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Sussex Central wins Battle at the Beach tournament

Vikings place second; teams meet Jan. 5 at Cape
Cape’s Zach Flores defeats Bryan Wynes of Milford 1-0 in the semifinals of the 285 weight class. He went on to take the top spot on the championship podium. DAN COOK PHOTO
Dave Frederick
January 3, 2017
Central’s Lucas Hudson gets his 100th win and captures the 182-pound title; he was voted Outstanding Wrestler. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Cape’s Chris Handlin grapples to a 4-3 decision over Jarad Skibinski of Emmaus High School in the 170 semifinal. He dropped a close final match. DAN COOK PHOTO
Cape’s Dante Jaquet stays off the mat and wrestles to a 9-4 decision over Avery Mayan of Polytech in the 152 semi. He went on to win the 152 championship. DAN COOK PHOTO
Johnny Morris of Sussex Central wins the 220-pound title. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Cape freshman Andre Currie defeats Jessy Muaka from Charter 5-4 in the 126 semifinal but fell in the championship final to garner second place. DAN COOK PHOTO
Cape’s Max Norquest fell to Caesar Rodney’s Jackson Dean in the 132 semis. DAN COOK PHOTO
Rashad Stratton of Sussex Central looks for a place to land Andre Currie. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Cape’s Zeke Bean wrestled a hard-fought match, but fell to Tyler Corpora of Emmaus 3-1 in the 145 semifinal. DAN COOK PHOTO
Cape’s Cory Lawson controls Reed Cluster of Emmaus after a restart, but was pinned at 5:58 of the 160 semi. DAN COOK PHOTO
Cape’s Holden Kammerer loaded his guns and wrestled to an 18-5 major decision over Sussex Tech’s Robert Van Pelt in the 195 class. He went on to take the championship with a win over Sussex Central’s Mike Wright. DAN COOK PHOTO
Cape coaches Shane Jensen, left, and Chris Mattioni yell instructions to Zach Flores in the 285 semi. DAN COOK PHOTO
Central’s Rashad Stratton has freshman Andre Currie in a predicament at 126. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Dante Jaquet grapples in the 152-pound title bout. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Chris Handlin of Cape took second at 182. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Cape’s Holder Kammerer is crowned the 195-pound champion. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Mike Wright of Central placed second at 195. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Coach Matt Graviet of Cape coaches Zack Flores in the 285-pound final. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO
Zack Flores wins his first tournament title at 285 pounds. DAVE FREDERICK PHOTO

The Battle at the Beach wrestling tournament closed out the holiday season Dec. 29-30, a festive time when family and friends are exchanging cookies and generally throwing happy meals around like a fraternity food fight. It takes crazy discipline for a teenage grappler to stay on weight or not jump up a couple of classes.

Sussex Central and Cape Henlopen emerged from a field of 17 schools, with the Golden Knights winning the tournament with 211 points and Cape close behind with 206.5. Rounding out the top six were Emmaus (Pa.) 203, Indian River 152, Milford 144.5 and Caesar Rodney 138.

“We wrestle Central at home Wednesday (Jan. 5), then later in the Henlopen Conference meet and state dual-meet championships,” said Cape coach Chris Mattioni. “We are going to be seeing a lot of each other.”

Sussex Central champions were Rashad Stratton at 126, Lucas Hudson at 182 and Johnny Morris at 220. Hudson was named Outstanding Wrestler after getting his 100th career victory.

Cape tournament champions were Dante Jaquet at 152, Holden Kammerer at 195 and Zack Flores at 285.

Placing second were Cape’s Andre Currie at 126 and Chris Handlin at 182. Central’s runner-up finishers were Drew Morris at 138, Brandon Bautista at 160 and Mike Wright at 195.

Cape’s Zeke Bean at 145, Cory Lawson at 160 and Billy Ott at 220 all placed third.

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