11 names to know from Middlesex and Somerset in the North 2 Region girls wrestling meet

The full girls state wrestling tournament returns to Atlantic City this season after just the finals were held there in 2023.

On Sunday, four region meets take place across New Jersey, with the top three finishers in each of the 12 weight classes advancing to Boardwalk Hall on Feb. 29, March 1 and 2.

Here is a look at wrestlers from Hunterdon, Middlesex and Somerset counties competing at Region 2 at Union High School.

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Somerset County stars

Yes, they’re now seniors.

Somerville’s Valarie Maldonado and Bound Brook’s Lennix Horsburgh are just two of those wrestlers who seem like they’ve been around forever. Both are three-time state medalists and returning runners-up at Atlantic City.

Both drew the top seed in their division and seem primed for another deep state run. In a twist – and surprise for fans – they’re switching weight classes.

Maldonado wrestled most of the winter at 120 and didn’t make her debut at 114 – the weight she wrestled as a sophomore – until Jan. 20. She’s the favorite to repeat as region champion and won every match but three this season by a fall.

Horsburgh (22-6) reached the state final at 114 last winter and started this season at 120. She made her 114 debut on Jan. 7 and wrestled the last 17 matches there. For regions, she's returned to 120.

The two-time region champ could have a compelling final against second-seeded Ahlexa Montalvo (19-4). Horsburgh edged the Bloomfield senior, 6-4 SV-1, on Dec. 17 in the final of the Bloomfield Girls Holiday Tournament. Last season, Horsburgh pinned Montalvo twice and won 4-1.

Middlesex County headliner

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Saniyah Queen is another name that fans know well. She finished fifth in the state as a freshman and last year won a region title and reached the state final.

This winter, she's 21-0 and drew the top seed at 145. The junior pinned second-seeded Adriana Haskin of Rahway in 2:34 on Feb. 3 and Elizabeth’s No. 3-seed Valeria Ramirez in 40 seconds on Feb. 10.

Queen has been dominant this winter with pins in every match and never reaching the third period, save for a high-level 3-1 win over Southern’s Thea Rowland, who Queen edged 3-2 in last year’s state quarterfinals.

Possible intriguing finals: 126, 152

Somerville’s Emme Hoarle (31-2) has improved each season and the junior earned the top seed at 126 after taking third in the region last year en route to a fifth-place finish in the state at 114.

She pinned South Plainfield’s second-seeded Eva Altamirano in 1:34 on Jan. 7.

Altamirano, a two-time state qualifier who placed sixth as a freshman, hasn’t wrestled since winning the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title on Jan. 15. She edged Old Bridge’s Emma Sagi 1-0 in the final. Sagi gave Hoarle her only two losses this season via pin.

At 152, there could be a rematch of last year’s region final. Perth Amboy’s Elizabeth Adebola pinned Franklin’s Citlaly Condado in 3:52 for the gold medal. Adebola went on to place fourth in the state and Condado took seventh.

Now, both seniors are 20-4, but Condado drew the top seed and Adebola is second as the two split matches this season. The Perth Amboy wrestler scored the pin in 2:32 on Dec. 17 and the Franklin side got the fall in 3:49 on Jan. 7.

St. Thomas Aquinas junior Makayla Decker (18-4), a two-time state qualifier, is seeded third and looks to give Adebola a tough match should they meet in the semifinals. Decker captured the GMCT title and Adebola took third.

Other top seeds

Perth Amboy has two outstanding sophomores who drew top seeds. At 107, Leah Gutierrez (24-2) placed fifth in the state as a freshman. She defeated second-seeded Jazzira Lopez (West Orange), 8-7, on Jan. 7 and pinned third-seeded Isabella Bonilla in the GMCT final on Jan. 15.

At 165, Aaliyah Matias (18-9) looks to reach her first state tournament and pinned fourth-seeded Jayleen Barett (Elizabeth) on Jan. 31.

At 185, North Plainfield’s Naylani Delvalle (14-2) has a pin over second-seeded Christine Pierre-Louis (Union).

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Girls Wrestling: North 2 Region key athletes from Middlesex, Somerset