Caper Tiger wrestlers rout Braves in home opener

Two freshmen, transfer join veterans hungry for another sectional title

ERMA — The Caper Tiger wrestlers put an exclamation point on their first dual meet of the season, routing Absegami 72-6 at home Dec. 17.

Lower Cape May Regional High School’s head coach Bill Damiana, whose team won the South Jersey Group II sectional title in 2024, is coming off last season’s campaign that ended in a heartbreaking loss in the sectional final.

He brings back about 10 starters from that team, has an extremely talented transfer student in Tristan Rosemeyer and two freshmen in his lineup for this season.

For a hint about his team’s talent, the returning lineup includes Region 8 champion Chase Hansen (138 pounds last year); District 29 finalists Bryce Paley (120) and David Douglass (175); and district semifinalists Billy Whitney (132), Dominick Marrero (144), Daniel Byrne (150), Gabe Tosto (157) and Shane Morrell (165).

Rosemeyer, a transfer student from Williamstown, was the Region 8 champion at 106 pounds last year. He wrestled at 113 pounds in the season opener for LCMR.

Damiana was somewhat pleased with the contest.

“I thought we performed relatively well. There are a couple of things I want to really fix up before we get really rolling in the season, but that’s why we wrestle these early tournaments, early dual meets,” he said. “It’s to work a lot of the kinks out and get the cobwebs out of the system so we’re firing on all cylinders by the end of January.”

Along with his returning veterans, Damiana said there are those three newcomers “that are going to contribute to the ultimate goal. We have some seniority back so we should be able to score some points and pull some matches out.”

In spite of the dominating performance last week, the coach said the team needs to work on some technique.

He pointed out it was the home opener and some of the wrestlers had butterflies in their stomachs, some too amped up and others a little flat.

“Those things need to be cleaned up, but all in all, we’re going to be fine,” Damiana said.

His freshmen are Eli Glover at 132 pounds and Ryan Morgan at 126 pounds. Glover won by pin and Morgan by major decision against their Absegami opponents.

“I thought they performed very well, especially the first time in front of a home crowd,” he said. “I remember when Chase was a freshman, he came out here in front of the home crowd and he didn’t perform to his standard and we all know how his career went, so everything will be fine.”

Hansen agreed with his coach’s assessment that the team performed well. “But we still have a lot of work, especially once we get later into the season against some harder teams. I’d just like to see us keep on improving, putting points on the board,” he said.

Hansen appreciates the support the team has received as the LCMR wrestling program has performed well in the past few years.

“It really helps having all these people here in support,” Hansen said, adding “it’s a good feeling” that helps motivate the wrestlers in the meets.

“Just to keep on building the program is really something special because we’re doing something that’s never been done before,” Hansen said. “This is just the beginning, so we just got to keep on working harder, just stay focused, no distractions and just get better every day.”

Hansen said he only has one personal goal this year: “To win states.”

The Absegami meet was tied only once. After 285-pounder Jake Hearon won by forfeit to open the match, 106-pound teammate Abraham Caraballo lost by pin, making it 6-6.

After that, it was all LCMR.

Rosemeyer and Paley (120) won by pin. Then it was Morgan and Glover.

Marrero (138) and Hansen (144) both won with first-period technical falls. Andrew Brant (150) pinned his opponent and Byrne (157) earned a technical fall. Tosto (165) earned a pin in 1:01, Ashton Ray (175) won by technical fall, Shane Morrell (190) got a forfeit and Douglass got the filled gymnasium on its feet, wrapping the meet with a 30-second pin.

Damiana expects his experienced wrestlers, including Hansen, Marrero, Byrne, Hearon, Caden Britton and Tosto, to be leaders for the younger wrestlers on his team — “guys that have been here for quite some time and put a lot of work in. You know, pretty much everybody in the lineup that’s not a younger guy is pretty much a leader on this team.”

He expects some tough competition in the Cape-Atlantic League.

“I think every team’s going to be tough — Middle Township, Ocean City, St. Augustine Prep,” he said. Prep, he noted, “hasn’t lost a Cape-Atlantic League match since 2018, so we have our work cut out for us.”