It was pretty much business as usual in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area when it comes to sectional championships. For the second straight season, the area captured four titles, including Delaware Valley's 65-9 rout of Manville in the Central Jersey, Group 1 final on Wednesday night.
The Terriers (17-3), who yielded just 21 points in three sectional victories including blowout wins over Shore Regional (77-6 in the quarterfinals) and Metuchen (73-6 in the semifinals) on Monday, matched Hunterdon Central for the county lead with the program's 23rd title overall and sixth in a row. The HWS area has produced at least four sectional winners each season since 2015.
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| Del Val is 9-4 in sectional finals since 2008 |
Phillipsburg (North 1, Group 4),
North Hunterdon (North 2, Group 4) and
High Point (North 1, Group 2) also won sectional title matches, while Kittatinny fell short in its bid for No. 26 with a 38-31 loss at home to New Milford, which won its first. It was just the fifth loss for the Cougars under John Gill in 30 finals appearances.
"We were ready and the funny thing is, we had the worst practice [Wednesday] morning," said P'burg coach Tim Longacre, whose team turned in perhaps its best effort of the season in a
31-29 win over Mount Olive. "My guts were twisted all day. We came down to set that mats up around 1:15, and the vibe was completely awesome. I knew we were OK."
Delaware Valley, now 22-11 overall in sectional finals, advances in its quest for the program's 11th state title as coach Andy Fitz's team will host either Schalick or New Milford in Friday's Group 1 semifinals. Hanover Park, which won its 16th sectional title in North 2, will meet either Paulsboro or New Milford. Friday's winners will square off for the state championship on Sunday at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena.
Prime P'burg
Credit to Phillipsburg and its coaching staff for a stellar performance against Mount Olive, which secured the program's 42nd sectional title -- second only to Paulsboro (43) in state history. The Stateliners' season appeared on the brink of heading south following a brutal stretch of three losses spanning nine days, capped by a 34-24 setback at North Hunterdon in a lackluster effort on Jan. 29.
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| P'burg seeks its 1st state title since 2022 (Group 5) |
P'burg has since reeled off five straight wins and could get a rematch against North should both advance as expected in the Group 4 semifinals. The 'Liners, who are seeking their 24th state championship are set to host Long Branch, while the Lions get the Toms River East vs. Toms River South winner in Thursday's South Jersey sectional final.
"We just went back into practice the next day and started from Day 1 again," sophomore Owen Garriques said of Phillipsburg's turnaround since that North loss. "You can't let that stuff affect you because we have a goal [of winning a Group 4 title] and we have to achieve that goal. We lifted our heads up and grinded really hard starting the next day."
Garriques' tone-setting 5-0 win over Matteo Eagleson in the opening bout at 132 pounds, sent P'burg surging to its fourth straight sectional title and gave Garriques' family a total of five as his father, John, a state runner-up in 1997, won three (1995-97) as a 'Liner.
"There's a of history here at Phillipsburg," said Garriques, now 22-8 on the season. "It's always cool to keep adding to the program's legacy."
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| P'burg ranks 2nd among public schools with 23 state titles |
Senior
Derek Stone (20-8) has been the leader and cornerstone for an otherwise group of inexperienced upper weights, who came through by minimizing the damage in losses vs. Mount Olive. Both he and Garriques feel the 'Liners are back on the right track.
"Our team has been doing better with wrestling for our team and not for ourselves," Stone said. "After those losses we had it was like a reawakening for us. We really needed to step up. We have a great coaching staff and we always know they're always there for us and help us get back on track."
"We're finally starting to come together and like Coach [Longacre] always says, he wants us to finally break through," Garriques said. "I feel like we kind of did [against Mount Olive] and all the hard work showed."
'Cats, Lions on prowl
High Point and North Hunterdon found winning sectional titles to be a bit more difficult as both pulled off close wins in their respective finals.
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| High Point seeks its first 20-win season since 2017-18 |
In North 1, Group 2, High Point pulled off a 33-31 victory over Pascack Valley, while North's 32-31 win over Middletown North came down to the final bout in North 2, Group 4.
High Point (19-5), which ranks third among public schools with 31 titles, received key wins down the stretch from junior Giovoughni Dureny (175) and senior Donald Weiss (215), while senior Michael Tidona (138) got things rolling with one of the team's four pins in the opening bout. Senior Nick Clayton (150) also won by fall in his final home match -- improving to 108-33 overall and tying Devon Liebl (108-27 from 2016-20) for 14th on the school's all-time wins list.
The Sussex County school will travel to North 2 champion Caldwell, which won its eighth sectional title, for a Group 2 semifinal clash on Friday.
Former 'Cats state champion Billy Smith won his first title as head coach after being on the bench for six as an assistant on John Gardner's staff. Smith also collected three as a wrestler (2008, '10 and '11).
North Hunterdon returned to the winner's circle after a one-year hiatus and gave second-year coach Dave Bell his first with the Lions. Sophomore Kieran Raley secured the championship with a 10-1 major decision in the 14th bout. Junior Reid Buzby (126) and sophomore Aidan Yarussi (132) set the stage for Raley's heroics with a major decision and technical fall in the two preceding bouts.
North's 18th sectional championship broke a tie with sister-school Voorhees as the Lions will host the South Jersey champion -- either Toms River East or Toms River South -- in the Group 4 semifinals.
Pairings for the public and Non-Public state semifinals:
Group 5
4-Passaic Tech (23-10, 37.78) at 1-Southern (16-3, 43.00)
3-Monroe Township (18-14, 39.11) at 2-Bridgewater-Raritan (20-7, 40.00)
Group 4
4-Toms River East (11-11, 35.67) or Toms River South (18-1, 36.22) at 1-North Hunterdon (15-6, 41.22)
3-Long Branch (14-8, 39.00) at 2-Phillipsburg (16-3, 42.67)*
* -- North Hunterdon is the No. 1 seed by virtue of a 34-24 win over Phillipsburg on Jan. 11
Group 3
4-Wayne Valley (21-0, 38.56) at 1-Delsea (19-2, 42.78)
Cranford (20-3, 41.67) vs. Brick Memorial (12-4, 40.89) or Hopewell Valley (21-4, 41.22)
Group 2
4-Middle Township (23-3, 37.56) or Lower Cape May (21-4, 40.44) at 1-Rumson-Fair Haven (26-1, 42.22)
3-High Point (19-5, 41.00) at 2-Caldwell (23-1, 41.67)
Group 1
4-Schalick (25-1, 32.67) or New Milford (18-1, 33.67) at 1-Delaware Valley (17-3, 42.11)
3-Paulsboro (14-7, 39.00) or New Milford at 2-Hanover Park (16-6, 40.00)
Non-Public A
4-St. John Vianney (13-4) at 1-Delbarton (22-3)
6-St. Joseph-Montvale (12-3) at 2-St. Peter's Prep (16-2)
Non-Public B
4-Immaculata (12-9) at 1-Camden Catholic (15-0)
3-Red Bank Catholic (11-6) at 2-Pope John (10-5)
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