The Colonial Valley Conference runs through Hopewell Township.
Hopewell Valley has won a divisional title in nine of the last 10 years. Robbinsville temporarily unseated the Bulldogs during the 2020-2021 season. Hopewell has won 14 of the 16 last Colonial Valley Conference/Mercer County Tournament titles. The Bulldogs are 114-2 in its last 116 CVC matches and 226-6 in CVC over the last 18 years.
Each year, one team emerges to challenge Hopewell Valley for domination of the area.
Last year it was Hightstown.
This year it’s Steinert. The Spartans will take their shot at knocking Hopewell Valley off the top of the hill next Tuesday at home.
“We haven’t had much luck against those guys,” Steinert head coach Joe Panfili told NJ.com earlier this season.
The Spartans will need plenty of luck.
Steinert has lost 15 straight matches to Hopewell Valley. In those matches, the Spartans have been outscored 879 to 168. Only once has Steinert won more than four bouts during that span — in 2011-2012 when it won six in a 33-22 loss. The Spartans have won only one bout twice and two four different times.
Steinert is 11-1 — equalling its final win total in each of the last two seasons and its combined number of dual meet wins between 2019 and 2022.
Hopewell Valley is 9-1. Hopewell Valley has won a divisional title in nine of the last 10 years. Robbinsville
Notes
Fab 50 for Cranford
Few teams have been as dominant in their specific area of the state as Cranford. The Cougars enter this weekend trying to win their record-11th straight Union County Tournament and return two champs in that process. But just as impressive as the Cougars’ success at the UCT has been their dominance in dual meets against Union County foes.
Cranford has won a whopping 50 straight dual meets against Union County Conference teams, dating back to their last loss — 40-30 — against Scotch Plains-Fanwood on March 18, 2021.
The Cougars’ 50th straight UCC win came on Wednesday with a 69-6 win over Plainfield.
Further highlighting the Cougars’ dominance, since that last loss, just three of Cranford’s 49 straight UCC wins have been decided by a single digit margin of victory. All told, in these last 50 UCC duals, Cranford has outscored county teams 2985-699.
Their next UCC dual is next Wednesday against Linden, where they’ll look to extend their streak to 51.
Walk-off Wednesday at the Shore
Outside of the top-four teams in the Shore Conference (Christian Brothers, Southern, Howell and Rumson-Fair Haven), parity has reigned supreme. Results have been all over the place, and, in many instances, matches have come down to the 14th and final bout.
Wednesday was the peak of final-bout drama with six key division matches being decided in the last weight class.
- No. 19 Jackson Township outlasted No. 18 Middletown North, 33-32, with four wins in the final five bouts – all with bonus points. The Jaguars were down 11 with two bouts remaining until Logan Schlenk won by fall at 215 pounds and Andrew Chitacapa delivered a match-clinching pin at heavyweight. Jackson is 10-0.
- Wall’s Eric Clauburg clinched the Crimson Knights’ 41-30 victory over longtime rival Ocean Township with a pin at heavyweight. Wall was trailing 30-29 with two bouts left when Cylas Coyne, giving up 22 pounds to Ocean’s Tae’jon Nevins, rallied from an early deficit to produce a match-changing pin at 215 pounds.
- Colts Neck trailed Toms River East 29-26 with two bouts left before Nicholas Zecchino and Brody Kaplan brought the Cougars home with consecutive victories. Zecchino won by decision at 150 pounds to tie the match at 29, and Kaplan walked it off with a first-period pin at 157 pounds. Colts Neck is 10-0.
- No. 13 Rumson-Fair Haven held off Brick Memorial, 39-31, in a back-and-forth match. State medalist Joaquin Duque won by major decision at 138 pounds in the final bout to preserve what was a four-point lead through the first 13 weight classes.
- Manchester Township earned a thrilling 41-35 win over Point Pleasant Beach when Cash Wilson won by technical fall at 150 pounds in the final bout. The Hawks won eight bouts and needed all eight of them with the Garnet Gulls securing five pins and one technical fall in their six victories. Beach rallied to tie the match at 35 on pins by Dante Pezzello and Jaxon Bowers at 138 and 144, respectively, before Wilson halted the rally.
No issues of late for No. Brunswick
After a slow start to the season, coach Dave Saley’s North Brunswick squad has been one of the hottest in the GMC of late.
The Raiders began the year just 1-9, though they wrestled a tough schedule in that slate with the likes of state powers Howell and Rumson-Fair Haven, plus Williamstown, Monroe and Hillsborough, among others.
But, recently, the Raiders have won seven in a row to improve to 8-9 and most notably, they went up to the White Division and picked off three higher division teams in South Brunswick (41-31), Perth Amboy (45-32) and Iselin Kennedy (47-34).
The Raiders are atop the GMC Blue Division at 4-0 in their GMC Blue contests and Joldin Miranda (13-1 at 150) paces the team in wins.
New Egypt still perfect
There are 11 teams still undefeated through matches wrestled on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Seeing powerhouse programs like No. 1 Delbarton, No. 4 Camden Catholic and No. 7 Southern, along with No. 17 Lower Cape May, No. 19 Jackson Township and perennial championship contender Delaware Valley, without a loss is no surprise.
New Egypt certainly qualifies, however.
The small Group 1 school in western Ocean County eked out a 36-33 win over Cedar Creek on Wednesday to remain unbeaten at 5-0. The Warriors, who joined the Shore Conference for the 2024-2025 scholastic year, own victories over Hillside, Riverside, Palmyra, Keyport and Cedar Creek. They have a major test on Friday when they head east to wrestle Point Pleasant Beach.
Sophomore 120-pounder Braydon Hatalla has a team-best 9-2 record, while senior Elmer Morfin (165) and junior Wyatt Burgess (144) are both 8-2.
Del Val delivers at H/W/S, in duals
Once again, the defending Group 1 champs Delaware Valley are off to a hot start at 11-0.
Most recently and perhaps most impressively, the Terriers went on the road to Annandale and downed defending Group 4 champs and Top 20 ranked North Hunterdon, 41-27.
They also fared well at this year’s Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament, where they had multiple champs — Michael Hasson at 144 and Hunter Taffera at 157 — for the first time since 2012 as well.
You can find full coverage of this year’s H/W/S tournament here.
Asbury Park continues its ascent
Asbury Park eclipsed its win total from last season with a 44-35 comeback victory over Red Bank Regional on Wednesday night.
The Blue Bishops trailed by 15 points with four bouts to go before consecutive pins by Prince Gue, Jay’Denn Vazquez-Francillion and Lorenzo Castellon from 190 through 285 pounds gave Asbury Park a 38-35 lead heading into the final bout. Red Bank forfeited the final bout at 106.
Asbury is 7-3 with wins over New Brunswick, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Rutgers Prep, Central Jersey College Prep, North Star Academy, Manchester Township, South River and Red Bank. Two of the Bishops’ three losses have come by a combined four points (36-33 to Marlboro and 37-36 to Monmouth Regional).
Victories are one thing, but the fact that Asbury can nearly fill its entire lineup is the most encouraging sign. Numbers are a problem most seasons on Sunset Avenue, but that has become less of an issue in recent years under fifth-year head coach Alex Provenza. Forfeits at nearly half the weights used to be common. Now, the Blue Bishops have only one weight – 165 pounds – without a regular starter.
A growing feeder program is laying a solid foundation. Freshmen Daylin Buntin (12-4, 106 pounds), Wickenley Milien (12-5, 113) and Nathan Enelus (14-4, 120) are among the team leaders in wins after successful middle school careers. Fellow ninth-grader Jaydin Handy (8-7, 175) placed third at the intermediate school state tournament last season.
The Blue Bishops have nine wrestlers with 10 or more wins.
Asbury Park has a great chance to win the program’s most matches since the program was revived in 2007. The Bishops went 11-8 in 2023. They have matches remaining with Barnegat, New Egypt, Freehold Boro, Keansburg, Highland Park, Keyport, Shore Regional, Nottingham and Brick Township.
Shore Milestones
Jackson Township senior Tucker Pazinko recorded his 100th career win when the Jaguars swept a tri-meet with Ocean Township and Long Branch. He is the first wrestler to reach 100 wins for the new combined high school. He would have been the sixth Jackson Liberty wrestler to reach the century mark and is the 23rd 100-win wrestler between Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty.
Several Shore Conference wrestlers are nearing 100 wins entering Friday’s matches:
- Daniel Benbrook Middletown North (98)
- Alexander Liss, Matawan (98)
- Eamon Fry, Rumson-Fair Haven (95)
- Aidan Flynn, Lacey (96)
- Shawn Retta, Keansburg (95)
- Owen Beneciuk, Toms River South (94)
- Jason Huss, Red Bank (94)
- Gage Grant, Manalapan (93)
- Ryan Willi, Middletown South (89)
Duals/meets to watch
Friday, Jan. 16
Delaware Valley (11-0) at No. 14 Phillipsburg (4-2), 7
Through the first month-plus of the season, few teams have wrestled as well as coach Andy Fitz’s Del Val group. The Terriers are fresh off a 14-point win over a state-ranked North Hunterdon team that also just won the HWS team title for what was Del Val’s closest margin of victory of the year. Phillipsburg is also fresh off a win against North Hunterdon, 35-30, in a rematch of last year’s Group 4 final where North beat the Liners by 10. Phillipsburg has beaten Delaware Valley by double digits each of their last two meetings, but Del Val won in 2022, and with how they’ve been wrestling, a win here wouldn’t be a surprise.
Saturday, Jan. 17
No. 16 North Hunterdon (5-7) at No. 11 St. Joseph (Met.) (4-3), 10 a.m.
A marquee non-conference tilt, this is a major chance for both sides to get right and get back in the win column in impressive fashion. North Hunterdon has three ranked wrestlers, all of whom are in the lower weights, while St. Joseph (Met.)’s two ranked wrestlers are in the upper weights, so both sides are strong where the other has some holes. For North Hunterdon, this is the sixth NJ.com Top 20 team the Lions have wrestled in addition to several national powers, while St. Joe’s is on its fourth Top 20 team of the season.
Monday, Jan. 19
No. 14 Phillipsburg (4-2) at No. 13 Rumson-Fair Haven (6-2), 9
Rumson went to Phillipsburg last season and left with a 44-25 victory. The two-time defending Group 2 champion is 0-2 against ranked teams this season (losses to No. 3 Christian Brothers and No. 7 Southern) and a win over the Stateliners would give the Bulldogs their first signature win of the season. It’s been an up-and-down season for Phillipsburg (4-2), although its losses have come to No. 7 Southern and No. 10 Howell. The ‘Liners have wins over North Hunterdon, Old Bridge, Cranford and Watchung Hills.
Montville (11-1) at Immaculata (9-3), 10 a.m.
Montville is off to one of the best starts in Morris County and the NJAC at 11-1. The Mustangs’ one loss was by two to Ramapo and they have a one point win over a strong Morris Knolls team plus close wins against Watchung Hills, Northern Highlands and more. Montville has seven wrestlers with double digit wins. Immaculata, meanwhile, has four state-ranked wrestlers, headlined by state medalist Rhett Washleski. The Spartans have won seven in a row, including some big Skyland Conference tilts.
Wednesday, Jan. 21
No. 7 Southern (6-0) at No. 19 Jackson Township (10-0), 6:30
One of the Shore Conference’s most storied and intense rivalries will write its latest chapter and the first since Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty combined to form the new Jackson Township High School. Southern is the heavy favorite, but there could be some great individual matches. Jackson’s performance against the three-time defending Group 5 champion Rams can also offer a glimpse into Jackson’s chances in Central Jersey Group 5.
St. John Vianney (4-7) at No. 13 Rumson-Fair Haven (6-2), 7
The quality of this match hinges on whether St. John Vianney has its full lineup, namely state medalist Bubba Gavrish and standout senior John Saraiva. Both have been out of the lineup with injuries since the Beast of the East. If the Lancers are whole, this can be a very intriguing matchup.
Central Jersey rankings
- 1-Christian Brothers
- 2-Southern
- 3-Howell
- 4-Rumson-Fair Haven
- 5-North Hunterdon
- 6-St. Joseph (Met.)
- 7-Jackson Township
- 8-Delaware Valley
- 9-Old Bridge
- 10-North Hunterdon
- 11-Middletown South
- 12-Middletown North
- 13-Cranford
- 14-Ridge
- 15-Red Bank Catholic
- 16-Brick Memorial
- 17-Lacey
- 18-Colts Neck
- 19-Manville
- 20-Steinert
