Cape wrestling wins Grapple at the Brook tournament
The Cape wrestling team left Springbrook High School in Maryland Saturday afternoon, Jan. 14, with the Grapple at the Brook team trophy, scoring 255 points to easily put away Northwest, Md., (182) and First Colonial, Va. (181.5).
“We sent six to the finals, including two freshmen, and came away with four champions," said Cape coach Chris Mattioni.
Cape had three head-to-head battles with Northwest in the finals and won them all, including first-time tournament wins by Holt Baker (126), Andrew Schaen (152) and Alex Taylor (195).
C.J. Fritchman brought another bracket home to Rehoboth, winning the 170-pound tournament title.
Freshmen Tripp Gannon (106) and Nicolas Walker (132) both reached the finals, eliminating higher seeds along the way. Both freshmen lost by pin in the championship bouts, but contributed a combined 42.5 points to the team victory.
“Total team effort,” Mattioni said. “We were missing Josh Wright and Luke Bender, but our guys who went to wrestlebacks started stacking up wins and points, which just made us impossible to catch in the championship round.”
Sean Costello (285) placed third. His only loss came in triple overtime in the quarterfinals.
Braydon Cole (145) fought back to a fourth-place finish.
Placing fifth were Matt Couchman (220), Hayden Wheeler (160), Max Meadows (120) and Cale Baker (113). Freshman Robbie Payton (182) was 2-2 in the tournament, earning seven team points. Sophomore Jacob Goodsell (138), up six weight classes from his freshman season, gave a yeoman’s effort stepping into Josh Wright's spot, going 0-2 while gaining valuable experience.
Cape will wrestle at Polytech Wednesday, Jan. 18, then host Delaware Military Academy Friday, Jan. 20.
Takedowns - Sussex Central wrestling placed second to Mount Saint Joseph in the War on the Shore tournament. Gabe Cannon (170) and Ivan Neal (195) were tournament champions for the Golden Knights. Placing second for Central were Malachi Stratton (113) and Evan Cordrey (126). Cape will wrestle at Sussex Central Wednesday, Jan. 25.
