Gabriel Hill records Seahawks’ first pin in Henlopen South
The Sussex Academy wrestling program recorded its first pin in a Henlopen South meet Jan. 3 against a storied Laurel wrestling program.
Seahawks captain Gabriel Hill picked up the six points a few seconds into the second frame of the 144-pound match. The junior gained an advantageous position on the shoulders of the Laurel grappler and staved off the Bulldog’s attempts to escape. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, those would be the only six points they picked up in the match.
“This match right here for us is an eye-opener,” said coach Justin Bennett. “It's something we have to bounce back off of. As coaches, we need to go back to the drawing board and kind of work with these kids to improve for the next event they have.”
An experienced Laurel squad rolled to a 75-6 victory against the young Seahawks on the strength of forfeits and pins. In a few of the contested matches, Sussex Academy showed there is promise.
“There were easy mistakes that we can go back to the wrestling room tomorrow and work on,” Bennett said. “Some of the guys were wrestling hard, and some of them didn't – it showed. Conditioning is one of the most crucial things I've seen with our team. We're going to go back and work on that a little bit. Other than that, I'm proud of every single one of my wrestlers. They put up a fight and they did what they could.”
Some of the brighter moments for the Seahawks outside of Hill’s pin were the efforts of freshmen William Hendershot and Enrico DiSalvo. Both wrestlers were pinned, but Hendershot was applauded for working his way out of a near pin with 1:25 left in the second period.
Sussex Academy moves to 0-2 on the season and in conference play. The Seahawks welcome Delmar at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 10.
