Cape wrestling closes out Caesar Rodney 39-33

A rollicking roller-coaster ride through 14 wrestling matches came down to the final seconds of the 150-pound match, as Cape’s Andrew Schaen held off a charging Cody Waski 12-11 to secure a 39-33 home victory over Caesar Rodney Dec. 14.

“I figured each team at 31 points before the match, but beyond that, I knew we had to stay close to being on schedule to have a chance,” said Cape coach Chris Mattioni. “Pins are calculated as bonus points, but tonight not getting pinned in lighter weights helped us win this match. I figured we may give up 18 points at 106, 120 and 126 where CR is extremely tough, but we only gave up 12.”

Mattioni, entering his 28th season, looked across the mat at rookie head coach Trey Mitchell, who just turned 29. That is a math equation bordering on incomprehensible and just one of the storylines leading into the match. 

The competition started at 157 pounds; the first six matches were decided by falls, with Cape leading 24-12. 

Luke Bender (157) pinned Nathan Legg in 22 seconds, C.J. Fritchman (175) took down Owen Dixon in 48 seconds, Alex Taylor (190) won by fall over Brent Polk in 1:45 and Sean Costello (285) pinned Caleb Kellum in 3:10.

Caesar Rodney earned pins from Cameron Cataldi (165) over Hayden Wheeler in 1:41 and Owyn Meister (215) over Matt Couchman in 2:48.

Rolling into the lightweights, the Riders won five straight matches, outscoring Cape 21-0 to take a 33-24 lead with three bouts remaining. 

Riders wins came from Alex McEvoy (106) over Tripp Gannon by a 15-5 major decision, Cole Moffett (113) over Cale Baker by fall in 37 seconds, Nick Moore (120) over Rony Perez-Mejia by 7-1 decision, Trevor Copes (126) over Holt Baker by tech fall 20-4 and Nathan Moore (132) over Nick Walker by an 8-7 decision. 

Cape accelerated to the finish line, closing with three wins and 15 unanswered points for the 39-33 victory. 

Josh Wright (138) pinned Dylan Bennett in 3:32, Kingston Davis (144) won by fall over Craig Dixon in 36 seconds and Andrew Schaen (150) defeated Cody Waski by a 12-11 decision. 

Cape will compete in the Beast of the East Tournament Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 and 18, then return home Wednesday, Dec. 21, for a match against defending Division II state champion Caravel. 

Caesar Rodney will host Laurel Dec. 21.