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The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association released its district wrestling alignment for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons on Thursday and they include major changes that have several Shore Conference teams on the move.

All the Shore Conference teams were housed in Region 6 for many years until the 2016-17 realignment spread the 44 schools with wrestling programs between Regions 5, 6, 7 and 8. Under the new alignment, 13 Shore Conference teams will be in Region 5, 22 in Region 6, seven in Region 7 and two in Region 8.

Some of the most significant changes include Howell, Brick Memorial, Jackson Memorial and Toms River North coming back to Region 6 from Region 7. Southern Regional will move from Region 8 to Region 7.

The new realignment was different based on two factors. Geography was taken into consideration more than last time, which was a major point of contention for coaches, administrators and fans alike. The district tournaments began to lack the local flavor and rivalries they had been known for. Now, teams like Brick Memorial and Brick Township and  Middletown North and Middletown South are in the same district. Over the last two years, those schools from the same town weren’t even in the same region.

There is also a new power-ranking formula to establish the top 32 teams in the state. Previously, the district and region realignment focused on spreading out the top teams in the state based on the team power point averages. The top 32 power teams and the non-publics were then separated using the NJSIAA’s geographic northing numbers.

For the new realignment, the top 32 were determined by using the new formula weighed 75 percent for the power point average over the last two years and 25 percent weighted on the number of returning wrestlers who placed in the top 16 at the most recent state tournament.

The main goals of the NJSIAA, athletic directors and region presidents were to maintain competitive balance while bringing back traditional district teams and rivalries.

The detailed realignment process and complete district and region realignment, as first reported by NJ Advance Media, can be found below.

Methodology in the realignment process (language is via NJSIAA) as reported by NJ Advance Media.

  1. Every two years, take the number of schools offering a wrestling program and divide by eight (the number of regions).
  2. Establish the regional teams using northing numbers as a framework, listing publics and non-publics.
  3. (NEW) Use the 75% (Team power points-past two years average) -- 25% (Top 16, only wrestlers returning from the 2019-20 tournament are included) as the ranking metric.
  4. Find the top 32 teams as per the ranking metric. The top 32 teams include both the public and non-public schools. All regions must have a range of top 32 ranked teams that is within the target of four ranked teams per region. (Each region must have no more than 5 ranked teams and no less than 3 ranked teams). By reacting to the change in powers over the two years, schools may be moved to achieve a more regional balance, if necessary. When movement is necessary, northing number will be used.
  5. Place either three or four non-publics in each region, making sure the power non-publics are separated, no more than two in any region.
  6. Place approximately 34-36 publics in each region based on northing number. Top 32 powers are placed first. The number will be based on a final count of all the schools with wrestling teams including the NJSIAA approved cooperative wrestling programs.
  7. Equalize the District by “Snaking” the teams using the metric above (1-4 then 5 through 8 back etc.) Highest to lowest.
  8. (NEW) The NJSIAA made every effort to leave the top three lines in place as the districts are reviewed in order to move teams within the district framework (the snaking process by pure numbers). The NJSIAA is committed to maintaining a competitive balance with the range being applied at the regional level for the top 32. The NJSIAA also strived to return to a district framework that will take into consideration tradition, rivalry and geography. The integrity of balance of competition must be maintained and will not be compromised.
  9. NJSIAA will need to take into consideration district and region host sites. District Sites will be reviewed based on previous hosting, location, and teams within the district. District hosts will be named at a later date.

 

Complete 2020-2021, 2021-2021 wrestling district and region realignment

Shore Conference teams in bold/italics

 

REGION 1

DISTRICT 1

  • Cresskill
  • Don Bosco Prep
  • Emerson/Park Ridge
  • High Point
  • New Milford
  • Pascack Hills
  • Pascack Valley
  • River Dell
  • Tenafly
  • Waldwick-Midland Park

DISTRICT 2

  • Glen Rock
  • Indian Hills
  • Northern Highlands
  • Demarest
  • Old Tappan
  • Ramapo
  • Ramsey
  • Ridgewood
  • St. Joseph (Montvale)
  • Westwood

DISTRICT 3

  • Dumont
  • Hawthorne
  • Lakeland
  • Mahwah
  • Newton
  • Pequannock
  • Pope John
  • Sparta
  • West Milford

DISTRICT 4

  • Butler
  • Jefferson
  • Kinnelon
  • Kittatinny
  • Manchester Regional
  • North Warren
  • Pompton Lakes
  • Vernon-Wallkill Valley
  • Wayne Hills

 

REGION 2

DISTRICT 5

  • Bergen Catholic
  • Bogota/Ridgefield Park
  • Clifton
  • Dwight Morrow
  • Elmwood Park
  • Fort Lee
  • Garfield
  • Passaic
  • Wayne Valley

DISTRICT 6

  • Bergenfield
  • Paterson Eastside
  • Hackensack
  • JFK-Paterson
  • Leonia/Palisades Park
  • Paramus Catholic
  • Passaic Tech
  • Passaic Valley
  • Teaneck
  • West Essex

DISTRICT 7

  • Boonton
  • Montville
  • Morris Catholic
  • Morris Hills
  • Morris Knolls
  • Mountain Lakes
  • Parsippany
  • Parsippany Hills
  • Roxbury

DISTRICT 8

  • DePaul
  • Dover
  • Fair Lawn
  • Hasbrouck Heights
  • Hopatcong
  • Lenape Valley
  • Lodi
  • Mt. Olive
  • Paramus
  • Saddle Brook

REGION 3

DISTRICT 9

  • Belleville
  • Bloomfield
  • Cedar Grove
  • Cliffside Park
  • Delbarton
  • Hoboken
  • Kearny
  • Nutley
  • Orange
  • Union City

DISTRICT 10

  • Belvidere
  • Columbia
  • Glen Ridge
  • Hackettstown
  • Hanover Park
  • Phillipsburg
  • Rutherford
  • Verona
  • Whippany Park

DISTRICT 11

  • Barringer
  • Livingston
  • Lyndhurst/North Arlington
  • Morristown
  • Newark Academy
  • Seton Hall Prep
  • Weehawken
  • West Morris Central
  • West Orange
  • Wood-Ridge

DISTRICT 12

  • Becton
  • Caldwell
  • East Orange
  • Madison
  • Montclair
  • North Bergen
  • Randolph
  • Secaucus
  • Warren Hills
  • Mendham

 

REGION 4

DISTRICT 13

  • Cranford
  • Elizabeth
  • Irvington
  • JFK-Iselin
  • Millburn
  • New Providence
  • North Hunterdon
  • Rahway
  • Voorhees

DISTRICT 14

  • Bound Brook
  • Brearley/Dayton
  • Newark Eastside
  • North Plainfield
  • Plainfield
  • Ridge
  • Roselle Park
  • South Plainfield
  • Union

DISTRICT 15

  • Bernards
  • Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Colonia
  • Delaware Valley
  • Gov. Livingston
  • Pingry
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Summit/Chatham
  • Watchung Hills
  • Weequahic

DISTRICT 16

  • A.L. Johnson
  • Bayonne
  • Carteret
  • J.P. Stevens
  • Linden
  • Newark Collegiate
  • Somerville
  • St. Peters Prep
  • St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Westfield

 

REGION 5

DISTRICT 17

  • Franklin
  • Hillsborough
  • Hunterdon Central
  • Manville
  • Montgomery
  • Princeton
  • Rutgers Prep
  • Sayreville/South Amboy
  • St. John Vianney
  • West Windsor-Plainsboro North

DISTRICT 18

  • East Brunswick
  • Holmdel
  • Hopewell Valley
  • Manalapan
  • New Brunswick
  • North Brunswick
  • South Brunswick
  • South River
  • Spotswood

DISTRICT 19

  • Edison
  • Marlboro
  • Metuchen
  • Middlesex/Dunellen
  • Old Bridge
  • Piscataway
  • Rumson-Fair Haven
  • St. Joseph (Metuchen)
  • Woodbridge

DISTRICT 20

  • Highland Park
  • Keansburg
  • Keyport/Henry Hudson
  • Matawan
  • Middletown North
  • Middletown South
  • Perth Amboy
  • Raritan
  • Red Bank Catholic
  • Red Bank Regional

 

REGION 6

DISTRICT 21

  • Christian Brothers Academy
  • Steinert
  • Hamilton West
  • Jackson Liberty
  • Lakewood
  • Manasquan
  • Ocean
  • Point Boro
  • St. Rose
  • Toms River North

 

DISTRICT 22

  • Allentown
  • Bordentown/Florence
  • Colts Neck
  • Freehold
  • Howell
  • New Egypt
  • Robbinsville
  • Trenton
  • Wall

DISTRICT 23

  • Asbury Park
  • Brick Memorial
  • Brick Township
  • Freehold Township
  • Long Branch
  • Monmouth Regional
  • Neptune
  • Point Beach
  • Shore

DISTRICT 24

  • Burlington City
  • Ewing
  • Nottingham
  • Hightstown
  • Jackson Memorial
  • Lawrence
  • Monroe
  • Northern Burlington
  • Notre Dame
  • West Windsor-Plainsboro South

 

REGION 7

DISTRICT 25

  • Burlington County Tech
  • Burlington Township
  • Central Regional
  • Donovan Catholic
  • Lacey
  • Manchester Township
  • Southern Regional
  • Toms River East
  • Toms River South

DISTRICT 26

  • Cinnaminson
  • Delran
  • Highland
  • Holy Cross
  • Pemberton
  • Rancocas Valley
  • Riverside
  • Seneca
  • West Deptford
  • Willingboro

DISTRICT 27

  • Camden Catholic
  • Cherokee
  • Cherry Hill East
  • Cherry Hill West
  • Lenape
  • Maple Shade
  • Palmyra
  • Pennsauken
  • Shawnee
  • Triton

DISTRICT 28

  • Audubon
  • Camden
  • Collingswood
  • Gloucester City
  • Haddon Township
  • Haddon Heights
  • Haddonfield
  • Moorestown
  • Paulsboro

 

REGION 8

DISTRICT 29

  • Clearview
  • Deptford
  • Gateway/Woodbury
  • Kingsway
  • Paul VI
  • Penns Grove
  • Pitman
  • Salem
  • Sterling

DISTRICT 30

  • Buena
  • Eastern
  • Hammonton
  • Lindenwold
  • Overbrook
  • St. Joseph (Hammonton)
  • Timber Creek
  • Washington Township
  • Williamstown
  • Winslow

DISTRICT 31

  • Cedar Creek
  • Clayton/Glassboro
  • Delsea
  • Holy Spirit
  • Middle Township
  • Millville
  • Pennsville
  • Schalick/Cumberland
  • Vineland
  • Woodstown

DISTRICT 32

  • Absegami
  • Atlantic City
  • Barnegat
  • Egg Harbor
  • Lower Cape May
  • Mainland
  • Oakcrest
  • Ocean City
  • Pinelands
  • St Augustine

 

 

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Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.

 

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