Week Ahead: State Tournaments Hit the Court, Mat and Ice

Several teams earned their berths in the state basketball and hockey tournaments while individual wrestlers are heading to Atlantic City all looking for titles. All basketball squads and Bergen hockey will start their postseason run at home before heading out on the road.

The Lady Hawks and Golden Hawks will play in a double-header Monday evening with the fifth seeded girls seeking to return to the sectional final with a 5pm face-off with Pascack Hills, 12th seed. Last year, the Cowgirls rode to victory and claimed the from defending champion River Dell.

The boys enter the N1G2 race in sixth and are looking to make a deep run, starting with 11th seeded Kinnelon Colts at 7pm. But they will face an uphill battle with a loaded bracket including third seeded Mountain Lakes standing in their way at the second round.

In a tight first round match-up the eighth seeded Crusaders drew the 9th seeded Green Wave from Delbarton. It'll be a tough fight on Wednesday, 7pm for the reward of an even stronger opponent - top seede Seton Hall.

Bergen Catholic hockey (6-11) heads into the Non-Public tournament as the 15th seed and a first round match-up against 18th seeded Pope John (7-14-2) at home in Hackensack at the Ice House over the weekend. They advanced to Thursday's round at the Ice Vault in Wayne and archrival Don Bosco Prep (2nd seed). The Crusaders fell to the Ironmen twice in the regular season.

Wrestlers from River Dell and Bergen Catholic that advanced from last week's Region 2 finals will be spending this weekend down in Atlantic City facing some of the best on the mat in the state championships. Prelims and pre-quarters are Friday night, quarterfinals and semifinals are on Saturday and Sunday features the final round.

If the state tournaments aren't enough to fill up your week with things to check out, don't forget that the River Edge and River Dell boards of education will be approving their preliminary budget as well so that they can be submitted to the County Superintendent. River Edge meets on Wednesday, 7:30pm at Cherry Hill while River Dell convenes at 8pm in the high school library.

Rounding out the week is a River Edge Council work session and Oradell Council Special Meeting, both at 7pm on Monday. The Oradell council has its public meeting on Tuesday, 7pm. All three meetings are held at their respective borough hall.