Wrestling: Three rep HWS in final NJWWA Top 20

The Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area didn't end the dual season with a flourish, but three teams started and finished among the state's best.

Leading the way was Phillipsburg, which finished No. 9 in the final New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20. Hunterdon Central (No. 12) and Delaware Valley (No. 17) round out the local contingent in the statewide poll released on Wednesday morning.

For just the fifth time overall and first since 2019, no team from HWS ended the season with a state team championship since the tournaments formed in 1982. The area has never gone back-to-back seasons without a title, though it may be a challenge to keep that streak alive in 2024-25.

P'burg (18-1), which captured its 41st sectional title, saw its dual campaign end for a second straight season with a loss to Southern -- 45-21 in the Group 5 final -- at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena. The Stateliners knocked off Hunterdon Central (45-13 on Jan. 10) and Delaware Valley (34-28 on Jan. 24) along with No. 13 Delsea (30-28) and No. 19 Mount Olive (32-27) on Dec. 23, but were denied in their bid for the program's fifth unbeaten season and first since 2013-14.

Southern (18-2), which finished as the No. 1 public school for a second consecutive season, is 11-7 all-time vs. P'burg, including wins in six of nine postseason meetings dating to 1997. The Rams, who also own a series-best five-match win streak from 2005-07, have now won three straight matchups since the 'Liners scored a 27-25 victory in the 2022 Group 5 semifinals.

Hawk eyes his third district title

Junior Gavin Hawk (29-1 at 150) and senior John Wargo (26-1 at 285) will look to join a group of only 40 Stateliners to win at least three district titles this weekend at Roxbury High School. Hawk, among the state championship favorites at his weight class, recently became just the 28th at P'burg and the first 11th grader to reach the century mark in wins in at 101-17 overall. Junior Luke Geleta (28-2 at 144) enters this weekend just six shy at 94-22 overall, while Wargo needs seven wins at 93-15, even more impressive considering he did not wrestle as a freshman.

Hunterdon Central (21-3), which captured the program's 23rd sectional title and first since 2019 and logged a 20-win season for the fifth time in its history, saw its dual season end with a 40-21 loss to Southern in the Group 5 semifinals on Friday. The Red Devils, who won their only state title in 1989 (Group 4), knocked off a pair of Top 20 teams in Delsea (36-25 on Jan. 27) and Mount Olive (35-34 on Jan. 20), as well as Group 2 runner-up Jefferson (43-36 on Dec. 23).

Freshman Rhett Washleski (30-3 at 150), along with seniors Anthony Rossi (32-0 at 120) and Thomas Brunetti (33-0 at 175), look to lead host Central, now in Region 4, in the District 14 Tournament on Saturday at the Field House. Brunetti is just eight wins from joining Rossi in the school's 100-wins club.

Del Val celebrates its 22nd sectional title

Delaware Valley (20-2), which logged its 11th 20-win season in program history and first since a school-record 23 wins in 2016-17, came up short in its bid for a third straight Group 1 title with Sunday's 33-25 loss to Paulsboro.

The Terriers scored Top 20 wins against Hunterdon Central (34-28 on Jan. 24) and Group 4 champion Ridge (53-16 on Jan. 20), which was unranked and missing five starters at the time. Del Val had no trouble winning its fifth straight sectional title and 22nd overall as Andy Fitz (286-96 in 17 seasons) surpassed his father, Vince (284-60-3 in 19 seasons from 1971-90), as the winningest head coach in program history with an 81-0 win over Point Pleasant Beach in the sectional final.

Keep an eye on seniors Jake Taylor (20-6 at 113), Matt Roche (26-2 at 132) and Anderson Olcott (26-2 at 190) and juniors Jaden Perez (29-1 at 126) and Jackson Bush (24-4 at 138) in Saturday's District 10 Tournament at Nutley High School.

Green machine

There is no doubt Delbarton (17-4) has earned the final No. 1 ranking in the NJWWA Top 20.

The Green Wave not only avenged a loss to No. 2 St. Joseph-Montvale from last year's Non-Public A final with a 30-22 win in the title match on Sunday, but they also beat No. 3 St. Peter's Prep, 66-0, in a Catholic Schools Duals semifinal on Jan. 6. Coach Bryan Stoll's team also knocked off No. 4 Christian Brothers Academy, 49-13, in a Non-Public A semifinal and Group 5 champion Southern, 53-9, on Jan. 24.

Southern, which lost to Delbarton and CBA, also defeated No. 14 Kingsway in the South Jersey, Group 5 sectional final.

Kittatinny went 19-4 and won a sectional title

Nine of the top 11 teams in the final Top 20 are Non-Public schools. Seven of those are Non-Public A teams.

The second half of the final poll underwent some changes from the way it had been most of the season after Paulsboro won its 34th Group 1 title with a 33-25 win over two-time defending champion Delaware Valley -- racking up big differentials in takedowns vs. the Terriers (23-12) and Kittatinny (36-7) in a 40-24 win over the Cougars in a Group 1 semifinal.

Ridge, which carried the Skyland Conference flag on Sunday, won its first championship since 1986 with a dramatic come-from-behind 35-33 win over Mount Olive in the Group 4 final.

Here are the final rankings with records followed by first-place votes in parentheses and point totals.

Rank	School	Record	Votes	Previous
1	Delbarton (8)	(17-4)	160	2
2	St. Joseph-Montvale	(12-1)	152	1
3	St. Peter's Prep	(16-5)	144	3
4	Christian Bros. Academy	(14-2)	136	4
5	Southern	(18-2)	128	5
6	St. John Vianney	(14-1)	117	10
7	Camden Catholic	(15-2)	109	6
8	Don Bosco Prep	(14-5)	104	7
9	Phillipsburg	(18-1)	97	9
10	Paramus Catholic	(10-3)	95	8
11	Bergen Catholic	(7-7)	70	11
12	Hunterdon Central	(21-3)	63	13
13	Delsea	(19-4)	57	17
14	Kingsway	(14-2)	51	16
15	Paulsboro	(22-2)	45	NR
16	Rumson-Fair Haven	(18-1)	43	20
17	Delaware Valley	(20-2)	37	12
18	Ridge	(21-2)	36	NR
19	Mount Olive	(16-5)	26	14
20	St. Joseph-Metuchen	(20-5)	14	18

Also receiving votes: Kittatinny (19-4) 3. 

Voting members 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).