Wrestling: HWS lands 7 No. 1s (sectional pairings)

(Story had been updated to clarify the postseason implications of Thursday's match between Phillipsburg and Hunterdon Central, which was cancelled on Wednesday)

If we're talking sectional wrestling championships, the conversation has to center around how many will the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area bring home this season.

That's no surprise as teams from this neck of the woods have won at least one title (seven in 2022) in each of the previous 42 seasons since the tournaments began in 1980 (none were held in 2021 due to COVID-19). Phillipsburg, with an incredible HWS-best 39 championships, is mostly responsible for that impressive streak as the Stateliners reached the finals in each of the previous years and lost only three (Warren Hills-1990, Hunterdon Central-2013 and North Hunterdon-2020).  

Phillipsburg (10-2), ranked No. 13 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, is among seven schools from the HWS area to earn No. 1 seeds as the pairings were released on Tuesday.

North Hunterdon seeks its 17th sectional title

In all, 13 local teams qualified for the sectional tournaments, which get underway with two rounds on Monday. The public school higher seeds will host -- 1 vs. 8 and 5 vs. 4, along with 3 vs. 6 and 7 vs. 2 -- with the winner in each bracket squaring off in the semifinals that evening. 

The championship finals are slated for Wednesday, Feb. 8. All sectional winners move onto the state semifinal round on Friday, Feb. 10 at the higher seeds. The state finals will be held for the first time at Rutgers University on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 12. 

The Non-Public schedule has quarterfinals set for Monday, followed by semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 9 and state finals on Sunday, Feb. 12. Under the new format, non-public schools are housed in either A or B brackets and no longer divided into North and South sections. As a result there are no longer non-public sectional finals as the semifinal winners in A and B automatically advance to the state title round. 

P'burg celebrates its North 2, Group 5 title in 2022.

The area No. 1 seeds are Phillipsburg (North 2, Group 5), North Hunterdon (North 2, Group 4), Warren Hills (North 2, Group 3), High Point (North 1, Group 2), Delaware Valley (Central Jersey, Group 1), Kittatinny (North 1, Group 1) and Hunterdon Central (Central Jersey, Group 5).

All but Hunterdon Central, which captured the program's 22nd and last championship in 2019, won titles in 2022. 

Newton (North 1, Group 1), Voorhees (North 2, Group 2) and Sparta (North 1, Group 3) are No. 3 seeds, while Hackettstown is the No. 5 seed in North 2, Group 2. Lenape Valley is the No. 7 seed in North 2, Group 1. Pope John, which won its 11th Non-Public North B title in 2022, drew the No. 9 seed in Non-Public A, the toughest and most daunting with state powers Delbarton, St. Joseph-Montvale, Bergen Catholic and St. Peters' Prep to name a few.

The seeding committee met on Tuesday to finalize the pairings in each section and break any existing ties based on head-to-head results, where applicable, followed in order by average of all duals, common opponents and winning percentage. Pairings became official as of noon on Wednesday.

P'burg (10-2) is coming off a 33-27 loss to Delaware Valley on Monday night -- snapping a 13-match win streak in a series in which the Stateliners are 38-7 all-time dating to 1975. Coach Brad Gentzle's team was gearing up for Thursday's schedule showdown against No. 11 Hunterdon Central at the Field House to decide the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title. The match was cancelled for undisclosed reasons on Wednesday afternoon, as was Central's dual against Bridgewater-Raritan on Wednesday evening.

We previously reported that the winner would host a potential Group 5 semifinal on Friday, Feb. 10, but NJSIAA Tournament Director Ken Rossi stated via text message on Wednesday afternoon that any head-to-head tiebreakers need to occur before the sectional cutoff since those brackets have already been set.

But in taking a closer look at the tournament regulations (see accompanying photos), nowhere does it specifically state that any head-to-head matches contested after the cutoff do not apply to the Group tournaments, which have yet to be finalized since those involve sectional winners. In fact, all that is stated in here is that "matches wrestled after the cutoff date will not count toward tournament qualification." See how this is open to interpretation? We aren't talking about qualifying, the teams are already in the dance.
 

The regs are unclear. I know, shocking, right? We have certainly been down this road before.

Southern, which handed P'burg a 42-12 setback on Jan. 19, and huge favorite to repeat in the South Jersey section, should be the No. 1 seed with 36.60 power points. The Rams would host the North 1 winner in one semifinal. P'burg (34.90) will have to travel to Central (36.30) should both reach the semis, regardless of if the 'Liners would have won Thursday's match, which was originally scheduled for last week prior to the sectional cutoff.

Warren Hills last won back-to-back titles in 1997-98.

Warren Hills (13-3), ranked No. 14 by the NJWWA, captured the program's sixth sectional title and first since 2007 a year ago before its run ended with a heartbreaking 29-25 loss to Delsea in pursuit of the Blue Streaks' first Group 3 state championship since 1997. Coach Dave Sbriscia's Streaks, who dropped a 39-15 decision in a rematch with Delsea in the Jack Welch Duals semifinals on Jan. 21, may find repeating more difficult competing in arguably the toughest public section in the state. Cranford (17-2) is the No. 2 seed, West Morris the No. 3 and West Essex, last year's runner-up, is the No. 4 seed.

North Hunterdon (10-5), which won the Group 4 title to cap the program's first unbeaten season in 2020 and claimed the program's 16th sectional championship in '22, is looking to make another state title run in what looks like a wide open Group 4 field. Coach Chris Hrunka's Lions, ranked No. 16 by the NJWWA, aren't the state favorites for a second straight season. Mount Olive (8-4), which captured Morris County's first public state title a year ago, is the top seed in North 1, Group 4 and seeks the program's fourth sectional championship. 

Delaware Valley (12-3), which jumped to No. 12 in the latest NJWWA Top 20 on the heels of wins over Warren Hills (39-23 on Saturday) and P'burg (33-27 on Monday), are primed to make a run at back-to-back Group 1 state titles. Coach Andy Fitz's Terriers must first secure the Hunterdon County program's 21st sectional championship and fourth since 2019.

High Point (7-8), which won the Group 2 title in 2020 and '22, is an overwhelming favorite to claim its Sussex County-best 30th sectional title. Coach John Gardner's Wildcats, who won titles in each of the previous five North 1, Group 2 tournaments, have benefitted from a brutal schedule and seem to be rounding into shape at the right time. Gardner recently became just the second Sussex County and fourth HWS area coach to accrue 400-plus wins at 401-121-2 in 25 seasons.

John Gill's Cougars celebrate their 2022 title.

Kittatinny and legendary coach John Gill (633-203-5 in 43 seasons) will bid for the program's 24th sectional title overall and 10th in North 1, Group 1. The Cougars (8-5) may very well get a rematch with Newton (9-9) in the finals after handing the Braves, who won their only championships back-to-back in 2009-10, a 46-24 loss in the 52nd meeting between cross-town rivals on Jan. 5. 

Newton is 2-3 in postseason meetings between the schools as Braves coach Eric Bollette, a state placewinner for the Cougars and who recently passed the legendary John Goles (268 wins) for ninth place on the HWS area's all-time list at 275-219-1 in 22 seasons, bested his former coach in 2009-10. 

Here are the seeds and pairings (records are through Jan. 30):

Group 5

North 1

At Passaic Tech

1-Passaic Tech (13-6, 31.70) vs. 8-Passaic (7-12, 22.40)
5-North Bergen (6-9, 25.80) vs. 4-Morristown (5-10, 26.10)

At Clifton

3-Bloomfield (14-7, 26.80) vs. 6-Livingston (5-11, 25.80)
7-West Orange (6-9, 25.40) vs. 2-Clifton (16-3, 30.10)

North 2

At Phillipsburg

1-Phillipsburg (10-2, 34.90) vs. 8-Elizabeth (8-7, 25.20)
5-Newark East Side (14-5, 26.40) vs. 4-Bayonne (9-10, 26.50)

At Bridgewater-Raritan

3-Westfield (14-2, 30.60) vs. 6-Columbia (9-5, 25.80)
7-Piscataway (7-8, 25.60) vs. 2-Bridgewater-Raritan (10-4, 30.80)

Central Jersey

At Hunterdon Central

1-Hunterdon Central (15-3, 36.30) vs. 8-Freehold Township (6-7, 26.10)
5-Monroe Township (11-11, 29.30) vs. 4-Old Bridge (13-3, 31.60)

At Hillsborough

3-Howell (15-6, 32.30) vs. 6-Edison (14-3, 27.90)
7-East Brunswick (9-5, 26.70) vs. 2-Hillsborough (14-3, 32.90)

South Jersey

At Southern

1-Southern (14-1, 36.60) vs. 8-Egg Harbor Township (6-20, 25.60)
5-Rancocas Valley (12-8, 27.90) vs. 4-Highland-Triton (18-4, 29.20)

At Washington Township

3-Kingsway (13-8, 31.60) vs. 6-Eastern (9-9, 27.50)
7-Vineland (13-8, 26.80) vs. 2-Washington Township (20-1, 31.70)

Group 4

North 1

At Mount Olive

1-Mount Olive (8-4, 32.90) vs. 8-Belleville (8-6, 26.30)
5-Cliffside Park-Ridgefield (12-3, 27.10) vs. 4-Northern Highlands (8-7, 27.80)

At Ridgewood

3-Morris Knolls (8-8, 28.80) vs. 6-Bogota-Ridgefield Park (10-5, 27.20)
7-Randolph (9-5, 26.70) vs. 2-Ridgewood (9-3, 29.20)

North 2

At North Hunterdon

1-North Hunterdon (9-5, 34.10) vs. 8-Colonia (9-5, 25.80)
5-Ridge (13-6, 28.20) vs. 4-Middletown South (7-4, 30.50)

At Watchung Hills 

3-Middletown North (14-4, 30.90) vs. 6-JFK-Iselin (15-0, 28.10)
7-Sayreville (13-8, 27.50) vs. 2-Watchung Hills (12-5, 31.40)

Central Jersey

At Brick Memorial

1-Brick Memorial (14-4, 32.70) vs. 8-Steinert (7-7, 26.70)
5-Princeton (14-4, 28.80) vs. 4-Long Branch (13-5, 30.40)

At Jackson Memorial 

3-Manalapan (20-4, 32.20) vs. 6-Colts Neck (13-6, 28.50)
7-Hightstown (11-8, 27.40) vs. 2-Jackson Memorial (11-6, 32.20)

South Jersey

At Shawnee

1-Shawnee (14-3, 31.20) vs. 8-Clearview (10-9, 27.20)
5-Hammonton (12-8, 27.90) vs. 4-Toms River South (8-8, 28.00)

At Moorestown

3-Northern Burlington (7-8, 28.30) vs. 6-Cherry Hill West (13-8, 27.90)
7-Toms River East (7-9, 27.30) vs. 2-Moorestown (14-7, 28.30)

Group 3

North 1

At Old Tappan

1-Old Tappan (13-4, 31.00) vs. 8-Pascack Valley (11-8, 28.60)
5-River Dell (10-9, 28.60) vs. 4-Montville (8-8, 29.30)

At Ramapo

3-Sparta (14-4, 29.90) vs. 6-Paramus (10-7, 28.50)
7-Wayne Hills (12-7, 26.70) vs. 2-Ramapo (11-8, 29.20) 

North 2

At Warren Hills

1-Warren Hills (13-3, 35.50) vs. 8-Becton-Wood-Ridge (10-7, 26.70)
5-Morris Hills (11-10, 30.40) vs. 4-West Essex (13-2, 32.20)

At Cranford

3-West Morris (10-5, 32.80) vs. 6-Roxbury (10-6, 29.60)
7-Passaic Valley (13-4, 27.80) vs. 2-Cranford (17-2, 34.90) 

Central Jersey

At Hopewell Valley

1-Hopewell Valley (14-4, 29.90) vs. 8-Somerville (5-11, 25.50)
5-Allentown (12-7, 26.80) vs. 4-Ocean Township (10-7, 26.90)

At South Plainfield 

3-Robbinsville (16-5, 28.10) vs. 6-Lawrence (10-5, 26.80)
7-Middlesex-Dunellen (8-8, 26.20) vs. 2-South Plainfield (8-5, 28.90)

South Jersey

At Delsea

1-Delsea (18-1, 37.10) vs. 8-Absegami (9-9, 27.20)
5-Gateway-Woodbury (12-9, 28.60) vs. 4-Seneca (12-1, 28.80)

At Lacey Township

3-Jackson Liberty (8-4, 30.10) vs. 6-Pemberton (13-12, 27.30)
7-Ocean City (8-8, 27.10) vs. 2-Lacey Township (19-2, 32.40)

Group 2

North 1

At High Point

1-High Point (7-8, 30.80) vs. 8-Manchester Regional (7-8, 25.90)

5-Westwood (13-5, 29.60) vs. 4-West Milford (11-5, 27.80)

At Jefferson

 

3-Pascack Hills (15-5, 29.00) vs. 6-Lakeland (7-9, 26.80)

7-Ramsey (10-11, 26.80) vs. 2-Jefferson (12-5, 30.00)

North 2

At Caldwell

1-Caldwell (14-4, 30.50) vs. 8-Carteret (6-10, 23.60)
5-Hackettstown (11-11, 27.10) vs. 4-Rutherford (12-4, 27.80)

At Governor Livingston 

3-Voorhees (13-6, 27.50) vs. 6-Johnson (9-6, 26.90)
7-Bernards (7-3, 24.20) vs. 2-Governor Livingston (13-2, 28.80)

Central Jersey

At Raritan

1-Raritan (17-5, 34.40) vs. 8-Spotswood (9-10, 25.50)
5-Delran (8-8, 27.90) vs. 4-Rumson-Fair Haven (8-7, 28.00)

At Point Pleasant Boro

3-Cinnaminson (13-5, 28.70) vs. 6-Wall Township (5-7, 26.10)
7-Holmdel (13-7, 26.60) vs. 2-Point Pleasant Boro (12-1, 30.50)

South Jersey

At Haddonfield

1-Haddonfield (14-4, 31.30) vs. 8-Clayton-Glassboro (8-6, 25.90)
5-Lower Cape May (13-4, 27.20) vs. 5-Middle Township (11-6, 27.60)

At West Deptford 

3-Collingswood (17-5, 29.50) vs. 6-Haddon Heights (11-10, 26.80)
7-Barnegat (10-13, 26.50) vs. 2-West Deptford (11-9, 28.80)

Group 1

North 1

At Kittatinny

1-Kittatinny (8-5, 32.00) vs. 8-Hawthorne (6-8, 24.50)
5-Pompton Lakes (11-6, 26.60) vs. 4-Butler (14-3, 27.10)

At Emerson-Park Ridge

3-Newton (8-9, 27.50) vs. 6-Glen Rock (10-5, 25.90)
7-New Milford (8-6, 25.80) vs. 2-Emerson-Park Ridge (10-7, 29.40)

North 2

At Hanover Park

1-Hanover Park (11-4, 31.00) vs. 8-Saddle Brook (7-8, 24.60)
5-Secaucus (12-9, 26.70) vs. 4-Cedar Grove (9-7, 27.20)

At Hasbrouck Heights

3-Glen Ridge (9-3, 26.80) vs. 6-Mountain Lakes (9-8, 25.40)
7-Lenape Valley (6-9, 25.10) vs. 2-Hasbrouck Heights (13-4, 28.20)

Central Jersey

At Delaware Valley

1-Delaware Valley (12-3, 34.60) vs. 8-New Egypt (6-11, 25.20)
5-Manville (16-0, 26.70) vs. 4-Keansburg (14-2, 27.10)

At Shore Regional

3-Point Pleasant Beach (10-8, 27.40) vs. 6-Metuchen (8-8, 25.80)
7-New Providence (6-13, 25.30) vs. 2-Shore Regional (11-6, 27.00)

South Jersey

At Paulsboro

1-Paulsboro (14-3, 31.40) vs. 8-Palmyra (7-12, 25.00)
5-Pitman (16-3, 27.30) vs. 4-Audubon (15-7, 29.90)

At Woodstown

3-Gloucester City (15-7, 30.20) vs. 6-Haddon Township (7-11, 25.80)
7-Pennsville (9-13, 25.80) vs. 2-Woodstown (15-6, 30.60)

Non-Public A

At Delbarton

8-St. Augustine (9-8, 28.60) vs. 9-Pope John (7-6, 30.90), winner to meet 1-Delbarton (14-2, 35.20)

At St. Peter's Prep

5-Paramus Catholic (11-3, 32.60) vs. 12-Paul VI-Haddonfield (8-6, 25.80)
4-St. Peter's Prep (12-1, 35.20) vs. 13-Notre Dame (10-8, 25.90)

At Bergen Catholic

6-Christian Brothers Academy (7-8, 34.10) vs. 11-Don Bosco Prep (6-4, 27.70), winner to meet 3-Bergen Catholic (12-3, 32.80)

At St. Joseph-Montvale

7-St. Joseph-Metuchen (13-3, 34.10) vs. 10-Seton Hall Prep (12-1, 32.50), winner to meet 2-St. Joseph-Montvale (14-2, 34.30)

Non-Public B

At St. John Vianney

8-Holy Spirit (5-10, 24.00) vs. 9-Donovan Catholic (2-13, 23.60), winner to meet 1-St. John Vianney (9-1, 30.40)

At Red Bank Catholic

5-Holy Cross (7-8, 25.00) vs. 4-Red Bank Catholic (8-5, 29.40)

At St. Thomas Aquinas

3-St. Thomas Aquinas (11-5, 29.40) vs. 6-DePaul (5-10, 24.70)

At Camden Catholic

7-Newark Academy (7-8, 24.90) vs. 10-Pingry (4-7, 23.50), winner to meet 2-Camden Catholic (10-5, 28.90)