The juggernaut Hopewell Valley wrestling team last season won its 15th league title in 17 years, its 14h Mercer County Tournament championship in 16 years and captured its first sectional title in program history. With that in mind, you might ask what the Bulldogs could possibly do for an encore. The answer is simple: Advance to its first group final and attempt to better last season’s 21-3 record. Hopewell Valley might very well do it because the team has returned most of its starters and could  have one of its best teams yet. It certainly is the favorite to capture another Colonial Valley Conference Valley crown in a division that also includes Allentown, Ewing, Hamilton, Lawrence, Nottingham and Robbinsville. Of that group, Allentown might very well be the second best team in the entire CVC and a young Robbinsville team will remain better than most. ALLENTOWN Coach: Marc Cuniglio Last year: (17-7), C.J. Group III sectional qualifier, No. 13 ranking in the area. 106-Aiden Deal (Fr.), Weston DuBrul (Fr.), Colin Davis (Fr.) 113-Degan Semanchick (Sr.), Ariel Garcia (Fr.) 120-Aiden Schwartz (Sr.), Michael Creighton (Fr.), Dustin Wilson (Fr.), Ben Mojta (Fr.), Adley Angelidi (Fr.) 126-Charlie Case (Sr.), Justin Nguyen (Jr.), Vincent Surace (Jr.) 132-Anderson Dubrul (Jr.), Tamas Hilbert (Fr.) 138-Connor Urig (Sr.), Matthew Guyfulin (Jr,), Matteo Frasina (Fr.) 144-Jordan Rey (Jr.), Liam Pecci (Fr.), Mikah Gallagher (Fr.) 150-Nick Gaul (Sr.), Sebastian Quiroz Moreno (Fr.), Salvatore Sereno (Fr.) 157-Tanner Wilson (Sr.) 165-Stephen Moore (Jr.), Elijah Saiz (So.), Mike Malfettano (Fr.) 175-Nathaniel Geddis (Jr.), Chase Straydesky (So.) 190- Kassidy Mazza (Sr.), Chase Toporek (Fr.), Nathaniel Schneider (Fr.) 215-Jack Cox (So.) 285-Mason Leon (Fr.) Strengths: The Redbirds are particularly strong in the lightweights. Semanchick was 24-12 and third at districts,. Case was 36-6, a region qualifier and an MCT champion and Schwartz was 20-6. The middle is solid as well with Urig (22-16), Wilson (33-5), Gaul (27-12, second at districts) and Saiz (14 wins). Capable upperweights include Mazza (27-12) and Geddis (22-6). Outlook: Beating Hopewell Valley will remain difficult, but Allentown may very well defeat every other team in the CVC. EWING Coach: Denniz Zedalis Last year: (2-21) 106-Bryce Wittkop (So) 113-Gibril Huq (Fr.) 144-Connor Lane (Sr.) 150-Amin Emara (Sr.) 157-Tyler Sandyck (Jr.) 190-Luke Weigle (Jr. 215-Cephus Horton (Jr.) Strengths: Although it was still working on its lineup during the pre-season, the numbers are actually pretty good with 40 to 50 wrestlers in the program. Led by a tough customer in senior 120-pounder Sam Dupee, the girls are in particularly in good shape with all the weights filled. Weigle won nine bouts a year ago and there are some other returnees who showed promise. Outlook: There’s still a lot of work to do and the team graduated two excellent upperweights, including state qualifier Collin Elam, but Ewing has the potential to be more competitive this year. HAMILTON Coach: Gerard Belviso. Last year: (2-19) 113-Nathan Barrett (So.) 120-Alan Sanchez (So.) 132-Jacob Jimenez (So.) 138-Dominick Johnson 150-John Espinoza (Sr.) 157-Daniel Figueroa (Jr.) 165-Luke Bruch (Sr.) 175-Carlos Rueda (Jr.) 190-Matthew Brescio (Jr.) 215-Jamal Coates (Sr.) 285-Alan Perez (So.), Nasir Rowell-Dye (Sr.) Strengths: The Hornets have some reliable wrestlers returning in the middle and upper weights. Johnson was 19-7, and Figueroa was 23-11 and qualified for regions. Also back are Espinoza (11 wins) and Rueda (16 wins). Brescio and Coates each posted nine wins a year ago. Outlook: With a group of wrestlers back, Hamilton should definitely be better. If it can get some production from its lower weights, the improvement could be significant. HOPEWELL VALLEY Coach: Mario Harpel. Last year: (21-3), CVC Valley Division champion, MCT champion, Central Jersey Group III champion, No. 3 ranking in the area. 106–Jan Rahmani (So.), Dylan Somma (Fr.) 113–Dean Meissner (Sr.) 120–Thomas Davilla (So.), Ali Rahmani  (So.) 126–Dylan Hersh (Jr.) 132–Sam Lowe (Jr.), Sebastian Soto (So.), Jace Kalina (Jr.) 138–Luke Caldwell (Sr.), Max Lawruszkiewicz (Sr.) 144–Isaac Miller (Jr.), Tyler Ansari (So.), Skyler Hulsizer (Jr.) 150–Max Pollara (Jr.), Gavin Seibold, (Jr.) 157–Konrad Haugeto (Sr.) 165–Jett Branagh (Sr.), Ben Franco (Fr.), Ethan Valenza (So.) 175 – Ethan Barker (Jr.), Scott Mangan (So.) 190–Giuseppe Panzitta (Sr.), Franklin Wang (Sr.), Gavin Barker (Fr.) 215–Jon Trainor (Sr.), Ken Pineda (So) Hvy-Elliott Scherbekow (Sr.) Strengths: Where do you start? The lower weights are in good shape with the return of  region qualifiers Meisner (29-10),  Lowe (18-4), Hersh (28-13, first at districts) and Caldwell (23-13). The middle of the lineup is another real strength. Miller was 20-14 and third at districts, Branagh was 26-9 and an MCT champion. Region qualifiers Haugeto (32-6) and Barker (29-8) were both county champions, and Trainor was 24-9 and second at districts. No CVC team can come close to matching Hopewell’s depth. Outlook: It would be a huge upset if Hopewell didn’t again dominate CVC wrestling. The big goal is to win sectionals again and advance to the group final at Rutgers. LAWRENCE Coach: Chris Lynne. Last year: (16-9), C.J. Group III qualifier, No. 18 ranking in the area. 106-Saran Siva (Jr.) 113-Andrew Farmer (Jr.) 120-Edwin Urias  (Jr.) 126-Mazir Shija (Jr.) 132-Steven Ham (Jr.) 138-Elliot Weeks (So.) 144-Tyler Cortacans (Jr.) 150-Nick Sutter (Sr.) 160-Andy Delcid (Sr.) 165-McKyle Thompson (Sr.) 175-James Lyons (So.) 190-Sam Moffit (Sr.) 215-Zane Spencer (Jr.) Hvy-Nick Sferra (So.) Strengths: Ham was 28-10 last season and a region qualifier. Siva was 27-9 and also made regions. Anchoring the middle weights are Sutter (15-11), Cortacans (26-11) and Thompson (22-16). Spencer was 15-9. Keep an eye on Lyons, who is coming off an outstanding football season as a running back and is very strong. Outlook: With over 60 wrestlers in the room, Lawrence has a lot of competition going on for starting spots. Look for another winning season and improvement as the year progresses. NOTTINGHAM Coach: Dennis Dressel. Last season: (5-21) 106-Jude Wolak (Fr.) 113-Christian Morolda (So.) 120-Kurt Falzini (Fr.) 126-Lincoln Samonski (Jr.) 132-Elian Mejia (So.) 138-Angel Guilfuchi (So.) 144-Matthew Wilke (Sr.) 150-Ransel Islas (Sr.) 157-Samuel Gillon (Jr.) 165-Jayden Gonzalez (So.) 175-Muaviyah Badat (Sr.) 190-Bryan Nguemo (So.) 215-August Cassidy (So.) Hvy-Malcolm Louissant (So.), Gavin Mack (So.) Strengths: Samonski is the top returnee after going 28-9 and qualifying for regions. Wilke was 17-10 and Badat was 13-10. Outlook: The Swamprats are very young, but they will battle as always and become more savvy with varsity experience. ROBBINSVILLE Coach: Dan Hughes. Last year: (18-8), C.J. Group III sectional qualifier, No. 11 ranking in the area. 106-Lucien Amato (Fr.), Pierce Cicero (Fr.). Nathan Devinoff (Fr.), Vinny Grippa (So.), Shay Khosla (Fr.), Alex Viscido (So.) 113-Isaac Boyle (Fr.), John Dzwolak (Fr.) 120-Luca Cannuli (Fr.), Joseph Ciccia (Fr.), Max Hudson (Fr.), Lucas Messinger (So.) 126-Liz Mejia (Jr.), Matt Morado (Sr.), Mikey Panzer (So.) 132-Henry Honeywood (Jr.), Emily Moorcroft (Fr.), Ethan Neagle (So.) 138-Connor Skillman (Jr.),. Colin Yuncza (Fr.) 144-Camila DeOliveira (Jr.), Marina Ferrari (Fr.), Liam Griffin (So.), Tyler Shane (So.) 150-Logan Barrios Robles (So.), Justin Cecil (Sr.),. Andrew O’Reilly (Sr.) 157-Daniel Dechnik (Fr.), Alex Messinger (Sr.) 165-Taylor Adams (Jr.), Matthew McRoberts (Fr.) 175-Kyle Dan (Sr.) 190-Anthony Inverso (Jr.). Tony Migliaccio (Jr.), Joel Smolarz (Sr.) Hvy-Dominic Cataldo (Sr.), Nicco Cuevas-Gould (Jr.). Strengths: Grippa had a big 29-10 freshman season and was second at districts, O’Reilly was 19-12, and Messinger was  29-8 and a region qualifier. Cataldo held his own in the upper weights with eight wins. There are some promising newcomers capable of making an impact,. Outlook: With Blaise Grippa, Giacomo Bottoni, Anthony Viscido and Richard Estlerly all lost to graduation, the Ravens graduated four big guns who will be sorely missed. Robbinsville will remain one of the better teams in the CVC, but it’s way behind Hopewell.