CINNAMINSON – There’s only been one downfall with the recent success of the Lower Cape May High School wrestling team.“I guess we can’t sneak up on anybody anymore,” LCM head coach Billy Damiana said.The Caper Tigers are completely fine with that problem.After winning its first sectional title in over four decades last winter, Lower Cape May continues to establish itself as one of South Jersey’s best squads. The team is expected to take another big jump in the area rankings after Saturday’s performance.That’s because the Caper Tigers were crowned champions at the Cinnaminson Duals, knocking off No. 5 Seneca, 37-36, in the final. That came on the heels of a 50-25 blowout of No. 6 Paulsboro in the semifinals.More:The Mat Pack’s South Jersey Mean 15 wrestling rankings after first full week of Jan.

“This definitely put our stock up there,” said sophomore Bryce Paley, who locked up the championship with a technical fall against Seneca. “We came here looking to go 3-0 and we did it.”“For a lot of these kids, it’s uncharted territory,” he said. “They’re not used to the success we’ve had lately. There’s an expectation now. And that expectation is a privilege, it’s not pressure. You should want to be happy when you’re out there competing. You should want that challenge.”

Lower Cape May entered the week ranked No. 9 in the Mat Pack’s Mean 15. The team could be as high as No. 4 when the new rankings come out next week.Damiana says the success has been a long time coming for the program, which will reach 600 wins in its history with two more Ws. However, that doesn’t mean his young grapplers grasp what comes with the victories.Last season, Lower Cape May captured its first sectional title since 1982. However, the Caper Tigers had to replenish many of the spots in the lineup, especially up top.Those new upper weights came up huge at Saturday’s tournament.Senior Jake Robson, a first-year wrestler, took the mat just once in the tourney, but he delivered a clutch 12-8 win at 190 against Seneca.  Junior John Hearon, a first-time starter, went 3-0 with a pair of pins, including one against Seneca.Senior Dennis Serra, who is working his way back from an illness, went 2-0 at 190 despite weighing in light.And a banged up Gabe Tosto showed plenty of toughness on his way to three pins, including a crucial fall in the final. Tosto has 12 wins, including 10 by pin, at 157.“Everybody did their part, I’m proud of them all,” Damiana said.Paley did his part, too.The sophomore battled the whole season to get down to 113 pounds. He finally made the weight at the Cinnaminson Duals. After splitting his first two bouts of the tournament, Paley locked up the team title with a technical fall against Seneca.“I’ve been out for most of the season, so to come back and help the team win, it’s very exciting,” Paley said.After weighing around 145 during the summer, Paley struggled with the drop.“It was a hard cut for me, but I made some adjustments and I made it,” said Paley, who went 2-0 at 120 on Jan. 4.Paley said he got to the school early on Saturday morning to work out and make weight.It was worth it.Paley started strong with two takedowns in the first period and worked through a bloody nose to finish off a 21-6 technical fall in the second period.“I was looking for the pin,” Paley said. “I kept getting bloodied when I was on top, so Coach said you might as well cut him, so I cut him and started taking him down as much as I could.”Hitting the century markSeneca’s Daniel Bogardus remembered the last time he wrestled at Cinnaminson. That’s when he was part of the Golden Eagles’ victory, which was the 300th in program history in 2023.On Saturday, Bogardus achieved another milestone in the same gym, but this one was all his.The senior became the fourth Golden Eagle to achieve 100 career wins as he sealed a pin at 144 against Lower Cape May to reach the century mark.“It’s like a dream come true for me,” Bogardus said. “Every since I was a freshman, I was grinding to get these wins.“I always believe I was going to get it. All through middle school, I set my goals high. This was one of them and I’m glad I got it.”Bogardus joins Joe Manchio, Max Borton and Declan Deveney with 100 career wins for Seneca.“It’s really cool to see him get that,” said Seneca’s Greg Bauer, who has been the program’s only coach since its inception. “It’s good to see all that hard work pay off for him.”Meet notesDamiana said he set his alarm clock for 4 a.m. on Saturday. A few inches of snow that had to be cleared, a late arriving bus and a two-plus-hour journey to Cinnaminson made for a really long day.Was it worth it?“It was way worth it,” he said.Seneca won its first two meets against Haddon Township and Wall to improve to 7-0, before faulting in the final.“We wrestled a really sloppy match,” Bauer said about the final. “It wasn’t our best and that’s the result.”Paulsboro went 1-2 in the tournament. The Raiders knocked off host Cinnaminson, 47-27, in the opening round before falling to Lower Cape May, 50-25, in the semifinals and Wall, 41-35, in the the third-place meet.Paulsboro’s Paul Morina has 797 career wins, three short of becoming the second head coach in state history with 800 wins. The state record is 802. Big Red wrestles Collingswood at home on Monday and at Audubon on Wednesday.The ResultsCinnaminson Duals – FinalLower Cape May 37, Seneca 36126: Michael Mirassol, S, p. Connor Barikian, 0:49; 132: Peyton Reese, S, d. Billy Whitney, 8-0; 138: Chase Hansen, LCM, p. Jake Bauer, 0:38; 144: Daniel Bogardus, S, p. Dominick Marrero, 1:00; 150: Daniel Byrne, LCM, tech fall Mark Finelli, 19-4, 3:11; 157: Gabe Tosto, LCM, p. Isaac Anderson, 4:58; 165: Sawyer Rosenberg, S, d. Shane Morrell, 7-2;  175: David Douglass, LCM, p. Brody Sweeney, 1:23; 190: Jake Robson, LCM, d. Nicholas Schmied, 12-8; 215: John Hearon, LCM, p. Larry Sweeten, 3:09; 285: Patrick Degnan, S, tech fall Caden Britton, 25-10, 4:34; 106: Travis Bauer, S, p. Landon Shivers, 1:17; 113: Bryce Paley, LCM, tech fall Avery Padilla, 21-6, 3:16; 120: Kyle Figueroa, S, p. Cade Heacock, 0:45.Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.