The seeding meeting for the NJSIAA Team Wrestling Tournament just concluded and the official pairings have been released.
And unfortunately, Garfield finds itself on the outside looking in after it appeared they would be making their first appearance in the sectionals in more than 10 years.
Continue reading below for the pairings and an explanation.
When the tentative pairings were released Sunday, Garfield was in a flat-footed tie with Lenape Valley for the sixth and final spot in the North 1, Group 2 sectional tournament. Under tournament rules, that would have put both teams in the tournament.
But when results and power points were confirmed (including a pair of Garfield wins over Rutherford and Elmwood Park over the weekend), it was found that there was a mistake in the reporting of Garfield’s match against Nutley. With the recalculation, Lenape Valley ended up with 24.98 power points to Garfield’s 24.88 and the sixth and final berth alone in the sectional.
In North 1, Group 3, Wayne Valley jumped over Roxbury, who the Indians beat 30-29 earlier this month, into the third seed, eliminating a rematch with rival Passaic Valley, the fifth seed, at least in the first round. The jump, made from the bottom up in the pairings, also allowed Northern Highlands, which lost to Roxbury, to retain the second seed behind Paramus and the first-round bye. Tournament rules only allow a team to jump over a team directly above it in the rankings with a head-to-head win.
St. Joseph jumped over Don Bosco from the fifth seed to the fourth seed in North Non-Public A by virtue of a head-to-head win earlier this month. The result is that their first-round bout on Monday will move from Bosco to St. Joe’s.
Finally, only five teams applied to compete in North Non-Public B. So third-seeded Pingry moves right into Wednesday’s sectional semifinal against No. 2 St. Mary while fifth-seeded Hudson Catholic and fourth-seeded Newark Academy will battle it out in the first round Monday for the right to face top-seeded DePaul.
NJSIAA TEAM TOURNAMENT
OFFICIAL PAIRINGS
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)
(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)
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)
(5) Ramsey (6-4, 25.50) vs. (4) Jefferson (10-4, 26.07); winner vs. (1)High Point(13-5, 29.53)
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)
(5)PassaicValley(11-5, 27.94) vs. (4) Roxbury (8-7, 28.13); winner vs. (1)Paramus(11-3, 31.09)
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)
(5) Ridgewood (8-8, 26.50) vs. (4)Clifton(10-2, 26.83); winner vs. (1)West Orange(10-3, 31.23)
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)
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)
(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)
(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)
NORTH NON-PUBLIC B
(3) Pingry (3-7, 22.25) vs. (2) St. Mary (15-6, 23.14)
(5) Hudson Catholic (2-12. 17.71) vs. (4)NewarkAcademy(1-13, 19.07); winner vs. (1) DePaul (3-7, 25.20)