
The opening week of New Jersey’s 2025 high school wrestling season has brought a whirlwind of drama, as the NJ Wrestling Writers Association (NJWWA) Top 20 rankings saw a massive shakeup.
One thing became clear after the second Catholic Duals at Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) over the weekend: Delbarton is still the undisputed top dog.
But behind them is something you could call pure mayhem.
The tournament highlighted Delbarton’s dominance but also created a tangled mess for the NJWWA voters to sort out.
Teams shuffled up and down the rankings, thanks in part to incomplete lineups that left many matchups feeling like puzzles with missing pieces.
One of the weekend’s most thrilling results came when CBA edged preseason No. 2 St. Joseph (Montvale) by the slimmest of margins—39-38—winning on the tiebreaker of most pins.
But St. Joseph, struggling with a depleted roster, later faced Bergen Catholic and fell 48-30, which featured an eyebrow-raising nine forfeits, seven of them from St. Joseph.
St. Joseph was missing five key wrestlers, including Zach Ballante and Adrian DeJesus, both returning state champions and Anthony Harris, last year’s state runner-up.
Conversely, CBA was missing four starters, including state medalist Brock Oizerowitz, as they fell in later matches to St. Peter’s Prep and St. John Vianney.
But it’s not only Catholic schools making waves.
This week’s schedule is packed with can’t-miss dual meets, including Wednesday night’s showdown between No. 3 St. John Vianney and No. 8 Southern at St. John Vianney, as well as No. 5 CBA facing off against No. 11 Rumson-Fair Haven at Rumson.
Here’s where the NJWWA Top 20 last week, with first-place votes in parentheses and point totals:
- Delbarton (8-1) (8) 160
- St. Peter’s Prep (5-1) 150
- St. John Vianney (5-1) 144
- Bergen Catholic (4-1) 127
- CBA (4-3) 125
- Camden Catholic (5-0) 122
- St. Joseph (Montvale) (3-2) 119
- Southern (6-0) 108
- Delsea (4-0) 100
- Phillipsburg (5-0) 84
- Rumson-Fair Haven (5-0) 79
- Mount Olive (4-2) 64
- St. Augustine (4-2) 63
- Don Bosco Prep (4-4) 62
- Paramus Catholic (1-2) 57
- Caldwell (4-0) 33
- St. Joseph (Metuchen) (4-1) 31
- Cranford (5-1) 22
- Ridge (7-2) 18
- Washington Township (4-0) 11
Teams just outside the rankings, like Seton Hall Prep (2-5), are still hanging in the conversation but need more wins to break through.
The NJWWA panel, featuring seasoned experts like Donald J. Brower, Frank D’Esposito, Steven Falk, Sean Farrell, Tom McGurk, Andy Mendlowitz, Michael Weilamann, and Brad Wilson, will have their hands full sorting through the chaos each week.
If the first week is any indicator, New Jersey wrestling fans are in for one wild ride. Stay tuned—it’s going to be a season to remember.