Cape’s Caruso wins state title at 132 pounds
Anthony Caruso flashed a third-period smile toward the Cape student section Feb. 23, just like he did four years earlier when he won the state wrestling title at 106 pounds. Caruso, a senior, was on his way to closing out a 9-3 win over Justin Griffith of Sanford for his second state championship.
Caruso has been a state finalist all four years of his high school career. He is Cape’s all-time winningest wrestler. Old-school fans compare him to Cape’s 1977 132-pound champ Randy Johnson, a creative knick-knacker and counterattacker.
“Anthony was up against an undefeated eighth-grader (30-0) from Sanford,” said coach Chris Mattioni. “We had already seen three state titles won by freshmen before Anthony’s match, so you know it’s a dangerous focused moment.”
William Carl of Middletown, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, was upset by Patrick Wisniewski of Caesar Rodney in the quarterfinals. Wisniewski was then pinned by Griffith in the semifinals.
Cape senior Chris Handlin reached the finals at 182 with a win over Sam Arkuwoille of Dover, the No. 2 seed. The Cape crowd was rocking behind him as he faced JT Davis of Smyrna in the finals. Davis won a 13-4 major decision in a match that got a little chippy in the third period. Handlin lost his cool during the ritual handshake but all was quickly resolved.
Billy Ott, Cape’s captain, was center stage in a storybook moment, wrestling for the 195-pound title. Billy’s older brother Thomas was a three-time state champion in the same gym. Thomas was not there; he was busy wrestling heavyweight for Navy in a match against Army.
Ott, the 10th seed, was part of a full-house frenzied moment in the semifinals when he pinned Masen Wilson of Smyrna for his 100th win, while on the next mat, No. 1 seed Michael Wright from Sussex Central was upset by Danny Stradley of Salesianum 4-3.
Cape and Sallies fans rose to their feet cheering for their wrestlers while the large followings from Smyrna and Sussex Central looked stunned.
Ott had beaten second-seeded Nasir Dreuitt of William Penn 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Ironically, Dreuitt, a sophomore who wrestled JV as a freshman, was hit with a quick stalling point, which was the difference in the match. A stalling call late in the third period of the 285-pound bout with Jamie Schirmer of Sussex Tech leading 2-1 against Kevin Hudson of CR sent the match to the fourth overtime, where Hudson won by holding Schirmer around the waist as Jamie circled the mat trying to shake him loose.
The final bout of the tournament saw Harry Latch of Salesianum catch and pin Nick Natarcola of Smyrna at 4:56. Latch received the Outstanding Wrestler Award.
State champions by weight class and school were: 106: Gabe Giampietro, Smyrna; 113: Zach Spence, Salesianum; 120: Joe Natarcola, Smyrna; 126: Alex Poore, Caravel; 132: Anthony Caruso, Cape; 138: Harry Latch, Salesianum; 145: Jackson Dean, Caesar Rodney; 152: Nicholas Hall, Caesar Rodney; 160: Liam O’Connor, Delcastle; 170: Brian Schneider, Middletown; 182: JT Davis, Smyrna; 195: Danny Stradley, Salesianum; 220: Hugo Harpe, Dover; 285: Kevin Hudson, Caesar Rodney.
According to Cape Athletic Director Bob Cilento, a total of 4,000 fans filled the stands over two days of competition.
“We love hosting the event [seven of last eight years] and we’ll request to do it again next year,” Cilento said.
Full expanded results can be found at www.trackwrestling.com.
