Shore Conference Wrestling Top 15 with the public school sectional finals on tap tonight

Ten Shore Conference wrestling teams still have hopes of winning an NJSIAA championship entering the public school sectional championship matches tonight.

Southern (South Group 5), Rumson-Fair Haven (Central Group 2) are solid favorites to win sectional titles. Point Pleasant Beach (Central Group 1) is a heavy underdog against two-time Group 1 defending champion Delaware Valley.

If Southern wins, it will likely wrestle at Hunterdon Central Friday night in a Group 5 semifinal.

Ocean (Central Group 3) will likely be in a tight match against old rival Hopewell Valley and the Brick Memorial-Colts Neck match in Central 4 also figures to be tight.

Christian Brothers Academy (Non Public A), St. John Vianney and Red Bank Catholic (Non Public B) will wrestle in state semifinal matches Thursday night.

The schedule for the rest of the tournament is as follows:

Thursday: Non-public semifinals at the top two seeds in each group.

Friday: Public school group semifinals at top two remaining seeds in each group.

Sunday: Group championship matches at Jersey Mike's Arena, Rutgers University.

The Shore Conference Top 15 sees Point Pleasant Borough move into the rankings for the first time in several weeks after its two wins Monday night in the Central Group 2 tournament.

1. Christian Brothers Academy (14-1): Last week: No. 1.

The Colts , ranked No. 4 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20, defeated No. 7 Don Bosco Prep 34-29 Tuesday night in a NJSIAA Non Public A quarterfinal on a pin by freshman 106-pounder Killian Coluccio in the final bout. CBA will wrestle at powerful Delbarton (15-4), ranked No. 2 in the state, Thursday night in a Non Public A semifinal.

2. Southern (15-2): Last week: No. 2.

The Rams, ranked No. 5 in the NJWWA Top 20, advanced to the NJSIAA South Group 5 championship match with 74-6 and 65-12 wins over Eastern and Highland respectively. Southern will try for its fourth straight sectional title and 17th overall tonight against Kingsway (14-1). It is the third straight the two teams have met in the South 5 final. Earlier, Southern clinched the outright Shore Conference Class A South championship for a fourth straight season with an 80-0 win over Central. It is Southern's 14th divisional title overall.

3. St. John Vianney (12-1): Last week: No. 3.

The Lancers, ranked No. 10 in the NJWWA poll, appear to be on a collison course to meet No. 6 Camden Catholic Sunday in the NJSIAA Non Public B championship match. St. John Vianney, which defeated Holy Spirit 70-12 Tuesday night in a Non Public B quarterfinal, is seeking its first state title since 1995. Camden Catholic defeated St. John Vianney 33-29 in last year's final. The Lancers clinched the outright Shore Conference Class A Central championship for the third straight season with a 59-9 win over Wall.

4. Rumson-Fair Haven (15-1): Last week: No. 4.

The Bulldogs will try to win their first sectional championship tonight when they host No. 11 Point Pleasant Borough (14-3) in the Central Group 2 final. Rumson-Fair Haven advanced with 54-21 wins over Delran and Cinnaminson.

5. Red Bank Catholic (12-5): Last week: No. 5.

The Caseys defeated Donovan Catholic 57-7 Tuesday night in a NJSIAA Non Public B quarterfinal. A win would enable Red Bank Catholic to advance to a Non Public B semifinal at Camden Catholic (13-1) Thursday night.

6. Howell (21-3): Last week: No. 6.

Howell was defeated 45-27 by Hunterdon Central in a NJSIAA Central Group 5 semifinal. It is the first time since 2012 Howell has not advanced to a sectional final. Pins by Hunterdon Central's Evan Thompson and William Cella of two-time state qualifier Xavier Ortega and three-time state qualifier Giovanni Scafidi clinched the match.

7. Middletown North (17-3): Last week: No. 7.

The Lions were defeated 41-18 by defending Group 4 state champion North Hunterdon in a North 2 Group 4 semifinal. Senior 113-pounder Brady Klinsky picked up career win No. 100. Klinsky has also committed to Rider University, where his older brother and 2020 state 113-pound champion Tyler is the starting 125-pounder.

8. Brick Memorial (11-4): Last week: No. 8.

The Mustangs will try to win their Shore Conference-record 18th sectional title and keep alive their hopes of extending their conference record of state group championships to 10 tonight at No. 14 Colts Neck (17-3) in the Central Group 4 final. Brick Memorial advanced with 71-0 and 40-22 wins over Hamilton East and Jackson Memorial. It was the Mustangs' second win over Jackson Memorial in five days. They defeated the Jaguars 37-25 on Jan. 31. Junior 190-pounder and 2022 state 175-pound champion and two-time state finalist Harvey Ludington picked up career win No. 100.

9. Ocean (17-3): Last week: No. 9.

The Spartans will try to win their ninth sectional championship and first since 2020 tonight when they wrestle at old sectional rival Hopewell Valley (20-2) in the Central Group 3 final. Ocean advanced with 51-27 and 48-28 wins over Somerville and Robbinsville. Three-time state qualifier James Farina picked up career win No. 100. Ocean is 4-4 against Hopewell Valley since 2013 in sectional matches.

10. Jackson Liberty (15-5): Last week: No. 11.

The Lions clinched the outright Shore Conference Class B South championship in the most bizarre of circumstances with a 31-30 win over No. 11 Point Pleasant Borough on Criteria J, or the 10th criteria - most near fall points (9-3). It is Jackson Liberty's first divisional title since 2016 and fourth overall. The Lions then advanced to the South Group 3 semifinal with a 38-36 win over Seneca before they were defeated by two-time defending Group 3 champion Delsea 64-6. Jackson Liberty will try for its first win over sister school Jackson Memorial Friday night.

11. Point Pleasant Borough (14-3): Last week: Not ranked.

The Panthers will try for their first sectional championship since 2018 and third overall when they wrestle at No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven (15-1) tonight. They advanced with come-from-behind 38-29 and 37-31 wins over Holmdel and Raritan. The Raritan win avenged a defeat from last year's sectional final. Point Boro took command against Raritan with five straight wins from 157-215, punctuated by pins from Ryan Acquisto (175), a dramatic one from Tanner Hynes (190) with one seconds left in the second period in a bout he was trailing 4-0 in the second period and Ryan Jankowski (215). Consecutive pins from Jake Clayton (157), James Bradley (165) and Acquisto (175) and one from Hynes at 215 enabled the Panthers to rally from a 21-point deficit against Holmdel.

12. Holmdel (17-5): Last week: No. 12.

The Hornets built a 21-point lead after four bouts in the Central Group 2 quarterfinal against Point Pleasant Borough before the Panthers rallied for a 38-29 win. Earlier, Holmdel defeated No. 13 Raritan 41-30.

13. Raritan (17-9): Last week: No. 10.

The Rockets' 37-31 defeat to No. 11 Point Pleasant Borough in a Central Group 2 semifinal concluded the dual-meet portion of highly-successful head coach Rob Nucci's scholastic coaching career. Nucci, who coached Raritan to 456 wins and two Group 2 state championships and five sectional titles and has 474 wins overall, is resigning at the end of the season. He will be the head coach of the Hazlet Middle School team next season. Raritan advanced to the sectional semifinal with a 51-22 win over Manasquan.

14. Colts Neck (17-3): Last week: No. 13.

The Cougars will try to win their first sectional championship Wednesday night against the Shore's most storied program - Brick Memorial - in the Central Group 4 championship match. Colts Neck head coach Brett Jankos was a state medal winner at Brick Memorial during his scholastic career. The Cougars advanced to the sectional final with 55-18 and 53-11 wins over Bordentown and Hightstown. Colts Neck also clinched the outright Shore Conference Class B North championship with a 71-3 win over Neptune. It is Colts Neck's third divisional title. They shared Class B North with Ocean and Middletown North in 2019 and won Class B North outright in 2021.

15. Long Branch (13-7): Last week: No. 14.

Long Branch gets the nod over Lacey even though it did not qualify for the NJSIAA Team Tournament because of a 36-35 win at Lacey on Jan. 25. The Green Wave went 3-1 last week. They defeated Oakcrest 80-0, Holy Spirit 72-6 and Toms River North 55-13. Long Branch was defeated 48-20 by No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven.

Wednesday night's Sectional Championship Schedule

Central Group 4

2. Brick Memorial at 1. Colts Neck, 5:30 p.m.

Central Group 3

3. Ocean at 1. Hopewell Valley, 6 p.n.

Central Group 2

3. Point Pleasant Borough at 1. Rumson-Fair Haven, 7 p.m.

Central Group 1

2. Point Pleasant Beach at 1. Delaware Valley, 6:30 p.m.

South Group 5

3. Kingsway at 1. Southern, 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore nj wrestling: See who made a major move in the top 15