By Andy Loigu

A pair of Warren Hills teams, wrestling and girls basketball, hold the top spot in the state rankings for Group 3 as compiled by the pundits at NJ Advance Media.

After 16 games, the girls basketball team is still unbelievable and unbeaten, and the wrestlers are 13-3.

Single elimination tournament time has arrived, but since the Blue Streaks are the second seed in the girls Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex tournament, they don’t need to worry about getting through the preliminary and first rounds. They will host either seventh seed Phillipsburg, 10th seed Kittatinny or 19th seed Hopatcong in a second round game on February 9.

Win number 16 in the Streaks’ opening run was a 51-45 nail biter over the scrappy Bernards Mountaineers at Warren Hills on January 24.

The Streaks won it on the foul line, as Nicole Mallard made 13 free throws while compiling a game-high 23 points. Lianna Johnson and Heather Laffan each contributed 11 points to the hard-earned win.

In the Skyland Conference rankings, the Streaks are third, behind unbeaten Franklin and Rutgers Prep. They are ahead of Gill St. Bernards, a perennial power among the parochial schools in the Garden State.

The 11th seed Hackettstown girls were eliminated from the H/W/S field in a preliminary round loss to 18th seed Delaware Valley. The Terriers will now visit sixth seed Belvidere on February 2 for a first round encounter.

On the boys side, the hot Hackettstown Tigers, coming off a big road win at Jefferson Township, are the fifth seed. They will host 12th seed Pope John on February 2. Meanwhile, the eighth seed Blue Streaks host the ninth seed North Hunterdon Lions on Ground Hog Day, in what promises to be a most competitive first round game. The prize for the winner will be a trip to the scenic Sussex County ski country for a game against top seed Sparta and their 6-8 center who can move around and score from anywhere, including beyond the three-point arc. Enjoy.

The Blue Streak wrestlers are preparing for the North 2 Group 3 playoffs, which commence on February 4 against a yet to be determined opponent. To prepare, they will have a spirited match against the rival Hackettstown Tigers at Warren Hills on February 1. It is a rivalry in which the old adage applies, throw out the record books, anything could happen and usually does. Expect the unexpected.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.