Wrestling: Team title favorites and schedules for districts involving area schools
The district tournaments being contested statewide on Saturday mark the beginning of qualifying for the NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships, but the action also serves as the last time team scoring will be kept this season.
Eight of the state’s 32 districts feature teams from the Home News Tribune and Courier News coverage area.
The top three finishers in each of the 14 weight classes advance to next week’s eight region tournaments, with the top four finishers in every weight class from all eight regions punching their tickets to Atlantic City.
At least two districts involving area schools are expected to generate exciting races for team titles.
READ: Final 2017-18 New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association Top 20 rankings
Monroe, which lost 30-28 in a regular-season dual meet to Raritan, which the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association ranked No. 12 in its final statewide Top 20 poll, is expected to battle the Rockets for the District 20 championship. Raritan won the regular-season meeting with a pin in the final bout.
An equally exciting battle in team scoring should take place at District 18, where Piscataway and Hopewell Valley are the frontrunners to win a championship. Six of the 10 teams that comprise the District 18 field competed against one another at the Bear Invitational in December. Those schools include Hopewell Valley, which won the Bear Invitational title, Manville, Montgomery, North Brunswick, Bound Brook and East Brunswick.
The nine-team field in District 13 features seven Union County schools who are all familiar with one another, but Seton Hall Prep of Essex County, ranked No. 11 in the NJWWA Top 20, is expected to roll to that district’s team title.
At District 14, where South Plainfield, ranked No. 14 in the NJWWA Top 20, is an overwhelming favorite, the Tigers are looking to extend their state-record streak to 34 consecutive district championships.
Union County Tournament runnerup Roselle Park, which won the 1,000th dual meet in the storied program’s history earlier this year, is favored to win the District 15 team title. Roselle Park won its 23rd sectional championship last week.
A stomach bug prevented Watchung Hills, which claimed its first sectional title in school history last week, from competing with a full lineup in the state semifinals. Watchung Hills, however, is expected to be at full strength and is favored to win the District 16 title.
At District 19, which features teams from Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer and Monmouth counties, St. John Vianney has the longest trek to host Delaware Valley, but the trip could be well worth it for the Lancers, who are favored to win the team title.
Hunterdon Central, which nearly upset undefeated Howell in last week’s Central Group V final, is the cream of the crop in District 17.
Following is a list of teams and start times for Saturday’s district tournaments involving schools in the Home News Tribune and Courier News coverage area. Start times for all rounds are subject to change.
District 13
Where: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Teams: Elizabeth, A.L. Johnson, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Seton Hall Prep, St. Peter's Prep, Summit.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9:30 a.m.; Semifinals 11:30 a.m.; Consolation finals, 1:30 p.m.; Finals 3 p.m.
District 14
Where: at South Plainfield
Teams: Bayonne, Brearley, Christ The King, Cranford, Governor Livingston, J.P. Stevens, Middlesex, North Plainfield, South Plainfield, Woodbridge.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9 a.m.; Semifinals 12:30 p.m.; Consolation finals 2:30 p.m.; Finals 4:30 p.m.
District 15
Where: at Westfield
Teams: Bernards, Carteret, Irvington, Metuchen, North Hunterdon, Roselle Park, Ridge, Somerville, Weequahic, Westfield.
Scheudle: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9:30 a.m.; Semifinals 11:30 a.m.; Consolation finals 1:30 p.m.; Finals: 3 p.m.
District 16
Where: at Millburn
Teams: Bridgewater-Raritan, Colonia, J.F. Kennedy, Millburn, Newark Academy, New Providence, Shabazz, Union, Voorhees, Watchung Hills.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9:30 a.m.; Semifinals noon; Consolation finals 3:30 p.m.; Finals 5 p.m.
District 17
Where: at Middletown South
Teams: Franklin, Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central, Keansburg, Middletown North, Middletown South, South River, Spotswood, West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9 a.m.; Semifinals 11 a.m.; Consolation finals 1 p.m.; Finals 2:30 p.m.
District 18
Where: at Red Bank Regional
Teams: Bound Brook, East Brunswick, Hopewell Valley, Keyport, Montgomery, Manville, North Brunswick, Piscataway, Red Bank Regional, Rutgers Prep.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 9:30 a.m.; Semifinals 1 p.m.; Consolation finals 3 p.m.; Finals 4:30 p.m.
District 19
Where: at Delaware Valley
Teams: Delaware Valley, Edison, Marlboro, Old Bridge, Pingry, Princeton, Rumson-Fair Haven, St. John Vianney, Sayreville, West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 10 a.m.; Semifinals 1 p.m.; Consolation finals commence immediately after conclusion of semifinals; Finals 4:30 p.m.
District 20
Where: at South Brunswick
Teams: Bishop Ahr, Highland Park, Holmdel, Matawan, Monroe, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Raritan, South Brunswick.
Schedule: Preliminaries and quarterfinals 10 a.m.; Semifinals 1:30 p.m.; Consolation finals 3 p.m.; Finals 4:30 p.m.