The wrestling team state tournament is nearly  upon us and I for one am excited to see which teams rise to the occasion. This is the point of the year where every bonus point matters and every move can make or break a teams chances of winning a state title. That’s why the wrestling is so good, the wrestlers go full blast and the matches take a little longer to complete. It’s worth it.
Will North Jersey have a state sectional champ? Very likely. Will it have a Group champ? That could be harder. Let’s check out the matches below and see which teams are going to come out on top. But before that, check out the wrestling notes from today’s paper.
Click here for the North Jersey Top 25. Click here for the wrestling notes. Click here for the lead note on the rematch between Clifton and Ridgewood in the state tournament. Click here for the honor role. For more on the state tournament, read on.
Let’s get down to business. Below are the NJSIAA team state tournament match ups. I have thoughts on each below. The first round is Monday.
NORTH 1, GROUP 1
(6)Hawthorne(10-4, 24.36) vs. (3) Pequannock (15-2, 28.06); winner vs. (2) Kittatinny (12-3, 28.07)
Pequannock missed out on a bye by one one hundredth of a point and will have to travel to Kittatinny if it beats Hawthorne, which I expect it will. The Golden Panthers just have too talented and too deep a lineup for the Bears. The most interesting thing to see is if Ethan Ramos wrestles Keith Lemengello at 170. Lemengello has been going between 160-170 this year. And if they wrestle against each other, it would be a great preview of two state place hopefuls going at it.
(5)PomptonLakes(12-4, 25.00) vs. Â (4) North Warren (9-4, 25.38); winner vs. (1) Emerson/Park Ridge (14-2, 29.50)
Pompton Lakes has gotten better throughout the year and should be confident heading into this match. They just placed third at the counties led by two-time champ Andrew Grosser (285). The Cardinals have depth with Brett Secor (152), Andrew Gundlah (138), Jack Baumgaertel (195), Â Sal Negrini (160), Patrick Gundlah (113) and Keith Lopez (170). The question is will their younger wrestlers step up and perform the way they have all year on the biggest stage? I’m pulling for them.
NORTH 1, GROUP 2
(6)LenapeValley(7-8, 24.98) vs. (3) River Dell (15-1, 26.19); winner vs. (2) West Essex (7-6, 27.46)
River Dell has had a great season and should continue that season against Lenape Valley, which has wrestled a tough schedule and got into the tournament by a one-tenth of a point margin over Garfield. But while I think a tough schedule is a good thing for any team, I don’t think that will help against River Dell. That’s why the Hawks, if they wrestle up to their potential, should win. They also wrestled a tough schedule and are a little deeper than LV.
(5) Ramsey (6-4, 25.50) vs. (4) Jefferson (10-4, 26.07); winner vs. (1)High Point(13-5, 29.53)
Ramsey is one of the feel-good stories of the year. Even though they only had one upper weight returning to the lineup, they still managed to earn a state tournament birth this year after having what most considered a better team last year that failed to make the tournament. They are confident heading into Jefferson and believe they can pull off the upset. So do I.
NORTH 1, GROUP 3
(6) Bergenfield (10-2, 27.50) vs. (3)WayneValley (9-4, 28.00); winner vs. (2)Northern Highlands (14-4, 28.39)
Bergenfield is going through a tough time right now with the sudden loss of one of their all time greats (for more info read the notebook above). Whether that makes them wrestle harder or not remains to be seen. But either way they deserve a warm round of applause for even showing up. Wayne Valley, meanwhile, has been wrestling well all year and should be in good form for another run at Northern Highlands, which it lost to earlier in the year. If the Indians win, which I expect they will, that would be the fourth time in two years they face the Highlanders.
(5)PassaicValley(11-5, 27.94) vs. (4) Roxbury (8-7, 28.13); winner vs. (1)Paramus(11-3, 31.09)
Dont know much about Roxbury, but I know Passaic Valley and they should feel good heading into this match. Sure, they placed second at counties and didn’t wrestle up to their potential. But with a chance to redeem themselves in state tournament, they should be pumped for the opportunity. Whichever team wins this match will get the sectional favorite in Paramus, which seems to be wrestling its best right now. Should be a great couple of rounds here.
NORTH 1, GROUP 4
(6)Hackensack (8-5, 25.77) vs. (3)North Bergen (13-2, 29.07); winner vs. (2) Morris Knolls (12-1, 29.77)
North Bergen was on a roll early in the season but has hit some speeds bumps of late. They still have three of the best wrestlers in the state and should get 18 points from them every night. But Hackensack wrestles hard and avoids big points going against it. I still think North Bergen wins. But it could be closer than some think.
(5) Ridgewood (8-8, 26.50) vs. (4)Clifton(10-2, 26.83); winner vs. (1)West Orange(10-3, 31.23)
This is the best rematch of the regular season. For more info about what the rematch means to the Maroons, read the lead note above. But all you have to know is their first match ended in a tie and Clifton won on criteria. Now they get a home match as their reward. But revenge is a powerful weapon and I’m sure Ridgewood will use that for motivation. Whether that leads them to a win over Clifton remains to be seen. But it should be a great rematch with plenty of intensity.
NORTH 2, GROUP 1
(6)WhippanyPark(9-6, 24.33) vs. (3)Belvidere(9-7, 26.00); winner vs. (2)Caldwell(6-7, 26.55)
(5) Cedar Grove (10-6, 24.44) vs. (4) Rutherford (10-4, 25.00); winner vs. (1)Hanover Park(8-4, 28.92)
Rutherford gets a home match against a decent Cedar Grove team. With John Boyle and Mike Paskas in the lineup, I think Rutherford gets big points from them and earns a win over Cedar Grove.
NORTH 2, GROUP 2
(6) Becton/Wallington (10-4, 26.29) vs. (3) Parsippany Hills (10-4, 27.14); winner vs (2) Brearley (6-4, 27.60)
I like how Becton/Wallington is wrestling and where it’s stars are sitting in the lineup (Dugan at 160 just makes sense). But Parsippany Hills is a very good team that has faced some of the best teams in the state and wrestled them hard. Becton/Wallington can overcome that and earn this win. But it needs big points from its stars like Dugan and Bryan Loughlin.
(5) Gov. Livingston (13-2, 26.80) vs. (4) Parsippany (9-5, 27.29); winner vs. (1) Voorhees (17-2, 31.37)
NORTH NON-PUBLIC A
(6) Seton Hall (7-7, 28.62) vs. (3) Delbarton (14-3, 32.60); winner vs. (2) Bergen Catholic (12-5, 34.00)
If Delbarton wins, which is expected, their match against Bergen will be a must-see. The Crusaders are on fire and wrestling the way most thought they were capable of in the beginning of the year. Hopefully that keeps up until their semifinal match against whoever wins the opener on Wednesday.
(5) Don Bosco (8-7, 31.36) vs. (4)St. Joseph(7-2, 31.00); winner vs. (1) St. Peter’s (11-2, 39.33)
Another great rematch here. Don Bosco lost to St. Joes earlier in the season and St. Joes has been solid all year. It should be an exciting match on Monday. The only question is will Don Bosco get enough bonus points from its upper weights and limit the damage at the lowers to pull this out. The lower weights held Don Bosco back  in the first match. So it will be interesting to see how that plays out this time.
NORTH NON-PUBLIC B
(3) Pingry (3-7, 22.25) vs. (2) St. Mary (15-6, 23.14)
This match isn’t happening until Wednesday and I would expect St. Mary to win. The question for the Gaels is how do they match up against DePaul? The Spartans have won the last two sectional titles and seem poised for a third with one of their best young lineups in recent memory. Should be interesting to see who comes out on top this time.
(5) Hudson Catholic (2-12. 17.71) vs. (4)NewarkAcademy(1-13, 19.07); winner vs. (1) DePaul (3-7, 25.20)
Dont be fooled by the record. DePaul is the best team in this section with a freshman class many teams would envy. I expect the Spartans to hoist the sectional trophy for a third year.