Staff Report

The 2025 wrestling team sectionals are in the books and it’s a quick turnaround to the state championships, which take place this weekend. Here’s a quick look at how the South Jersey sectionals played out. (We’ll have a full coverage article coming up of Paulsboro vs. Schalick in South Jersey Group 1).

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3: Top-seeded Delsea Regional cruised to another sectional title, dispatching second-seeded Lacey Township with relative ease, winning 69-6. The Crusaders have won every sectional title since 2011, and the only points the Lions got were via a forfeit. Delsea scored eight pins and a technical fall to give longtime assistant Tom Maxwell his first title as head coach after taking over for Greg Sawyer.

WHAT’S NEXT: State semifinals, today. No. 4 Wayne Valley at No. 1 Delsea, 6 p.m.; No. 3 Cranford at No. 2 Brick Memorial, 6 p.m. State championship at noon Sunday at Rutgers.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2: In one of the closest matches you’ll ever see, Middle Township upended rival Lower Cape May, 34-33, to win the first sectional championship in Panthers history. The fifth-seeded Panthers scored three straight upsets to win the title, beating No. 4 Collingswood in the opening round before routing top-seeded West Deptford, 46-25, in the semifinals. Max Adelizzi scored a major decision at 190 pounds in the final bout of the night, tying the score at 33 and sending it to a criteria tiebreaker. The winning margin came all the way down to which team had less forfeits, as Lower Cape May had to forfeit at 106 pounds, and that was the difference.

WHAT’S NEXT: State semifinals today. No. 4 Middle Township at No. 1 Rumson-Fair Haven, 6:30 p.m.; No. 3 High Point at No. 2 Caldwell, 7 p.m. State championship at noon Sunday at Rutgers.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 4: Fourth-seeded Toms River South captured the title, beating rival and No. 6 seed Toms River East, 40-28. The Indians reached the final by knocking off top-seeded Williamstown, 37-36.

WHAT’S NEXT: State semifinals, today. No. 4 Toms River South at No. 1 North Hunterdon, 6 p.m.; No. 3 Long Branch at No. 2 Phillipsburg, 6 p.m. State championship Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Rutgers.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 5: No surprise here as Southern Regional, annually one of the top teams in the state, took care of Washington Township, winning 51-18. It was the seventh straight sectional title for the Rams, who won all but three bouts. Winning for the Minutemen were Max Van de Zilver and Colton Hagerty by forfeit at 120 and 126, respectively, and heavyweight Mitch Lando, who scored a second-period pin.

WHAT’S NEXT: State semifinals, today. No. 4 Passaic Tech at No. 1 Southern Regional, 5 p.m.; No. 3 Monroe at No. 2 Bridgewater-Raritan, 6 p.m. State championship on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Rutgers.

NON-PUBLIC A: St. Augustine Prep, the No. 7 seed, beat No. 10 Don Bosco Prep in the opening round before falling to No. 2 St. Peter’s Prep, 61-17, in the quarterfinals.

NON-PUBLIC B: Top-seeded Camden Catholic will be going for a state championship on Sunday at noon at Rutgers University as the Irish beat Holy Cross in the opening round and then Immaculata in the semifinals. Their opponent will be No. 2 seed Pop John.