The top story in area high school wrestling over the past week also turned out to be the biggest one in the entire state.

Front and center Delaware Valley, which was not ranked among the top 10 New Jersey public school teams prior to the season getting started, but has since vaulted all the way up to No. 4. It also now sits atop The Trentonian’s Area Ratings.

Delaware Valley’s impressive week began with a 41-27 victory at North Hunterdon. This was old-time Delaware Valley wrestling as it took to the Lions from the top position with five pins. Dave Bell’s North Hunterdon team, by contrast, did record four technical falls, but was unable to record a single pin.

What this match also accomplished was it marked the third time in the last four years Delaware Valley recorded a dual-match victory over the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament champion. It also resulted in coach Andy Fitz and his father Vince Fitz reaching the 600 mark in combined wins.

Three nights later Delaware Valley struck again with a 31-30 victory at Phillipsburg in a match in which DelVal was able to overcome the loss of a couple of early close decisions to pick up its second win over the Liners in four years.

“Our team is wrestling well,” said Andy Fitz after his team won for the eighth time against Phillipsburg in 48 matches.

Coupled with the North Hunterdon match, the result was a meteoric DelVal rise in the ratings.

No. 5 Phillipsburg is now just 4-3, but its other losses were to No. 1 Southern and No. 3 Howell. No. 6 North Hunterdon has seven losses, but its other in-state setbacks were to Southern, Delbarton, Howell, 35-29, and Phillipsburg, 35-20.

For its part, No. 2 Delsea beat Howell, 34-29, and has only lost to Paramus Catholic.

With its toughest regular-season matches now in the books, Delaware Valley is clearly primed to make a run at an undefeated season. You can say that because it is certainly favored to capture a fourth Group I state championship in the last five years.

Looking over the rest of the Group I teams in the state, DelVal’s biggest challenge might very come from Manville in its own Central Jersey section. Manville doesn’t exactly wrestle a heavyweight schedule, but it is12-0 and has piled up at least 49 points in every one of its matches.

To the north, Kittatinny has also ready lost to DelVal, 69-6. A Group I finalist last season against DelVal, Hanover Park isn’t as strong as a year ago and barely beat Kittatinny, 40-39.

South Jersey’s Paulsboro isn’t looking particularly formidable either. The Red Raiders have already lost to Cinnaminson and recently just barely got past Audubon, 37-33, in what could very well be a preview of the South Jersey sectional final.

Audubon, by the way, is now coached by none other than “Irish” Mike Ahern. Say what you want about the guy, Ahern has never been one who’s afraid to offer his opinion.  A perfect example of this occurred when Ahern previously coached Sterling and blamed a home loss against Delaware Valley in a Group 2 group final on his own timekeeper.

As for the rest of the state top 10, defending Group II state champion Rumson-Fair Haven is out after a 25-point loss to No. 10 Jackson, which will host Southern on Wednesday night and Howell the following week.

Washington Township has joined the top 10 after suffering a 42-29 setback to Delsea.  Although the final score was tightened up considerably when a Delsea wrestler got decked after taking a 14-point lead, the Minutemen have just the one loss and have a match looming against No. 8 and undefeated Lower Cape May in February.

MERCER NOTES

There’s has certainly been no shortage of entertaining matches involving the top teams in the Colonial Valley Conference. In results from last week, Steinert posted a 37-34 win over Hightstown before dropping a 39-38 thriller at Robbinsville.

Steinert is now in control of the CVC Colonial Division with the victory over Hightstown. With wins over Hightstown and Steinert, Robbinsville is now all set up for a Valley Division collision with Hopewell Valley next week in a match that could determine Mercer County dual-match wrestling supremacy. Prior to facing Robbinsville, Hopewell Valley must first get past Steinert on Tuesday night and Hightstown on Saturday.

In another startling reminder of how things have changed, Hopewell Valley destroyed Hunterdon Central, 64-17, on Saturday. The two teams saw each other plenty in the old District 17, but have not wrestled very much in duals over the years and it was first Hopewell’s first win over the Red Devils.

It was also another reminder of how far Hunterdon Central (2-6) has fallen in just two years. After going 21-3 in 2024, Hunterdon Central was 4-19 a year ago when it lost for the first time to Notre Dame and Robbinsville

Two Mercer wrestlers recently recorded their 100th wins with Lawrence’s Steven Ham and Hopewell Valley’s Dylan Hersh reaching the century mark. Both have been wrestling at 138, but Ham is expected to drop to 132 for the CVC Tournament at Robbinsville next week. Hersh is the seventh Hopewell wrestler to record 100 wins, while Ham is Lawrence’s fifth. Mike Markulec leads Hopewell with 137 wins and Michael Jennings tops Lawrence with 119.

Trentonian Public School State Wrestling Rankings

1. Southern (7-0)

2. Delsea (9-1)

3. Howell (11-1)

4. Delaware Valley (12-0)

5. Phillipsburg (4-3)

6. North Hunterdon (6-7)

7. Mt. Olive (7-2)

8. Lower Cape May (11-0)

9. Washington Township (8-1)

10. Jackson (13-0)

Trentonian Area Wrestling Ratings

1. Delaware Valley (12-0)

2. North Hunterdon (6-7)

3. Seneca (11-1)

4. Hopewell Valley (11-1)

5. Robbinsville (12-6)

6. Rancocas Valley (9-3)

7. Delran (10-2)

8. Steinert (13-2)

9. Hightstown (12-8)

10. Northern Burlington (10-8)

11. Cinnaminson (9-7)

12. Lenape (6-2)

13. Allentown (8-6)

14. Cherokee (10-8)

15. Moorestown (7-7)

HIGHLIGHT MATCHES

Tuesday: Hopewell Valley at Steinert.

Wednesday: Allentown at Hightstown.

Friday: Burlington County Open at Lenape.

Saturday. Hightstown at Hopewell Valley, Burlington County Open at Lenape.