As the local wrestling squads geared up for this season, the one big thing that was going to be noticeably different about the 2016-17 campaign had more to do with what the NJSIAA did during the offseason, as it made numerous changes to the state wrestling tournament landscape. That figured to have some big implications for Pinelands Regional later in the season.

For one, the Wildcats have been moved from District 24 within Region 6 to District 31.