A photo that appears to show seven Phillipsburg High School boys with a wrestling dummy hanging by its neck is under investigation. (Photo courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com)

Seven boys from the Phillipsburg High wrestling team who have been regular competitors all season were scratched with no replacements tonight from the seeding for Saturday’s District 1 tournament, marking the latest development after a controversial photo surfaced earlier this week.

SCRATCHED WRESTLERS SCHEDULE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH LAWYER - WATCH HERE AT 7:30.

The photo showed seven boys — six of them wearing garnet-colored Phillipsburg wrestling jackets — posing around a wrestling dummy wearing a Paulsboro High T-shirt and hanging with a rope around its neck. Two of the boys are also wearing hoods pulled over their heads in a point.

DISTRICT 1 SEEDS FOR EACH WEIGHT CLASS

Phillipsburg principal Gregory A. Troxell, who attended tonight’s meeting, would not say why the seven wrestlers were scratched. The wrestlers shown in the photo were not identified last night.

“It’s a private student matter,” Troxell said. “(And) no other Phillipsburg High official can comment on it.”

The wrestlers range from the third-ranked 145-pounder in the state to prior district champions and veteran varsity competitors. Now that the seven have been scratched for districts, all of their seasons are over.

The wrestlers scratched from the tournament are: Tyler Agans (113 pounds), D.J. Wissing (120), Tylor Petchonka (126), Jimmy Schuitema (145), Broderick Bupivi (160), Tim Hinkle (182) and Andrew Horun (220).

Phillipsburg School District Superintendent George M. Chando said Tuesday “actions were taken” regarding the photo, but he refused to specify.

Troxell, athletic director Tom Fisher and wrestling coach Dave Post each attended tonight’s seeding meeting held in a classroom at the school with coaches from the seven other teams in the district. Fisher and Post left without speaking to reporters.

The extent of the punishment for the boys who appeared in the photo remains unclear.

“The administration is apparently taking steps that are significant,” said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester), who lives in Paulsboro and closely monitors high school sports in New Jersey. “And for those individuals who have spent a career in high school looking forward to a tournament they are now not able to participate in, that’s pretty significant.”

With the wrestlers scratched, Phillipsburg, unbeaten this season and ranked No. 4 in The Star-Ledger's statewide poll, will field only seven wrestlers for Saturday's district tournament, which is also held at the school. The Stateliners have historically dominated the districts, winning 41 titles.

The surfacing of the photo earlier this week has rocked Phillipsburg — a small town known for its powerhouse wrestling program — and created a firestorm of criticism across the Internet and social media.

With two of the top wrestling programs in New Jersey, Phillipsburg and Paulsboro have long been fierce rivals on the mat. But the surfacing of the photo upset many in the Paulsboro community, Burzichelli said.

“The picture was hurtful and offended people I know and care about, and that includes a wide range of age and race,” Burzichelli said. “The effects of that picture were significant.”

The issue has also been forwarded to New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights, per a recently enacted agreement between the state's governing body for high school athletics and the Attorney General's Office.

Leland Moore, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, said in a release sent to The Star-Ledger, “The Division on Civil Rights is monitoring the respective responses of the school and the NJSIAA. The Division will review whether further investigation and action is appropriate.”

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, meanwhile, has asked Phillipsburg’s administration to provide a report to the NJSIAA by no later than noon tomorrow.