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 […]
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.”
