Wrestling: Blue Streaks surge in NJWWA Top 20

Leave it to the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area to make the first major leap among public schools in the latest New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20. 

Warren Hills (3-0) jumped up three spots to No. 13 after an impressive 37-22 victory on Friday at No. 16 Mount Olive, which dropped five spots after debuting at No. 11 in last week's first Top 20 of the season. The Blue Streaks, who finished as the Group 3 runner-up last season, won nine bouts (two forfeits) in upending the reigning Group 4 champion Marauders, who scored a 33-27 road win over Hills last season.

Four other area teams remained in the Top 20 as Phillipsburg held its ground as the highest ranked local at No. 10, with a showdown against Warren Hills looming on Monday in Lopatcong Township. Needless to say the Stateliners will be plenty motivated for that one after last year's 35-15 shellacking on the road that snapped the Streaks' 33-match skid in a series that began in 1948 and saw P'burg drop the opening 10 bouts (with Hills owning a 22-1 edge in takedowns during that run) in a match for the first time since a 51-9 loss to Blair Academy in 1997.

Hunterdon Central (tied with Kingsway at No. 17), North Hunterdon (No. 19) and Delaware Valley (No. 20), which dropped a 43-18 decision to Central on Friday, round out the local contingent in this week's poll.

Warren Hills freshman Davey Rhinehart (9-1), who won by fall in each of his first eight bouts before a 10-5 sudden-victory overtime loss to Del Val's Owen Kucharski in the John Goles Invitational finals, continued his impressive start with six against Mount Olive at 113 pounds. Seniors Ryan Lundy (7-3 at 150) Chris Whitehead (6-4 at 190) also added key decisions, while senior Jarett Pantuso (8-0), a state medalist at 215 as a sophomore, bumped up to record a pin at 285.

The match was not without some controversy as Mount Olive (1-1), which will face No. 7 Southern on Saturday, put a wrestler on the mat in the 12th bout of the night at 132 pounds who apparently did not weigh-in, according to several sources. As a result, Warren Hills, which is sitting on 790 victories as a program, was awarded a forfeit win that gave the Streaks a 12-point lead and essentially sealed the match.

P'burg will also host the HWS Tournament on Jan. 14

Phillipsburg (1-0), which had its anticipated match at Mount Olive postponed due to weather on Friday, Dec. 23, opened the dual season with a 43-17 waxing of Hillsborough in a Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash on Dec. 17. The match was the first of just four home duals for the Stateliners this season, along with Warren Hills, Bridgewater-Raritan (Wednesday) and Hanover Park (Jan, 23).

Talented sophomore Gavin Hawk (10-2 at 132) won an individual title at the prestigious Bethlehem Holiday Classic in Pennsylvania at Liberty High School's Memorial Gym. Junior John Wargo (9-2 at 285) was a second-place finisher, while junior Caleb Rivera (10-4 at 190) placed third to help the Stateliners finish third in the team race behind champion Nazareth and runner-up Easton. 

Hunterdon Central (3-0), which is slated to compete at the Williamstown Duals along with No. 4 St. Peter's Prep and No. 6 Christian Brothers Academy on Saturday, won 10 bouts in its victory over Delaware Valley at the Field House. That clash featured a pair of huge swings as junior Evan Thompson (7-3 at 132) suffered a leg injury in a tight bout against Matt Roche and was forced to default. At 157, the Red Devils received an unexpected six-point victory by disqualification when senior Henry Wilkinson could not continue after being driven off the mat.  

North Hunterdon (2-0) can earn the program's 800th victory with a win at Montgomery on Wednesday in a Raritan Division tilt -- joining Hunterdon Central (1,026), Phillipsburg (1,015), Newton (836) and Delaware Valley (823) as the only HWS schools to hit that milestone. The Lions will get their first big test in the rugged Henry Boresch Duals at Newton on Saturday. The eight-team field also includes No. 8 Delsea, the reigning Group 3 champion, and No. 14 South Plainfield. 

Delaware Valley (3-1) will be among the four Group 1 sectional championship favorites going head-to-head on Saturday. The reigning Group 1 champion Terriers (Central Jersey) are set to take on Kittatinny (North 1) in a quad at West Morris, while Hanover Park (North 2) and Paulsboro (South Jersey) tangle in a quarterfinal clash at the Boresch Duals. 

Del Val's lineup will look much different in the coming weeks when senior transfer Garrett Tettemer, a PIAA Class AA state medalist last season who left the Hunterdon County school after his freshman season to attend Notre Dame-Green Pond in Bethlehem, Pa., is back, at presumably 165 pounds, after a mandatory 30-day sit. Several others are expected to drop down a weight class. Tettemer's father, Scott, was a two-time district and a region champion (1985) for the Terriers under longtime coach Vince Fitz.

(Records as of Monday)

Rank	School	Record	Votes	Previous
1	Delbarton	(4-2)	160	1
2	Bergen Catholic	(4-0)	152	2
3	St. Joseph-Montvale	(4-2)	144	3
4	St. Peter's Prep	(2-0)	134	5
5	Paramus Catholic	(1-0)	129	6
6	Christian Bros. Academy	(3-5)	121	4
7	Southern	(3-0)	111	7
8	Delsea	(1-0)	105	8
9	St. John Vianney	(0-0)	95	9
10	Phillipsburg	(1-0)	89	10
11	St. Joseph-Metuchen	(0-0)	77	12
12	St. Augustine Prep	(2-0)	70	13
13	Warren Hills	(3-0)	68	16
14	South Plainfield	(2-0)	52	14
15	Don Bosco Prep	(1-0)	40	17
16	Mount Olive	(1-1)	36	11
17	Hunterdon Central	(3-0)	33	18
	Kingsway	(1-1)	33	15
19	North Hunterdon	(2-0)	16	19
20	Delaware Valley	(3-1)	10	20
Also receiving votes: St. Augustine (4-1)

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).