Brearley wrestlers come close, but fall to Delsea 36-34 in Sunday's Group 2 semis at Toms River North; GL grapplers win 3 matches Saturday at Madison to finish with a final record of 22-3

By JR Parachini

Union County Sports Editor

Brearley did not wrestler Raritan and GL's season was not done Friday night.

It was first reported on the bracket listed at nj.com that Brearley was to wrestle Central Jersey champion Raritan and that North 1 champ High Point would take on South Jersey champion Delsea in Sunday's Group 2 semifinals at Toms River North High School in Toms River.

However, for some reason, the semifinals were switched up.

Brearley, the North 2 champion for the fifth consecutive year, wrestled Delsea and lost 36-34. Junior standout John Balboni won the last match by decision at 160, but he needed to win by fall for Brearley to have advanced to the Group 2 final later Sunday.

Brearley reached the Group 2 final and lost to Long Branch in 2008 and 2009 and then lost in the semifinals to West Deptford in 2010. Last year Brearley won its first state championship when it defeated West Essex in the Group 2 final.

Brearley finished its 2011-2012 season with a record of 9-6.

GL gave the impression that its season was complete after falling at Brearley 30-28 in Friday night's North 2, Group 2 final.

However, it wasn't.

GL went to Madison Saturday and defeated Plainfield 57-18, Morristown 45-24 and Madison 48-27 to finish with one of its best records - if not the best - in program history at 22-3.

Brearley will next compete in the District 11 Tournament at Westfield and GL at District 12 at South Plainfield, scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Brearley and Cranford tied for the District 11 championship last year, while South Plainfield easily wins District 12 every year.