The Mat Pack's Mean 15 rankings for first week of 2023

Tom McGurk, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·3 min read
Delsea's Jamar Dixon Jr. controls Washington Township's Chaz Melton during the 144 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at Delsea Regional High School in Franklinville on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Dixon defeated Melton, 16-1.
Delsea's Jamar Dixon Jr. controls Washington Township's Chaz Melton during the 144 lb. bout of the wrestling meet held at Delsea Regional High School in Franklinville on Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Dixon defeated Melton, 16-1.

As the dual-meet season gets into full swing, The Mat Pack unveils its first Mean 15 team rankings of 2023.

  • Records are through Wednesday's action with results reported to trackwrestling.com

More:The Mat Pack makes season debut for individual rankings for 2022-23 season

Mean 15 rankings

1. Delsea (2-0, preseason ranking-1). The Crusaders started the season with a 54-9 win over No. 3 Kingsway before ringing in the new year with a 47-22 win over No. 5 Washington Township. Delsea heads to the Henry Boresch Duals this weekend with a shot at facing No. 4 Paulsboro in the second round of the tournament.

2. St. Augustine (2-0, 2). The Hermits knocked off Cape-Atlantic League foes Absegami and Millville in December. They're gearing up for a showdown with Lower Cape May on Tuesday before competing in the Virginia Duals later in the week.

3. Kingsway (1-1, 3). After a lopsided loss against Delsea, the Dragons collected their first dual-meet win of the season with a 55-10 rout of Clearview in the battle for Route 322. The schedule doesn’t get easier as Kingsway hosts Seton Hall and Pope John XXIII on Saturday and Washington Township on Wednesday.

4. Paulsboro (2-0, 6). Big Red knocked off Clearview and West Deptford to begin its dual-meet season. The Raiders will host Gloucester in what could be an interesting Colonial Conference matchup on Thursday.

5. Washington Twp. (2-1, 5). The Minutemen opened their journey as a new member of the Tri-County Conference with a win over Williamstown and made a solid statement in a loss to Delsea. Township’s next conference match will be at Kingsway on Wednesday.

6. Shawnee (2-0, 7). Checking off the non-public portion of its schedule, Shawnee dealt Paul VI and Camden Catholic losses. The team will host the annual Lenape School District quad meet with Cherokee, Lenape and Seneca on Saturday.

7. Haddonfield (2-1, 8). After losing a shot for the program’s first sectional title with a criteria loss to Collingswood last season, the Haddons got a small taste of revenge with a lopsided 54-12 victory over the Panthers. Haddonfield will host Gloucester on Friday.

8. Rancocas Valley (5-1, 9). The Red Devils head into this weekend’s Hammonton Duals with an area-best five dual-meet victories.

9. Gloucester (1-0, 13). After winning 19 dual-meets, the Lions opened their highly anticipated season with a 44-24 triumph over Gateway/Woodbury. Gloucester will travel to Haddonfield on Friday and will participate in the Collingswood Duals on Saturday.

10. Absegami (2-1, 10). The Braves bounced back from a season-opening loss against St. Augustine with victories over Buena and Millville. Absegami will participate in the Williamstown Duals which has a deep field that includes heavyweights St. Peter’s Prep and Hunterdon Central.

11. Seneca (2-0, NR). The Golden Eagles have produced 61 and 65 points in wins over Eastern and Sterling to start their dual-meet season. Next up will some familiar faces when Seneca faces sister schools Shawnee, Cherokee and Lenape on Saturday.

12. Highland/Triton (3-0, 15). The HiT Squad will take its three-match unbeaten streak into the Collingswood Duals this weekend.

13. Camden Catholic (1-1, 4). With only seven wrestlers donning green robes on Wednesday, the Irish suffered a 48-22 loss to Shawnee. Camden Catholic’s lineup will have a drastically different look in the next couple of weeks as the team will have to fight its way back to the top of the rankings.

14. Northern Burlington (1-0, NR). The Greyhounds opened their dual-meet season with a 43-28 triumph over Cinnaminson. After competing in the Freehold Boro Duals this weekend, Northern will face off against arch-rival Delran on Tuesday.

15. West Deptford (0-2, 14). The Eagles are still searching for victory No. 1 of the season after setbacks against rivals Haddonfield and Paulsboro.

Under consideration (listed alphabetically): Gateway/Woodbury (2-1); Lower Cape May (2-0), Woodstown (4-2).

Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor 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 Mean 15 rankings for first week of 2023