CRANFORD, NJ — After a very tough one-point loss in the Group 3 semifinals after capturing a second straight North 2, Group 3 sectional state championship, the Cranford Cougars are now focused on succeeding in this Saturday’s District 10 Tournament they are hosting.
After the districts were revised and put up on the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s website in January, Cranford High School found itself the only Union County team situated in District 10. Wrestlers who advance from districts 9, 10, 11 and 12 will next compete in the regions at Region 3 at West Orange on Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1.
All 32 districts are scheduled for one-day competition on Saturday, Feb. 22. The time of competition at Cranford’s gym for District 10 on Saturday, Feb. 22, will begin at 9 a.m.
Cranford won District 16 at Watchung Hills Regional High School last year, edging Governor Livingston High School, 199.5 points to 196. Host Watchung Hills Regional placed third at 183. Cranford wrestlers then advanced to Region 4 at Union. That will not be the case this year.
The 2024-2025 wrestling season will end with the NJSIAA Tournament at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall from Thursday, March 6, to Saturday, March 8.
After, as the top seed this time, Cranford defeated second-seeded South Plainfield High School convincingly, 47-20, at home on Wednesday, Feb. 12, to repeat as North 2, Group 3 champions, the Cougars then traveled south to face Brick Memorial High School again.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, at Brick Memorial, in one of two matches Cranford wrestled there that day, the Cougars defeated St. Thomas Aquinas High School of Edison, 50-25, and in the other match, Cranford was defeated by Brick Memorial, 41-27. In the 190-pound bout, two-time state champion Harvey Ludington defeated Cranford standout senior Jordan Chapman by major decision, 16-6.
On Friday night, Feb. 14, in the Group 3 semifinals, with Cranford seeking a second straight berth in the Group 3 final against three-time defending champion Delsea Regional High School at Rutgers University, Chapman was ahead of Ludington at 190, this time by five points, more than halfway through the third and final period. However, Ludington found a way to come back and win the match 9-8, beating Chapman once again.
Cranford then saw a commanding 36-11 lead dissipate, with Brick Memorial winning the final five bouts en route to a stunning 36-35 comeback triumph. Brick Memorial was also awarded a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Had Brick Memorial not gained that point and the bout ended 35-35, Brick Memorial would have still won on the tiebreaker of having the most wins by fall, 4-3. Both teams won seven of the 14 bouts, with Brick Memorial winning the final five, including the last two by fall.
In last year’s North 2, Group 3 championship match at 15-1 and top-seeded West Essex High School, with Cranford trailing 24-21 going into the final bout, it was Chapman who pinned Doug Taylor in just 49 seconds at 175 pounds to win the championship for the Cougars at 27-24, which was their first sectional title since 2017.
Cranford came in at 20-4, with its only other two losses coming at home to Phillipsburg High School, 32-27, on Saturday, Jan. 4, and at Southern Regional High School, 49-16, on Saturday, Jan. 25. Cranford also won two matches, beating Old Bridge High School, 46-24, at home, on Saturday, Jan. 4, and beating Hillsborough High School, 57-20, at Southern Regional, on Saturday, Jan. 25.
The Cougars also captured another Union County Conference–Watchung Division title outright at 6-0.
District 10 fielded 10 teams at Cranford: Cliffside Park/Ridgefield, Cranford, Becton/Wood-Ridge, Hoboken, Caldwell, North Bergen, Rutherford, Secaucus, Union City and Weehawken.
Cranford in states the past 4 years
Cranford in North 2, Group 3 Finals
2024-2025: 1-Cranford 47, 2-South Plainfield 20 – at Cranford
Cranford then lost at Brick Memorial, 36-35, in Group 3 semifinals.
Cranford finished 20-4.
2023-2024: 2-Cranford 27, 1-West Essex 24 – at West Essex
Cranford then won at Hopewell Valley, 41-21, in Group 3 semifinals.
Cranford was then defeated by Delsea, 45-25, in Group 3 finals at Rutgers.
Cranford finished 19-3.
2022-2023: 1-Warren Hills 41, 2-Cranford 21 – at Warren Hills
Cranford finished 23-4.
Cranford in North 2, Group 3 Semifinals
2021-2022: Cranford lost at home to West Essex, 34-33.
Cranford finished 16-7.