Get ready for the NJSIAA state team tournament for wrestling with our primer

The road to Rutgers University starts Monday.

That’s when the NJSIAA team wrestling tournament begins with sectional competition across the state.

After the first two rounds are wrestled on Monday night, the sectional finals will be contested on Wednesday, state semifinals on Friday and state championships meets on Sunday at the Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.

More: The Mat Pack's individual rankings for South Jersey wrestling for Feb. 1

South Jersey Group 5

Bracket:

At Southern

(8) Eastern at (1) Southern

(5) Lenape vs. (4) Highland

At Washington Township

(6) Rancocas Valley vs. (3) Kingsway

(7) Vineland at (2) Washington Township

Defending champion: Southern

Best potential semifinal: Kingsway-Washington Township. These two teams are no strangers, having met three times since the start of the 2022-23 season. Washington Township (10-2) has swept the two regular-season meetings while Kingsway (12-1) won a 39-22 decision in last year’s sectional semifinal round. The Dragons are certainly a different team since they suffered their only loss – a 31-27 setback on Jan. 10. Three-time region champ Nathan Taylor (138) and Luke Van Brill (190) were both out of the lineup and Kingsway forfeited 106 in the first meeting. Plenty of things went right for Washington Township the first time around against Kingsway; the Minutemen will need even more to sway in their favor the next time.

Which team wins?: Southern over Kingsway. The Rams (13-2) are regarded as the best public school in the state and for good reason. The team has won three of the last four Group 4 state titles contested and have scored 42 or more points in all 13 of their wins. Kingsway could make things interesting for a bit depending on where the meet starts, but Southern has a little too much firepower for the Dragons.

South Jersey Group 4

Bracket:

At Northern Burlington

(8) Millville at (1) Northern Burlington

(5) Moorestown vs. (4) Cherry Hill West

At Hammonton

(6) Clearview vs. (3) Shawnee

(7) Toms River East at (2) Hammonton

Defending champion: Shawnee

Best potential semifinal: Northern Burlington-Cherry Hill West. The Greyhounds (11-1) are the top seed, but could have a very interesting matchup in the semifinals against West (13-6). Northern’s lone loss was a 36-31 setback to Monroe on Jan. 6. The Greyhounds are undefeated against South Jersey competition, including rivalry wins over Cinnaminson, Delran and Rancocas Valley over the last two weeks. Cherry Hill West’s schedule in the Olympic Conference should have the team ready for the postseason. However, the Lions did lose to RV, 40-31, on Jan. 17.

Which team wins?: Northern Burlington over Shawnee. Will the Greyhounds capture their first-ever South Jersey title? They will likely have to knock off the two-time defending sectional champion to do so. Shawnee’s road to the postseason was a little bumpy with six losses in its last eights meets, but all of setbacks were to solid competition. Don’t count out Hammonton (13-8) or Cherry Hill West (13-6) in this group either. It’s probably the most competitive in South Jersey this season.

South Jersey Group 3

Bracket:

At Delsea

(8) Burlington Township at (1) Delsea

(5) Seneca vs. (4) Jackson Liberty

At Lacey

(6) Gateway/Woodbury vs. (3) Ocean City

(7) Timber Creek at (2) Lacey

Defending champion: Delsea

Best potential semifinal: Ocean City-Lacey. The Raiders (12-3) have an interesting match against Gateway/Woodbury in the opening round, but should earn a berth in the semis against Lacey (14-5). Ocean City is eager to earn its first playoff win since 2015 and is looking to avenge last year’s 45-30 loss to Lacey in the opening round. The Raiders have never won a sectional crown. Lacey is coached by Justin Bonatitis, who starred at Cherry Hill East and the College of New Jersey.

Which team wins?: Delsea over Ocean City. Delsea (13-4) has won 12 straight sectional titles, including the last eight in Group 3, and 14 in the last 16 tournaments. Don’t look for the trend to change. The Crusaders are the best team in Group 3 in South Jersey as well as the Garden State. They will get the chance to prove that later next week when they successfully defend their state title.

South Jersey Group 2

Bracket:

At West Deptford

(8) Clayton/Glassboro at (1) West Deptford

(5) Barnegat at (4) Collingswood

At Lower Cape May

(6) Middle Township vs. (3) Haddonfield

(7) Haddon Heights at (2) Lower Cape May

Defending champion: Haddonfield

Best potential semifinal: Haddonfield-Lower Cape May. If the Caper Tigers (18-3) are going to capture the first sectional title in program history, they will likely have to knock off three Colonial Conference opponents to do so. The defending champion Haddons (11-7) have plenty of versatility and experience, but they limp into the postseason with four losses in their last six meets.

Which team wins?: West Deptford over Haddonfield. The Eagles (18-2) will look to avenge last year’s sectional final loss to the rival Haddons, who won a 33-28 decision. West Deptford notched a 31-24 victory over Haddonfield on Dec. 20, dominating the upper weights from 157 to 215. The Eagles look to be in prime position to earn their first sectional title since 2020.

South Jersey Group 1

Bracket:

At Paulsboro

(8) Pitman at (1) Paulsboro

(5) Pennsville vs. (4) Gloucester City

At Woodstown

(6) Palmyra vs. (3) Audubon

(7) Haddon Township at (2) Woodstown

Defending champion: Paulsboro

Best potential semifinal: Audubon-Woodstown. The second-seeded Wolverines (10-10) scored a 42-37 over the Green Wave (13-7) on Dec. 27. The meet featured 11 pins, including seven for Woodstown. Audubon’s Rocco Monteferrate, who was pinned by Travis Balback at 120 in the first meeting, is down to 106 and could provide a 12-point swing there. Could we also see a battle between Audubon’s Sam Myers and Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra at 215?

Which team wins?: Paulsboro over Audubon. Big Red has won 42 sectional titles in the 43-year history of the tournament. The trend won’t change. Paulsboro (16-2) knocked off Audubon, 40-21, on Jan. 11. The biggest question is if Paulsboro can avenge last year’s 34-31 loss to Delaware Valley in the state final. It looks like the two teams will battle again for state supremacy on Super Bowl Sunday.

State Non-Public A

Bracket:

At Delbarton

(1) Delbarton, bye

(9) St. Joseph (Metuchen) vs. (8) Seton Hall Prep

At Christian Brothers Academy

(12) St. Benedict’s Prep vs. (5) Don Bosco Prep

(4) Christian Brothers Academy, bye

At St. Peter's Prep

(3) St. Peter’s Prep, bye

(11) St. Augustine vs. (6) Paramus Catholic

At St. Joseph-Montvale

(10) Pope John vs. (7) Bergen Catholic

(2) St. Joseph-Montvale, bye

Defending champion: St. Joseph-Montvale.

Which team wins?: It’s the most anticipated showdown in New Jersey wrestling this season. No. 1 St. Joseph-Montvale against No. 2 Delbarton. Sit back and enjoy this one. Giving the Green Knights a slight edge in a meet that will surely shake the RAC.

State Non-Public B

Defending champion: Camden Catholic

Which team wins?: How are the Irish not the top seed in this section? Camden Catholic (12-1) knocked off St. John Vianney, 33-29, in a classic final last winter and appears to match up even better against the top-seeded Lancers (11-1) this season. Expect another great meet with some big-time bouts in the middle weights as second-seeded Camden Catholic takes the hardware back to Cuthbert Boulevard again.

At St. John Vianney

(1) St. John Vianney, bye

(9) Holy Cross vs. (8) St. Mary

At St. Thomas Aquinas

(5) Immaculata at (4) St. Thomas Aquinas

At Red Bank Catholic

(6) Donovan Catholic at (3) Red Bank Catholic

At Camden Catholic:

(10) Pingry vs. (7) DePaul

(2) Camden Catholic, bye

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: NJSIAA team wrestling tournament is a seven-day journey to state title