New Jersey is known for its robust high school wrestling scene. Each season, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) conducts district and region realignments to ensure fair competition and geographical balance. This article delves into the specifics of these realignments, highlighting key teams, district placements, and what to expect for the upcoming season.
The march to Boardwalk Hall begins with Saturday’s 32 district playoffs across New Jersey. The NJ state individual wrestling tournament kicks off on Saturday, with 32 district tournaments.
The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance to the eight region tournaments. Check the brackets, which will be updated. Boys qualifying tournaments are being held in the same nine sites, spread throughout the.
This tournament is a bit of a geographic.
This season's New Jersey high school wrestling county, conference, and state championship tournament brackets and scoring. Covering the best sport in the best state, Jersey wrestling promotes NJ wrestling with news, history, rankings, profiles, and contests.
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This season's New Jersey high school wrestling team standings by conference and division View daily score updates, watch videos, and join the discussion in comments. Get the latest New Jersey wrestling high school sports news, video highlights, and rankings. Live and archived videos of select New Jersey high school wrestling events. Unfortunately there will be wrestlers we have.
Double disqualification as punches fly at District 3 wrestling semifinals
Key Changes and Realignment
St. John Vianney and Southern Regional are the two biggest wrestling programs from the Shore Conference changing regions this season under the NJSIAA’s annual region and district realignment. The alignment for the 2026 individual postseason was approved Wednesday, Sept. 17 by the NJSIAA Executive Committee.
The individual postseason will begin a week later this season due to the Individual Championships at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City being pushed back to March 12-14. The district tournaments will be Feb. 28 and the regions will be March 6-7. Due to the longer regular season, the Executive Committee also raised the bouts limits to 33 from 30 for this season.
St. John Vianney
St. John Vianney will move to Region 5 after it was in Region 7 the last two seasons. It was in Region 5 from 2017-2020 and again from 2022-2023. The Lancers will be in District 17.
The switch of regions for St. John Vianney comes after it was in the fight-marred District 25 Tournament with mostly South Jersey public school teams at Collingswood High School last season.
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A brawl erupted during the championship round of that tournament, which resulted in four-time state champion St. John Vianney wrestler Anthony A. Knox being charged with simple assault and his father Anthony J. Knox being charged with simple assault and purposedly/knowingly causing bodily injury for their alleged roles in the melee. After the incident, Anthony A. Knox was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the state tournament by the NJSIAA - but a judge's temporary restraining order allowed Knox to go ahead and finish his season and he became New Jersey’s fifth four-time state champion.
Three court hearings in the last five months for Knox. and his father have been postponed, with the latest postponement happening on Sept. 10. The hearing is now scheduled for Nov. 19. Both Knox Jr. and his father have pleaded not guilty.
Knox has graduated. St. John Vianney also graduated two-time heavyweight champion Rocco Dellagatta. The Lancers do return state seventh-place finisher Bubba Gavrish, two-time past state eighth-place finisher Matthew Gould and four other state qualifiers.
Southern Regional
Southern will move to Region 8 after it was in Region 7 the last four seasons. The Rams were in Region 8 from 2017-2020. There were only super regions in the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, which was conducted in March and April. Southern will be in District 30.
Southern, which has won the NJSIAA Group 5 championship the last three seasons, returns two-time state top four finisher Anthony Mason and state seventh-place finisher Cade Collins. Mason is a Bucknell University recruit.
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Defending region champions Attila Vigliante and Levi Foote are also among Southern’s returnees. Southern did lose Wyatt Stout, the 2025 state 157-pound champion and a three-time state medal winner, to graduation.
Red Bank Catholic
Also moving to Region 8 is Red Bank Catholic. The Caseys were in Region 7 and won the District 27 team championship last season. Before that, they were in Region 5. Red Bank Catholic will be in District 32 with perennial Group 1 power Paulsboro.
Region 8 looks loaded with Delsea, which has won the Group 3 championship the last four seasons, St. Augustine and perennial Group 5 contender Kingsway also among those in the region.
Jackson Township
The new Jackson Township High School, which is a merger of what was Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty, was placed in Region 6 and District 21. Jackson Township will host the Region 6 Tournament.
That team, which will wrestle its home matches at what was Jackson Liberty, will have state eighth-place finisher and two-time state qualifier Armani McCann, three-time state qualifier Tucker Pazinko and state qualifier William Huchko among its returnees. All three wrestled previously wrestled for Jackson Liberty.
Gianni Ghione, Jackson Liberty’s head coach the last two seasons, is the new team's head coach. The team will have what was Jackson Memorial’s iconic nickname of the Jaguars.
Geographical Alignment
The realignment placed an emphasis on geography while trying to separate the powers around the state, especially the non-public schools, as much as possible.
Here are some examples:
- All nine of the teams in District 22 in Region 6 are from the Shore.
- Eight of the 10 teams in District 24 are from the Shore, led by defending Central Group 4 champion Long Branch. Seton Hall Prep could be the team to beat in that district.
- Seven of the nine teams in District 17, including St. John Vianney, are from the Shore and eight of the 10 teams in District 26 are from the Shore.
Number of Shore Conference teams in each region:
- Region 6 will have the most Shore Conference teams with 21.
- Region 5 will have 11 Shore Conference teams, headed by St. John Vianney, two-time defending Group 2 state champion Rumson-Fair Haven, which returns 2024 state champion Sonny Amato, and 2025 North 2 Group 4 runner-up Middletown North.
- Region 7 will have the eight Shore teams in District 26, headed by Lacey, last season's South Group 3 runner-up and District 26 team champion over Southern.
- Pinelands, which was in Region 7 in recent seasons, joins Southern and Red Bank Catholic in Region 8.
Howell, which has two returning state medal winners in returning state third-place finisher Tanner Hodgins and returning state sixth-place finisher Luke Johnston, heads that district. Hodgins, a junior, is an Oklahoma State recruit.
Christian Brothers Academy, which returns state champion and Paul Kenny, state third-place finishers Sean Kenny and Brock Oizerowitz, state fifth-place finisher Bobby Duffy and state sixth-place finisher Tyler Palumbo heads the region. CBA will host District 21. Junior Sonny DiMatteo, a state fourth-place finisher at 106 last year when he was at Brick Memorial, has transferred to CBA.
Paul Kenny, a junior, Sean Kenny, a sophomore, Duffy, a senior, are Iowa recruits. Palumbo is a Rutgers University recruit. Also in Region 6, is Brick Memorial, last year’s Group 3 runner-up. Brick Memorial will have a new head coach this season in Steven Giannios.
Amato, a junior, is also an Iowa recruit. Middletown North and Middletown South, which had to compete with Delbarton in 2024 and St. Peter’s Prep in 2025 in the district tournament, will not have a North Jersey non-public power in their district this season.
Middletown South is in District 17, which it will host, with St. John Vianney. Middletown North is in District 20 with defending Group 1 state champion Delaware Valley, which was in Region 4 last season. District 20 will be at Matawan. The Region 5 Tournament will be at Franklin.
Returning state runner-up Killian Coluccio is one of Lacey's returnees. Defending South Group 4 champion Toms River South is also in that district. Lacey will host the Region 7 Tournament.
We have added the region of each of our ranked wrestlers so everyone can decide for themselves if the new alignment is fair or not. The top 10 in the New Jersey high school wrestling rankings at 106 pounds.
Hawthorne's Jack Lorper (113) and New Milford's Devin Ryan (120).
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District and Region Alignments for 2024-2025
Here are the district and region alignments for the 2024-25 NJSIAA wrestling season. District hosts are marked with an asterisk. The region hosts are West Milford (Region 1), Mount Olive (Region 2), West Orange (Region 3), Union (Region 4) and Franklin (Region 5). Hosts for regions 6, 7 and 8 will be announced at a later date.
| Region | District | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | District 1 | Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson/Park Ridge, Jefferson, Lakeland, Phillipsburg*, River Dell, Waldwick/Midland Park, Westwood |
| District 2 | Don Bosco, Glen Rock, Indian Hills, Mahwah, Old Tappan, Pascack Hills, Pascack Valley*, Ramapo, Ramsey, Ridgewood | |
| District 3 | Bergen Catholic, DePaul, Kittatinny*, Newton, North Warren, Sparta, Vernon, Wallkill Valley, West Milford | |
| District 4 | Butler, Hawthorne, High Point, Kinnelon, New Milford, Northern Highlands, Pequannock, Pompton Lakes, Wayne Hills, West Essex* | |
| Region 2 | District 5 | Bergenfield, Dwight Morrow, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Leonia/Pal Park, Manchester Regional, Passaic Valley*, St. Joseph (Montvale), Teaneck, Tenafly |
| District 6 | Clifton, Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn*, Garfield, Hasbrouck Heights, Lodi, Mount Olive, Paramus, Passaic, Saddle Brook | |
| District 7 | Cedar Grove, Dover, Lenape Valley/Hopatcong, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany, Passaic Tech, Roxbury, Warren Hills*, Wayne Valley | |
| District 8 | Bogota/Ridgefield Park, Boonton, Eastside (Paterson), Immaculata, Kennedy (Paterson), Montville*, Morris Hills, Morris Knolls, Parsippany Hills | |
| Region 3 | District 9 | Barringer, Bloomfield, Delbarton, Lyndhurst/North Arlington, Madison, Mendham, Newark Collegiate, Orange, Randolph*, St. Mary |
| District 10 | Becton/Wood-Ridge, Caldwell, Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, Cranford*, Hoboken, North Bergen, Rutherford, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken | |
| District 11 | Belleville, Glen Ride, Governor Livingston, Kearny, Livingston, Montclair, Nutley*, Verona, West Morris, West Orange | |
| District 12 | Belvidere, East Orange, Hackettstown, Hanover Park, Morristown*, Newark Academy, Pope John, St. Benedict's, Whippany Park | |
| Region 4 | District 13 | Bayonne, Columbia, East Side (Newark), Elizabeth, Hillside, Roselle, Roselle Park, Seton Hall Prep, Scotch Plains-Fanwood*, Westfield |
| District 14 | Brearley/Dayton, Bridgewater-Raritan, Irvington, Johnson, Millburn, New Providence, North Hunterdon*, Summit/Chatham, Union, South Hunterdon | |
| District 15 | Bernards, Bound Brook, Delaware Valley, Middlesex/Dunellen, North Plainfield, Pingry, Somerville, Voorhees, Watchung Hills*, Weequahic | |
| District 16 | Carteret, Colonia, Kennedy (Iselin), J.P. Stevens, Linden, Paramus Catholic, Plainfield, Rahway, Ridge, South Plainfield* | |
| Region 5 | District 17 | East Brunswick, Middletown North*, Middletown South, Monmouth, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, St. Peter's Prep, South Brunswick, South River, Spotswood |
| District 18 | Franklin, Hopewell Valley, Manville, Monroe*, Montgomery, Princeton, Rumson-Fair Haven, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, West Windsor-Plainsboro South | |
| District 19 | Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Raritan, St. Joseph (Metuchen)*, Sayreville, Woodbridge | |
| District 20 | Hillsborough, Holmdel, Hunterdon Central, Keansburg, Keyport/Henry Hudson, Marlboro, Matawan*, Red Bank, Rutgers Prep | |
| Region 6 | District 21 | Christian Brothers Academy*, Colts Neck, Freehold Boro, Freehold Township, Holy Cross, Jackson Memorial, Lakewood, Manalapan, New Egypt |
| District 22 | Brick Memorial, Hamilton East, Hamilton North, Lawrenceville, Long Branch, Northern Burlington, Notre Dame, Riverside, Robbinsville*, Trenton Central | |
| District 23 | Asbury Park, Brick Township, Jackson Liberty, Manasquan, Neptune, Ocean Township, Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant Boro*, St. Rose, Shore | |
| District 24 | Allentown, Bordentown/Florence, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Ewing, Hamilton West, Hightstown, Howell, St. Thomas Aquinas, Wall* | |
| Region 7 | District 25 | Audubon, Camden, Collingswood*, Haddon Heights, Haddon Township, Paul VI, Pennsauken, St. John Vianney, Sterling, West Deptford |
| District 26 | Barnegat, Central, Donovan Catholic, Lacey*, Manchester Township, Pinelands, Southern, Toms River East, Toms River North, Toms River South | |
| District 27 | Cinnaminson*, Delran, Gloucester City, Kingsway, Moorestown, Palmyra, Rancocas Valley, Red Bank Catholic, Westampton Tech, Willingboro | |
| District 28 | Cherokee*, Cherry Hill East, Cherry Hill West, Gloucester Catholic, Haddonfield, Lenape, Maple Shade, Pemberton, Seneca, Shawnee | |
| Region 8 | District 29 | Absegami*, Atlantic City, Camden Catholic, Egg Harbor Township, Holy Spirit, Lower Cape May, Mainland, Middle Township, Oakcrest, Ocean City |
| District 30 | Buena, Cedar Creek, Delsea*, Gateway, Millville, Pennsville, Schalick/Cumberland, Vineland, Woodstown | |
| District 31 | Eastern*, Hammonton, Highland/Triton, Overbrook, St. Joseph Academy, Timber Creek, Washington Township, Williamstown, Winslow | |
| District 32 | Clayton/Glassboro, Clearview, Deptford, Lindenwold, Paulsboro*, Penns Grove, Pitman, St. |
Understanding these alignments is crucial for teams, coaches, and fans as they prepare for the wrestling season. The NJSIAA's efforts to balance competition and geography aim to create a fair and exciting environment for all participants.
New metric to be used for realignment of district The team tournament seeding will be conducted on feb.