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Who is No. 1 in the NJ Wrestling Top 20? Debate over St. Joseph (Montvale) & Delbarton

steven falk, tom mcgurk, sean farrell and andy mendlowitz, asbury park press
·3 min read

The highly anticipated Catholic School Duals last weekend at Christian Brothers Academy left wrestling fans asking who should be the No. 1 ranked team in the state for a variety of reasons. St. Joseph (Montvale) or Delbarton?

The first reason is St. Joseph, the consensus No. 1 team since the start of the season, withdrew from the event due to an illness and injuries.

The Green Knights did put together a strong enough lineup to defeat No. 9 Don Bosco Prep 49-21 last Friday night.

More: St. Joseph wrestling claws past Don Bosco even with depleted lineup

Then, the next day, No. 2 Delbarton stormed through the Catholic School Duals with a 66-6 win over Don Bosco Prep in the semifinal and an astonishing 66-0 win over No. 3 St. Peter's Prep in the championship match.

St. Joseph (Montvale) remains ranked No. 1 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20
St. Joseph (Montvale) remains ranked No. 1 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20

The events left the voters in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20 somewhat split, but St. Joseph winds up still in the No. 1 slot because it has not lost and because it and Delbarton are likely to settle who is the No. 1 in the NJSIAA Non Public A championship match Feb. 11 at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena.

The most significant development in the rankings this week is Bergen Catholic dropping four spots to No. 7 after it was trounced by St. Peter's Prep and was defeated in a tri-meet by No. 6 Camden Catholic and Paramus Catholic.

Paramus Catholic, whose win over Bergen Catholic was its first since 1986, also defeated Camden Catholic.

More: Last-bout win gives Paramus Catholic wrestling a historic victory over Bergen Catholic

Weather permitting, another big week looms state wide.

Tuesday night, the top ranking in the Shore Conference will likely be decided when No. 5 Southern wrestles at No. 8 CBA in a rematch of last year's epic match, won by Southern 27-25.

Wednesday night, one of the state's best and most historical rivalries will have its annual renewal when No. 12 Hunterdon Central wrestles at No. 10 Phillipsburg.

Another big match in the North Jersey non-public ranks will take place Wednesday night when No. 4 Paramus Catholic hosts Don Bosco Prep.

Two of South Jersey's better teams will meet on Wednesday night when Kingsway wrestles at Washington Township.

Here is this week's NJWWA Top 20 with first place votes in parentheses followed by total voting points.

NJWWA voting members in alphabetical order: Donald J. Brower (gardenstatehswrestling.com); Frank D'Esposito (shoreconferencewrestling.com); Steven Falk (Asbury Park Press and app.com); Sean Farrell (The Record and NorthJersey.com); Tom McGurk (Courier Post and courierpostonline.com); Andy Mendlowitz (Home News Tribune, Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com); Michael Weilaman (Open Mike and mikeopen.blogspot.com); Brad Wilson (lehighvalleylive.com/The Express Times).

1. St. Joseph (Montvale) (3-0) (6) 158

2. Delbarton (6-2) (2) 154

3. St. Peter’s Prep (5-4) 144

4. Paramus Catholic (4-0) 136

5. Southern (6-0) 128

6. Camden Catholic (5-1) 119

7. Bergen Catholic (1-3) 109

8. Christian Brothers Academy (5-1) 108

9. Don Bosco Prep (6-3) 97

10. Phillipsburg (7-0) 88

11. St. John Vianney (2-0) 77

12. Hunterdon Central (9-0) 69

13. Delaware Valley (6-0) 68

14. Mount Olive (8-2) 58

15. St. Joseph (Metuchen) (7-1) 48

16. Delsea (4-2) 41

17. Seton Hall Prep (4-1) 32

18. Brick Memorial (2-1) 22

19. Cranford (5-1) 13

20. Rumson-Fair Haven (3-0) 12

Others receiving votes: Kingsway (5-0) 1.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Wrestling NJWWA Top 20: St. Joseph, Delbarton vie for No. 1 ranking