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The Mat Pack's latest South Jersey Mean 15 team rankings for Jan. 16 are out

Tom McGurk, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·4 min read
The Mat Pack
The Mat Pack

As the race for division titles really begins to hit its stride, there has been some movement in The Mat Pack's Mean 15, including one new squad joining the mix.

Here are the latest team rankings for South Jersey:

More: Top performances by South Jersey wrestlers during second week of January

Mean 15 rankings

  1. Camden Catholic (7-1, last week’s ranking: 1). The Irish put together a strong showing at the Escape the Rock tournament over the weekend. Sophomore Sammy Spaulding placed third at 127 pounds and escaped serious injury in his final bout. Spaulding injured his neck and was taken to the hospital for tests. He checked out fine and was even at practice the following day.

  2. Delsea (8-2, 2). After sweeping a quad meet with St. Joseph-Metuchen, Seton Hall Prep and Donovan Catholic, the Crusaders get ready for a huge stretch that begins Wednesday with Washington Township. The Jack Welch Duals follow before meets against rival Kingsway, Watchung Hills, High Point and Hunterdon Central over the next 11 days.

  3. West Deptford (12-1, 4). The Eagles soared to the TowneBank American Division title at the 43rd annual Virginia Duals, becoming the first South Jersey squad to win at the venue since Camden Catholic in 2018. Brayden Curcio (120), Owen Entrekin (132), Chris Andujar (175) and Andrew Tighe (215) all went 4-0 while Ryan McConaghy (106), Talen Terinoni (113) and Marcus Carter (190) each went 3-1 in the four dual meets.

  4. St. Augustine (7-4, 5). After losing its first meet at the Virginia Duals, the Hermits reeled off three straight wins to finish ninth in the TowneBank American Division. Carter Pack (120), Adrian Arbelo, Anthony DePaul (138), Xavier Harvey (144/150) and Ed Vincent (215) all went 4-0 while Luke Bennett (144/150) went 3-1. St. Augustine lost to Bergen Catholic 39-21 on Monday.

  5. Washington Township (5-0, 6). The Minutemen marched to a 31-27 victory over Kingsway on Wednesday, knocking off the Dragons for the second straight time in the regular season since they moved into the Tri-County Conference. Meets against Delsea, Paulsboro and Absegami are lined up for Township to round out the week.

  6. Kingsway (5-1, 3). The Dragons are starting to see their starting lineup take shape over the last week. Senior Luke Van Brill (190) went 3-0 at the Buc Classic, his first action since returning to Kingsway following his transfer from Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic. Three-time region champ Nathan Taylor, who has been working his way back from a knee injury, is expected to take the mat when Kingsway hosts Delsea on Jan. 24.

  7. Paulsboro (6-2, 7). Big Red will be looking for revenge when it travels to Washington Township on Friday. Paulsboro dropped a 35-27 loss to Township in last year’s meeting. Paulsboro will also compete against Brick Memorial in the Shore Conference Showcase at Southern on Saturday.

  8. Lower Cape May (10-1, 10). The Caper Tigers roared to lopsided victories over Pinelands, Barnegat and Toms River North on Saturday. A postponed match with St. Augustine from last Tuesday has been rescheduled for Jan. 24.

  9. Haddonfield (8-3, 11). The Haddons racked up four wins last week, including a 59-15 conference victory over Gateway/Woodbury and a 45-30 nonleague triumph against Cinnaminson. Haddonfield will wrestle a quad with Cherry Hill West, Ocean City and Highland on Saturday.

  10. Seneca (9-1, 8). The Golden Eagles’ unbeaten streak came to a screeching halt with a 40-19 setback to Haddonfield. Despite the setback, Seneca still boasts an impressive 32-3 record over the last two seasons combined.

  11. Shawnee (6-2, 9). Following three Olympic Conference wins last week, Shawnee will wrestle Cherry Hill East on Wednesday before participating in the Pine Barrens Dual Tournament on Saturday. Jordan Segal (107) wrestled tough at the Escape the Rock tournament, securing an eight-place finish, which included four wins.

  12. Collingswood (9-3, 12). The Panthers rebounded from a 46-19 loss to St. Augustine on Jan. 7 with a solid 36-21 win at Moorestown three days later. Collingswood gets its crack at No. 3 West Deptford on Wednesday.

  13. Highland/Triton (11-3, 13). The HiT Squad will be tested this week with meets against Kingsway, Cherry Hill West, Ocean City and Lenape. Senior Jordan Suiter (165) has won 11 of his last 12 bouts for the Tartans.

  14. Ocean City (7-1, NR). The Raiders make their first appearance in the rankings this season following a solid week that included wins over Hammonton, Gateway/Woodbury, Williamstown and Eastern. OC travels to St. Augustine on Wednesday for a big Cape-Atlantic League meet.

  15. Gloucester (6-2, 15). After suffering setbacks against Highland and Hopewell Valley, the Lions got back on track with a 54-18 rout at Haddon Township. Gloucester welcomes Paulsboro to the den on Wednesday.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: The Mat Pack's South Jersey Mean 15 rankings for Jan. 16