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The Mat Pack's latest South Jersey Mean 15 team rankings for Jan. 30

tom mcgurk, cherry hill courier-post
·6 min read
Kingsway's Ben Dryden, top, controls Washington Township's Jacob Gledhill during the 165 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at Washington Township High School on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Dryden defeated Gledhill by pin.
Kingsway's Ben Dryden, top, controls Washington Township's Jacob Gledhill during the 165 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at Washington Township High School on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Dryden defeated Gledhill by pin.

It's almost time for postseason wrestling.

The state tournament begins Monday and will run through the week, culminating with the state championships at Rutgers University on Super Bowl Sunday.

Here's a look at the latest team rankings for South Jersey before the tournament. It will be the last edition before the final rankings after the individual tournament in March.

Records and rankings are through Tuesday's action.

More: NJSIAA wrestling team tournament pairings

Mean 15 rankings

  1. Camden Catholic (11-1, last week’s ranking: 1). The top-ranked Irish definitely look ready for their state title defense in Non-Public B. Camden Catholic was assigned the second seed and will likely be on a collision course with top-seeded St. John Vianney, the team the Irish dispatched 33-29 in last year’s state championship. Camden Catholic is coming off a 41-27 victory over Don Bosco Prep, one of the top Non-Public A teams in the state, on Sunday.

  2. Kingsway (10-1, 6). The Dragons make the big jump, moving four spots to No. 2 thanks to a thrilling 36-31 win over Delsea last week. Kingsway is the third seed in South Jersey Group 5 and will travel to Washington Township for Monday’s opener. The Dragons will wrestle Rancocas Valley in the opening round with a likely matchup with Washington Township in the semifinal. Kingsway traveled the same path last season, avenging a regular-season loss with a 39-22 win in the postseason on WT’s mat. Kingsway has won 10 sectional titles in its history with the last one coming in 2020 with the Group 4 crown.

  3. Delsea (12-4, 2). The Crusaders have captured 12 consecutive sectional titles with the last eight coming in Group 3 where the team is the two-time defending state champion. Delsea is the top seed in South Jersey Group 3 with a first-round matchup against Burlington Township and the winner of Seneca/Jackson Liberty in the semifinals.

  4. West Deptford (17-2, 3). The Eagles look to recapture the South Jersey Group 2 title they won back-to-back in 2019 and 2020. West Deptford is the top seed and will host Clayton in the opening round and, with a victory, would face the Barnegat/Collingswood winner in the semifinals. The Eagles boast five South Jersey titles in their history.

  5. St. Augustine (11-5, 4). The Hermits won six sectional titles in seven years from 2014 to 2020, before the postseason format switched to just competing for a state title last season. St. Augustine was assigned the 11th seed in the state Non-Public A tournament where it will wrestle Paramus Catholic for the right to meet St. Peter's Prep in the quarterfinal round. The Hermits will have a challenging schedule to close out this week as they travel to Hammonton on Wednesday and Kingsway on Thursday before hosting Delsea on Friday.

  6. Paulsboro (15-2, 7). Big Red has dominated South Jersey Group 1, winning 42 of 43 titles in the section since the NJSIAA began awarding team championships in 1980. Paulsboro has won 14 in a row (no title was contested in 2021 because of the pandemic) since Collingswood’s crowning in 2008. The road to the sectional title will run through Paulsboro again next week as the Raiders are the top seed and favorite in South Jersey Group 1.

  7. Washington Township (10-2, 5). The Minutemen will march into the South Jersey Group 5 tournament as the second seed. Washington Township has won three sectional titles in its history with the last one coming in 2010. If they beat Vineland in the opening round, the Minutemen would likely get a shot at Kingsway, a team they beat on Jan. 10 but lost to in last year’s postseason.

  8. Lower Cape May (17-3, 8). The Caper Tigers enter the South Jersey Group 2 tournament as the second seed and will wrestle Haddon Heights in the first round and, with a victory, would meet the Middle Township/Haddonfield winner in the semifinals. Lower Cape May captured its only South Jersey title in 1982 when it won the Group 3 crown.

  9. Seneca (10-2, 10). The Golden Eagles are the fifth seed in South Jersey Group 3. If Seneca can pull the upset in the first round, it would wrestle two-time defending state champion Delsea in the semifinal. The Golden Eagles, who have never won a sectional title, got to the sectional semifinal last winter where they lost to Delsea 67-3.

  10. Ocean City (11-3, 12). The Raiders will make the trip to Lacey for Monday’s postseason opener where the team is the third seed and will wrestle Gateway/Woodbury in the first round. Ocean City’s three losses are to No. 2 Kingsway, No. 4 West Deptford and No. 5 St. Augustine.

  11. Gloucester City (12-6, 14). The Lions are the fourth seed in South Jersey Group 1, where they will face Pennsville in the opening round for the right to likely meet defending champion Paulsboro in the semifinal round. Gloucester’s postseason ended last season in the sectional final at Paulsboro with a 36-26 loss.

  12. Northern Burlington (10-1, NR). The Greyhounds are the top seed in South Jersey Group 4, looking for the first sectional championship in its history. If Northern beats Millville in the opening round, it would wrestle the Moorestown/Cherry Hill West winner in the semifinal round. The squad opened this week’s schedule with a 36-29 win over Rancocas Valley.

  13. Haddonfield (10-7, 15). Can the Haddons defend their first-ever sectional title? The third-seeded squad will have to travel a long distance to do so as they start the tournament with a trip to Lower Cape May where they wrestle Middle Township in the opening round. If they can pull the upset on Monday, a rematch of last year’s sectional final against West Deptford will likely develop.

  14. Shawnee (9-7, 10). The two-time defending sectional champion will have some work to do if it wants a three-peat. Shawnee is the third seed in the section this season and will wrestle Clearview in the opening round with a likely semifinal showdown against second-seeded Hammonton.

  15. Collingswood (15-6, 11). The Panthers enter the South Jersey Group 2 tournament as the fourth seed with a first-round matchup against Barnegat. A win will likely give Collingswood a semifinal matchup with a familiar foe in West Deptford. The Panthers dropped a 51-22 decision against the Eagles on Jan. 17. Collingswood boasts five sectional crowns, including the 2022 title it won in a criteria-tiebreaker victory over Haddonfield in the final.

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. 30