Hayden Wheeler saves the day for Cape wrestling
Delaware Military Academy came to play Friday night at the Cape Big House for a raucous 14-bout wrestling match that finally tilted to Cape 30-25 when Hayden Wheeler (157) defeated Erick Malmgren 10-3.
“The biggest crowd for a dual meet I’ve even seen here at Cape,” said senior Luke Bender. Fresh off the injured reserve list, Bender started the match with a 13-5 major decision over Malcolm Roy at 165 pounds.
Then, Cape’s big guns C.J. Fritchman and Alex Taylor each won by decision to stake the Vikings with a 10-0 lead.
“Good guys on good guys,” said Cape coach Chris Mattioni. “[Drew] Simpson and [Hayden] Moaney are both studs. We obviously needed those wins.”
The DMA Seahawks came back with three straight pins, starting with Tyler August, the defending state champion, over sophomore Patrick Donahue (1:36), who wrestled his first Cape varsity match at 215. DMA’s 285-pounder Cael DeNigris pinned Sean Costello (2:24), then Matt Avery pinned Tripp Gannon (1:36) in the 106-pound match. Gannon was leading by eight when he got caught and stuck.
With six bouts in the books, the score was DMA 18, Cape 10.
The Vikings responded with four straight wins, starting with Cale Baker (113) with a 9-6 decision over Tommy Esterling. Max Meadows (120) scored a 9-1 major decision over Alyssa Mahan, then Holt Baker (126) won 9-0 over Dylan Delcollo. Nick Walker (132) capped the run with a 9-4 decision over Brett Wolher.
Cape led 24-18 with four matches remaining.
A focused match at 138 featured state title contenders Daniel Williams versus Cape’s soon-to-go-pro skimboarder Josh Wright. Wright went acrobatic airborne at one point, hopping over Williams for better positioning, but a point was awarded to Williams for the “dangerous move.”
Mattioni called timeout and approached the scoring table with the rule book open asking the referee, “show me.” The argument proved fruitless, and Cape was hit with a team point deduction when Mattioni threw the book at the bench.
After all the drama, Williams won the match 4-1, closing the Cape lead to 24-21.
Charles Perrin (144) scored a 12-5 major decision over Cape’s Brady Cole for a 25-24 DMA lead.
Cape’s Andrew Schaen (150) employed the let-him-up-then-take-him-down strategy to score a 20-7 major decision over Ethan MacDonnell.
Cape led 28-25, but with the point deduction, it was 27-25 as Cape’s Hayden Wheeler and Erick Malmgren went to the mat for their 157-pound match.
The student hunt club from Cape – the motif of the night, from camo hats to duck boots and waders – was on their feet.
Wheeler won 10-3, but it was a rattling battle with two stoppages for injury.
“Yes, Hayden saved me,” Mattioni admitted after the match. “But it wasn’t in the book.”
Cape will wrestle at unbeaten Sussex Central Wednesday, Jan. 25.
