H.S. wrestling: Absegami moves into prime position for elusive title

GALLOWAY – Sean Cowan turned around looking for the championship banner in the rafters of the Absegami High School gymnasium.

It took him a couple of seconds to find the one dedicated to the wrestling team.

One can’t fault him. The banner hasn’t been touched in a few years.

However, that’s on the verge of changing.

Absegami moved into the driver’s seat for its first division title in 11 years after a thrilling 34-33 victory over Lower Cape May Tuesday night. The squad needs a win over Oakcrest on Wednesday or St. Joseph Academy on Friday to etch 2022 onto the banner.

“We’re going to be look up at those boards and see our team on there,” said Cowan, who clinched the victory over Lower Cape May. “It feels great, we haven’t won many of those lately.”

That wasn’t always the case.

Absegami was a powerhouse in the Cape-Atlantic League, winning the overall title 13 times over a 15-year span from 1997-2011. In four of those seasons, the wrestlers in the brown-and-gold singlets went 87-0-1 and finished as the No. 1-ranked team in the Garden State.

“It’s been a long time, but they went out there and earned it,” said Absegami head coach Shawn Scannell, who was an assistant coach under Gene Barber during the program’s golden era.

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Absegami hopes this new chapter of success won’t be ending any time soon.

After suffering a 37-36 loss to Lower Cape May in last year’s season finale, Absegami returned the favor by winning a narrow one-point decision with the winner gaining the inside track to the division title.

Absegami won a pair of tight decisions to set the stage for Cowan’s meet-clinching win at 157.

Junior Adrian Martinez-Ruiz, who had one win in his previous six bouts, pulled out a 2-1 win in sudden victory at 285 while sophomore Julian Rivera held on for a 7-6 decision at 150.

“Heavyweight was a big win for us, it was a big win for him,” Scannell said. “That felt good, he works hard.

“We felt 150 was a swing bout, Julian had to ride him out for the final 40 seconds, that showed a lot of toughness there. If we won that bout, with Sean coming up, one of our better guys, we’re feeling really good there.”

Cowan, who is ranked No. 2 at 157 by The Mat Pack, didn’t disappoint.

Wrestling Jadan Farrow, ranked No. 8, Cowan surrendered a takedown late in the first period and took a 3-3 score to the second. He closed the bout out with a takedown in each of the next two periods for an 8-4 win.

“I love the pressure, love all the eyes on me,” said Cowan, who improved to 18-5. “Everybody was hyped for this one. Last year, they beat us by a point, that’s it. We came out here hungry.”

Both teams will be wrestling in the NJSIAA team tournament next week. Absegami, owners of six sectional championships, is the fourth seed in South Jersey Group 3 while Lower Cape May is the third seed in the South Jersey Group 2 bracket. The Caper Tigers are seeking the program’s first South Jersey title since 1982.

Meet notes

Absegami’s Ray Weed didn’t weigh in and was not on the team’s bench for the meet. The senior is the third-ranked wrestler in South Jersey at 165 pounds. Scannell had “no comment” on Weed’s availability, but the coach did say Weed’s season wasn’t finished.

Absegami’s George Rhodes notched a takedown in each of the final two periods to earn a 5-2 win over Braydon Castillo. Rhodes is No. 3 at 175 while Castillo is No. 6.

Lower Cape May has developed a knack of producing top-notch 215/220 pounders. Marcus Hebron is looking to continue the trend. The senior improved to 21-4 with his 15th pin on Tuesday.

Five of the Caper Tigers’ state place winners in program history have wrestled in the weight class including two-time champion Shawn Laughlin and current head coach Billy Damiana, who placed seventh in the state twice. Shane Whitney finished fifth at 220 last season.

Absegami 34, Lower Cape May 33

175: George Rhodes, A, d. Braydon Castillo, 5-2; 190: Brody Saltzman, LCM, p. Caiden Hurley, 0:50; 215: Marcus Hebron, LCM, p. Nadhim Drinkard, 1:08; 285: Adrian Martinez-Ruiz, A, d. Corey Achuff, 2-1 (SV); 106: Eric Coombs, LCM, d. Nick Gargione, 4-2; 113: Connor Barikian, LCM, forfeit; 120: Matthew Sterling, A, p. Corson Hughes, 1:53; 126: Jachere Harris, LCM, p. Aidan Torres, 4:33; 132: Aidan Zeck, A, md. Allen Lemmon, 14-6; 138: Frank Gargione, A, p. Gabriel Donaghy, 0:55; 144: Brayden Wright, A, p. Dennis Serra, 1:06; 150: Julian Rivera, A, d. Nathan Stewart, 7-6; 157: Sean Cowan, A, d. Jadan Farrow, 8-4; 165: Brock Zurawski, LCM, forfeit.

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: H.S. wrestling: Absegami moves into position for elusive title