A little banged up right now, the 14-4 team is getting ready for sectionals, districts
ERMA – Caper Tiger head coach Billy Damiana knows if his wrestlers are to be ready for the sectional tournament, districts and beyond, they have to get there by wrestling difficult competition.
As he put, they ran the gauntlet last month, going through a lot of tough teams.
Between regular meets, dual meets and tournaments, the Lower Cape May Regional High School wrestling team – the defending South Jersey Group II champion – has wrestled the equivalent of every other day in January.
Damiana scheduled some very tough teams last month, including the only three to beat the Caper Tiger wrestlers this season – St. Augustine Prep, Ridge and Washington Township. Prep won 56-15 and Ridge won 63-12. The wrestlers lost to Washington Township 34-32.
Along the way the Tigers also won the Cinnaminson Duals Jan. 11, beating top seed Seneca 36-35 in the final.
“You always have to test yourself,” Damiana said Jan. 29 after his team soundly defeated Vineland on Senior Night.
“If you look at our January schedule, we’re constantly wrestling schools that are Group III, Group IV, Group V and Parochial. If you want to win, it’s no different than the practice room,” he explained. “If you want to get better as a small guy, I always encourage them to wrestle guys heavier than them because it makes you do certain things you might not normally do.
“Constantly testing how good you are against better competition is going to lead eventually to what we’re trying to work for, which is a sectional championship,” he added.
Lower Cape May’s wrestling team was atop the Power Points in South Jersey after the Vineland match with its 14-4 record, but things were tight with No. 2 West Deptford and No. 3 Middle Township. When LCMR beat rival Middle Township’s Panthers (16-3), the match was close, 37-32.
On Sunday, LCMR (14-4) was at the top with 34.89 points, West Deptford (17-7) had 34.22 and Middle 32.489, just ahead of Collingswood (19-7) at 32.89.
That changed on Monday in what appeared to be the final rankings.
West Deptford held the top spot with 40.56, LCMR was just behind with 40.44, Gloucester (12-8) was third with 38.44, Collingswood (19-7) was fourth at 38.11 and Middle Township was fifth at 37.56.
Seeding for the sectional tournament was scheduled for Tuesday, after the Star and Wave went to press. The Power Points determine which teams the Caper Tigers will face and how many home matches they will have.
Last year LCMR was the No. 2 seed in the tournament. West Deptford was the No. 1 seed. The Caper Tigers won two matches at home, beating Haddon Heights and then Middle Township before upsetting West Deptford 31-22 for the South Jersey Group II sectional championship. This season the seedings should put the two teams on opposite sides of the bracket and headed for a possible collision course in the finals if both teams win through the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Damiana expects his team will be ready, in spite of some the injuries some of his wrestlers have had..
“I think we’re starting to turn the corner a little bit. As you noticed, a lot of guys are out of the lineup tonight,” he said.
“A lot of guys are really, really banged up. January was a gauntlet.
“Practice has been very tough so we’re just trying to get guys healthy for next week and then the playoffs the week after,” Damiana said. “I feel we’re in a good spot right now.”
LCMR 62, Vineland 15
The Caper Tigers routed Vineland
Vineland took an early lead on Senior Night with 106-pounder Santino Machinsky recording a 3-0 decision over Caper Tiger Landon Shivers and then a forfeit for Chase Bordley at 113 pounds.
And then it was LCMR’s turn with seven straight wins.
Cade Heacock, at 120 pounds. Pinned Carmine Phillips in in 1:14.
Bryce Paley earned a 17-0 technical fall in 3 minutes over Chad Score at 126 pounds.
Billy Whitney decisions Jayden Minkowski 8-3 in the 132-pound bout.
At 138, Dominick Marrero pinned Alejandro Calderson at the 2:55 mark and teammate Andrew Brant, at 144 pounds, pinned Zach Cruz in 2:29.
Vineland forfeited the next two matches, giving up 12 points to Edward McVey and Ty Collins, at 150 and 157 pounds, respectively.
The Fighting Clan’s Lionel Powell earned his team’s only other win of the night, pinning Shane Morrell in 4:18 after a back-and-forth match.
At 175, 190 and 285 pounds respectively, Caper Tigers Joseph Gray, Dennis Serra and Caden Britton all won by forfeit.
The last bout of the night was quick. At 215 pounds, Caper Tiger Jake Robson pinned Joe Egbeh in 1:17.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Ocean City Sentinel and Cape May Star and Wave staff
