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Two new teams wrestle their way into the latest South Jersey Mean 15 rankings for Jan. 9

Tom McGurk, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·3 min read
Members of the West Deptford High School wrestling team celebrate as West Deptford's Andrew Tighe pins Paulsboro's Jared Hazel during the 285 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at West Deptford High School on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
Members of the West Deptford High School wrestling team celebrate as West Deptford's Andrew Tighe pins Paulsboro's Jared Hazel during the 285 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at West Deptford High School on Thursday, January 4, 2024.

South Jersey wrestling rang in the New Year with a bang.

Camden Catholic knocked off North Jersey perennial powerhouse Bergen Catholic for the first time since 2009 when the Irish won the state Non-Public A title.

West Deptford recorded its first win over rival Paulsboro in 56 years, pinning the Raiders with one of their most lopsided defeats in their storied history.

The Mean 15 rankings welcome two new teams to the mix this week as Lower Cape May and Collingswood wrestled their way into the list.

And the dual-meet season is just beginning to heat up.

Here are the latest team rankings (records through Monday). Individual rankings will be posted online on Thursdays through the rest of the season.

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

Mean 15 rankings

  1. Camden Catholic (5-1, last week’s ranking: 1). The Irish are up to No. 6 in the state rankings by the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Association.

  2. Delsea (4-2, 2). The Crusaders travel to St. Joseph-Metuchen on Saturday for a huge quad that includes Seton Hall Prep and Donovan Catholic.

  3. Kingsway (5-0, 3). The Dragons will wrestle at Washington Township on Wednesday. The teams split two meetings last season with Kingsway earning a victory in the South Jersey Group 5 tournament.

  4. West Deptford (7-1, 6). Even with a tough loss to Hunterdon Central in the Williamstown Duals, the Eagles are still flying high following their victory over Paulsboro.

  5. St. Augustine (4-2, 5). With one of the toughest schedules in South Jersey, the Hermits suffered a pair of losses to St. Peter's Prep and St. Joseph-Metuchen at the Catholic School Duals. Interesting matchup against Lower Cape May in Richland tonight.

  6. Washington Township (4-0, 7). After a close call against Williamstown (a 39-37 victory) in December, the Minutemen started 2024 with an impressive showing at the Hammonton Blue Devil Duals, winning their second straight title and fourth in last five years.

  7. Paulsboro (5-2, 4). The Raiders bounced back from their loss against West Deptford by earning a berth in the championship of the Boresch Duals where they lost to Delsea, 45-18.

  8. Seneca (6-0, 9). The Golden Eagles swept the Lenape School District quad meet on Friday with wins over Cherokee, 61-9; Lenape, 46-18, and Shawnee, 42-27.

  9. Shawnee (3-2, 8). After losses to Camden Catholic and Seneca in a three-day span last week, the Renegades will look to get back on track when they host Eastern on Wednesday.

  10. Lower Cape May (8-1, NR). After taking care of Hammonton by a 41-24 count, the Caper Tigers earned a spot in the rankings with a 33-28 victory over Haddonfield at the Williamstown Duals. The team had a 58-15 setback to Hunterdon Central at the same tournament.

  11. Haddonfield (4-3, 11). The Haddons put together a 45-18 win over rival Collingswood before going 2-2 at the Williamstown Duals. They travel to Gloucester tonight for a Colonial Conference showdown.

  12. Collingswood (7-3, NR). The Panthers put together one of its best performances of the young season on Saturday, earning a spot in the Dan Trainer Duals title match. Collingswood knocked off Cherry Hill West, 45-33, and Highland/Triton, 39-30, before falling to Warren Hills, 42-24.

  13. Highland/Triton (8-2, 13). The HiT Squad went 2-1 at the Dan Trainer Duals with wins over Gloucester and Woodstown.

  14. Cherry Hill West (7-3, 14). The Lions salvaged one win at the Dan Trainer Duals, beating Woodstown by a 44-36 count.

  15. Gloucester (4-2, 10). A tough schedule over the next 15 days will give Gloucester the opportunity to move back up in the rankings as the team wrestles Haddonfield, Paulsboro, Washington Township and West Deptford over the stretch.

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. 9