2019-20 New Jersey High School Rankings

New Jersey High School Rankings: Team

There’s only one place to start. 

The showdown we all were waiting for certainly delivered: #1 Bergen Catholic vs #2 Delbarton.

Everyone in New Jersey was prepared for this potential changing of the guard. Tickets sold out in minutes — a full 24 hours before the match. Coaches from Rutgers, Princeton, and Cornell were all in attendance. The live stream was available online for $10 — a steal, if you ask me. It was the hottest ticket in town. Lucky for me, I got one.

What a night it was. The wrestlers embraced the electric atmosphere fueled by a Delbarton crowd that was in it from start to finish.

And man, Delbarton came to wrestle. 

The Green Wave won matches it wasn’t supposed to, competed hard in unfavorable matchups, and cashed in on the few opportunities available against a team as talented as Bergen Catholic.

The match started at 182, the perfect place for a Delbarton team looking to capitalize on its advantage in the upperweights. Delbarton swept from 160lbs up, its big men got bonus, and two massive upsets at 120 and 126 put it out of reach. From there, the crowd took over. For nearly the entire second half of the dual, it was a party on Delbarton’s half of the gym. 

At the end of the night, the Wave left no doubt.

There’s a new #1.

As for the rest of the state, North Hunterdon further bolstered its case as New Jersey’s top public school. This Lions team rolled through the Group IV bracket winning rematches against ranked opponents Phillipsburg and Kingsway along the way. 

In Group V, Southern was the last team standing after winning a rematch against Toms River North in the sectional semifinals and a riding a pin parade to a 36-30 victory over Howell in the final. The Rams take over the higher ranking that was held by Howell since the start of the season.

In a season that was seemingly dominated by North Jersey private schools, Camden Catholic represented the South Jersey privates proudly. In another state final rematch from last season, the Irish put it on Pope John, winning the final seven bouts en route to a 51-15 victory. After winning back to back group titles for the first time since 2013, this Camden Catholic team looks ready for a big postseason.

Despite an up-and-down year, St Joe’s looks to finally be healthy and showed it can be a dangerous team with a full lineup. After avenging a head-scratching loss from earlier this season to St Peter’s in the first round of the Group playoffs, it knocked off top-seeded Seton Hall Prep in the semis. In the final, St Joe’s was outmatched by a buzz-saw Delbarton team.

St Augustine and Phillipsburg round out our final top 10 before we head into the postseason.

This week we have three honorable mention teams. I want to honor the champions from Groups I, II, and III who all won in decisive fashion on Sunday at Toms River.

Questions or comments? Contact Brendan via email (BSBrendanBS@gmail.com) or Twitter (@thescan_man).