make it a three-way split, along with Del Val and Warren Hills, for the Raritan Division title with a win over Ridge at home tonight). Yes, it's been that kind of season in these parts.
One other note, Open Mike had Cranford, which was No. 16 last week, a spot ahead of No. 17 Raritan on its ballot. The Cougars (17-2) have a 40-34 win over Raritan, which beat Del Val, on its resume and close losses to P'burg (32-30) and Old Bridge (37-30).
Tossed aside
Getting back to the match against Del Val, there was a bizarre turn of events following the ninth bout of the evening at Daniel Hutchins Memorial Gym. P'burg trailed, 23-14, after junior Liam Packer's major at 157 pounds. P'burg won the toss and got what it wanted as Del Val had to send out first at 165 and 190. That gave coach Brad Gentzle a clear advantage by choosing who to use at both weights.
But when Fitz sent senior Garrett Tettemer (9-0), a PIAA Class AA state medalist last season at Notre Dame-Green Pond (Pa.), out at 165, senior returning state qualifier Hunter Cleaver (12-6) oddly ran out for the 'Liners.
Tettemer wound up scoring a 15-6 major decision as Cleaver twice went to his own back and Del Val grabbed a 27-14 lead with four bouts to go. Without a clear favorite to put on the mat the rest of the way, the Terriers needed something to break their way. That was it.
Your move
P'burg senior Connor Hille logged a 12-4 major at 175, but Del Val clinched the win when senior Jake Lagun (2-2) decked sophomore Derek Stone (1-1), who held a 5-3 lead and put Lagun on his back with an early cradle after one period, in a battle of reserves at 190. P'burg closed it out with Caleb Rivera's 11-4 decision over Anderson Olcott at 215 (Rivera's second win over Olcott this season) and a forfeit victory for junior John Wargo at 285.
It begs the obvious question, why didn't P'burg run Cleaver to 175 (forfeiting to Tettemer)? The 'Liners would have been bigtime favorites in the last four bouts no matter the matchups as it turned out. You'd have to think Cleaver at least matches the major Hille logged over August Savacool (9-8) at 175. Since Del Val had to show first at 190, P'burg gets the Rivera-Olcott matchup either way at 190 or 215, leaving Hille (17-5) at 190 or senior Logan Kries (13-11) at 215 as heavy favorites over Lagun. A decision by either plus Wargo's six, and P'burg very well has a happy bus ride home.
With those moves, P'burg goes from a 29-14 deficit after 165, to at least a highly probable 30-29 win. Del Val just needed to get one of the last four to pull it off. Considering that Stone had wrestled only one other varsity bout in his career, it seems a bit much to put him in that spot with the match on the line. Conventional wisdom says go with your best four at the end and let it fly.
This is pure speculation, but if Kries for some reason was unable to compete and only weighed in as a decoy, and Olcott came out at 190 instead of Lagun -- a move you can't anticipate -- Gentzle would have been forced to use Hille (an underdog considering the weight difference) against Olcott and Rivera vs. Lagun with no other option at 215. That probably lowers the odds of winning both, but in hindsight even that scenario seems it would have a higher percentage of success.
Credit the hosts
Take nothing away from Delaware Valley as it outwrestled P'burg, particularly in the third periods of several bouts. The 'Liners appeared out of gas in at least five bouts (three losses and two wins). It will be interesting to see how they respond at Watchung Hills on Wednesday and against Central, which has been without the services of starter Evan Thompson (12-4 at 132) in several matches this month.
P'burg did rebound from a 42-12 loss to No. 5 Southern with a 33-23 win over nemesis Easton (Pa.) just two days later on Jan. 21.
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