Highlights from the Winter 2017-18 season in Cape May County high school sports:
Wildwood Catholic Boys Basketball Wins C.A.L.
The Wildwood Catholic High School boys basketball team is known to be a dominate force in the high school basketball world and this season proved to be no different.
The Crusaders won the coveted Cape-Atlantic League boys basketball title in overtime against Atlantic City on Feb. 24 at Stockton University. The win gave the program their second C.A.L. title in school history with the first dating back to 2014.
The team finished 10-0 in the C.A.L. United division, clinching the title for another year.
They went on to have the No. 1 seed in the Non-Public South Group B state tournament and made it all the way to the semifinals.
The Crusaders finished at 26-3 overall.
O.C. Girls Basketball Wins Sectional Title
The Ocean City girls basketball team handed rival Mainland Regional their first loss of the season in the South Jersey Group III final on March 5, winning 36-32.
The Red Raiders, ranked third in the group, played the No. 1 Mustangs three times this season and were unable to come out with a win in those meetings.
Ocean City earned the program’s eighth sectional title and third straight. They moved onto the group semifinal game, but fell to Ewing. The Red Raiders finished 22-9 overall.
L.C.M. Boys Basketball Makes Sectional Final Appearance
The Lower Cape May Regional High School boys basketball made a name for themselves this season with a fantastic run in league and tournament action.
The Caper Tigers went 10-2 in the Cape-Atlantic League National division, earning them the title.
They had the No. 5 seed in the South Jersey Group II state tournament and hosted every round of the playoffs until the sectional final. This marked the program’s first appearance in the group sectional final in thirty years.
The Caper Tigers finished off the season with a 21-7 overall record.
Flanders, Holden Reach 2,000 Career Points
Two outstanding boys basketball players reached rare milestones this past winter season.
Wildwood High School senior Kyion Flanders scored his 2,000th career point on Feb. 10, becoming the fourth county player to reach the rare milestone. He was a strong leader for the Warriors during his career, leading the team to a 17-10 overall record. Flanders finished his career with 2,131 points, making him the all-time leading scorer for the school. He will continue to play at Stockton University.
Lower Cape May senior Pat Holden was a driving force for the Caper Tigers during his four years with the team. In the beginning of the season, he broke the school record for career points in boys basketball. He became the fifth Cape May County boys basketball player to reach the 2,000 career point mark. He finished his high school career with 2,103 points and will continue to play at Widener University.
Middle’s Gary James Nagle Wrestles, Pole Vaults at State Level
Middle Township senior football player, wrestler and track and field athlete Gary James Nagle made a name for himself in every sport he participated in during his high school career.
As a wrestler, Nagle finished his high school career at 104-29 overall: he finished as the all-time leader in victories for the season with 41 wins and career at 104 wins. He won eight individual tournaments, more than anyone in school history, and won the District 30 championship twice.
After finishing third in the 170-pound weight class in Region 8, he earned a spot in the state wrestling tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City; the only county wrestler to qualify this year.
Although he did not win a title, he went 1-2 in the tournament, becoming the first Panther wrestler since 2001 to win a match at states. His wins helped lead the Panthers to a 18-6 overall record.
Nagle was one of the county’s top track and field athletes by competing in the pole vault. This season, he broke a school record set back in 1973, placed first in the county meet, placed first in the C.A.L. meet and placed second in the S.J. Group II meet and placed in the top ten of the state group meet.
He will attend Ursinus College for both wrestling and pole vault in track and field.
*This is Part 2 of 3 for the 2017-18 school year in review.
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