C.H. West duo reach 100 wins

It was Mark Papaneri's first day of practice as a high school wrestler. His coach, Zach Semar, went up to Papaneri and sat down.

"[Semar] said, 'You know Ryan Cunningham has that school record? Two-time state champ?' " Papaneri said. "He said, 'I know one person in the room right now that will be able to top that.' He said my name, and I was kind of surprised, but that was probably where I started to think that I could do everything that I did."

Papaneri hasn't won a state title yet, but he is leaving a mark at Cherry Hill West.

On Feb. 1, Papaneri became the fourth wrestler in school history to record 100 wins, defeating Cherry Hill East's Jacob Lapinson by pin in 55 seconds.

Papaneri followed teammate Tyler Brake, who had earned his 100th win earlier in the day, topping Paul VI's Theodore Kendzierski by pin in 1 minute, 37 seconds.

"It felt great," Brake said. "It was a really long journey, so I felt like I really accomplished something."

Brake and Papaneri, both seniors, wrestled together at Carusi Middle School. Brake wrestles at 132 pounds and Papaneri competes at 145.

"I knew they'd definitely have the opportunity," said Semar, who has coached the duo for their entire high school careers. "They had relatively successful middle-school careers. Middle school to high school is such a big transition. You're going from wrestling 12-, 13-, 14-year-olds to wrestling 18-year-olds. They both got 20 wins as a freshman. I knew they were setting themselves up to potentially get 100.

"I think it was a goal of theirs when they entered high school, but to be able to stay healthy and to stay with it, that's a testament to them."

The two wrestlers to have done it before for Cherry Hill West are Cunningham, who passed the mark in 2002, and his brother Tom Cunningham, who accomplished it in 2005.

Brake and Papaneri are both captains of the 16-3 team. Brake was a captain last season, and when a vacancy opened because of graduation, Papaneri was Semar's first choice to fill the role.

"When we've got to show moves, those are the guys that we look to," Semar said. "When we have to set examples for doing a particular drill, we turn to them, too. It's a partnership, as well. They lead by example and then vocally as well."

Brake is 22-1 this season and 100-27 in his career.

"It's been a really big part of the person I've become," Brake said of wrestling. "With Coach Semar, you're talking about not just wrestling, but about life in general. It's really helped me make a lot of friends. My friends on the wrestling team are definitely my closest friends."

Papaneri, who said he has been wrestling since he was 3, is 21-4 this season and 102-31 overall. He comes from a family of Cherry Hill West graduates. His uncle John Papaneri won a district championship as a Lion in 1992 - a feat his nephew achieved in 2012.

"To live up to expectations, I knew it would be tough," Mark Papaneri said. "I'm the first one in the family to do it. It just feels like a relief, kind of. My family's been congratulating me every day."