Saturday was the state cutoff – the last day games could be played to count toward NJSIAA playoff qualification – and the final numbers posted Sunday morning non NJ.com (which is the official calculator of the numbers) appear to show 36 boys’ teams and 39 girls’ teams will make the cut.
The breakdown is 27 girls’ teams from the GMC and 12 from Somerset County, while the boys’ side looks like it will have 24 from the GMC and a dozen from Somerset County.
It looks as though no girls’ teams clinched a top overall seed, but there were a few on the boys’ side. The final standings show South River atop Central Jersey Group 1, South Plainfield leading North 2 Group 2, and Ridge leading North 2 Group 4, while St. Thomas Aquinas holds the top spot over Gill St. Bernard’s in Non-Public North B.
Here’s a breakdown of where it appears the teams in the Central Jersey Coverage area – the GMC and Somerset County – will land, based on unofficial standings. The NJSIAA seeding meeting will take place Monday, and final seeding may differ from the standings reflected below.
BOYS’ TOURNAMENT
Central 1: The top four seeds here are Eagle Academy, Shore, Pt. Pleasant Beach and Keyport, then comes local teams Highland Park in fifth and Manville in sixth. South Amboy is down at 11, while Somerset Tech checks in at 14th in the standings, followed immediately by Dunellen.
Central 2: South River looks to have the top seed here easily, followed by Manasquan and Raritan; the Bound Brook checks in at No. 4 in the standings. Spotswood looks to be at No. 8 to get a first-roound home game, with Middlesex at 10 and East Brunswick Magnet at 16.
Central 3: Nobody here finished in the top eight; the top four looks like Ewing, Nottingham, Hamilton West and Brick Memorial. Carteret finished 10th in the standings; Somerville was 14th.
Central 4: Trenton and Freehold Twp. got the top two seeds, with North Brunswick jumping in at No. 3, then Jackson Memorial rounding out the first four. South Brunswick finished sixth in the standings, while Montgomery was No. 9. Old Bridge is at 11, with East Brunswick tied with Manalapan for 12th, and Sayreville inching in over Monroe for 16th place.
North 2, Group 2: The only area team in the section – Bernards – checks in at No. 12. The top four seeds should go to Caldwell, Arts, Madison, and Rutherford.
North 2, Group 3: GMC quarterfinal action on Saturday won’t count here, and two area teams get in the top four, it would appear: South Plainfield earns the top seed over West Morris by eight points, while Mendham is third, and defending sectional champion Colonia appears to get in at No. 4.
North 2, Group 4: The top-seed looks pretty easily like it will go to Ridge, by 41 points over Lincoln of Jersey City. Hillsborough gets the third seed, Franklin at No. 7. In the bottom eight, Watchung Hills is 12th, then a skip to JP Stevens at 14, followed by Pisctaway 15 and Woodbridge in 16th place.
Non-Public South A: Camden Catholic will get the top seed here, it appears, followed by St. Augustine, and Immaculata takes the third spot. St. Joseph of Metuchen finished sixth in the standings, followed by defending sectional champion Rutgers Prep, with the sectional runner-up Red Bank Catholic right behind them. Pingry is 11th.
Non-Public North B: The top two finishers here look like St. Thomas Aquinas and Gill St. Bernard’s. Last year, the two met in the regular season at the Hearst 2 Hands Invitational at Roselle Catholic, with Aquinas winning a thriller of a game. Now, if it goes chalk, they could meet in a sectional final. Timothy Christian finished 8th in the section.
Non-Public South B: The only area team here – Calvary Christian of Old Bridge – finished 5th. St. Rose of Belmar should get the top seed.
GIRLS’ TOURNAMENT
Central 1: Shore appears to be the top seed, followed by Middlesex, Dunellen and Perth Amboy Magnet. Highland Park is in sixth, Woodbridge Magnet checks in at 11, Somerset Tech at 12, and 15th is South Amboy.
Central 2: No teams landed in the top four, with the final standings showing New Providence, Manasquan, Holmdel, and Rumson-Fair Haven. Spotswood checks in sixth, with Metuchen right behind them. South River is tenth, with Bound Brook just behind in 11th place.
Central 3: No area teams were in the top four, with Ewing leading the pack, followed by ocean Twp., Red Bank and Allentown. Somerville came in fifth, South Plainfield is at 10, Carteret 13th and 15th was JFK.
Central 4: The highest finishing team was South Brunswick second, followed by Monroe and East Brunswick. Hightstown, however, got the top seed. Old Bridge checks in at NO. 8, while North Brunswick appears to have just made it at No. 16.
North 2, Group 2: The top four seeds went to Secaucus, Madison, Newark Central and Dayton, while the only area team even in the section, Bernards, is in 13th place.
North 2, Group 3: The only two teams to qualify from the area are Colonia in fifth and North Plainfield in 8th. The top four teams appear to be Randolph, Chatham, Millburn and Fort Lee.
North 2, Group 4: None of the local teams finished in the top four, which are Bayonne first, followed by Elizabeth, Irvington and Westfield. Edison finished fifth, followed by Watchung Hills. Then it’s four straight area teams in a row with Hillsborough 8th, followed by Woodbridge, Ridge, and Franklin.
Non-Public South A: St. John Vianney earned the top seed here, and the highest area team is St. Thomas Aquinas, checking in at No. 5. Mount St. Mary and Pingry are seven and eight, respectively, while Immaculata stands in 11th place.
Non-Public North B: The top seed here appears to be Saddle River Day, with Gill St. Bernard’s fifth in the standings. Wardlaw-Hartridge is seventh, and Mother Seton is 11th.
Non-Public South B: After Wildwood Catholic gets the top seed, followed by St. Rose of Belmar, the NJSIAA may have to break a tie here between Rutgers Prep and Holy Cross Prep for third; the Argonauts are the defending Non-Public South B and overall Group B champions. Calvary Christian checks in at No. 10, while Timothy Christian is at 11.