Sussex Central tops Cape 36-34 for wrestling title
The flat and the furious was the storyline for Cape wrestling’s improbable 32-30 come-from-way-back win over Salesianum in the semifinals of the state duals Feb. 17 at Smyrna High. The Vikings moved to the finals for the third straight year to face unbeaten Sussex Central. But the magic act ran out of rabbits, as Cape lost to the Golden Knights 36-34.
"We came out flat against Sallies, and halfway through we caught a little magic and brought home one of the biggest wins in program history,” said Cape coach Chris Mattioni. "We were following the same script against Sussex Central, but started down 24-0 after five matches. We just gave up too many bonus points.”
Cape’s comeback win over Sallies – the Vikings trailed early 21-4 – happened on three straight pins starting at 165 with Hayden Wheeler over Chris Miller (1:11); at 175, Jeffrey Rainier over Liam Gillespie (3:45); and at 190, Luke Arnold-Decyk over James Delvecovo (3:11).
Cape led by 11 points, 32-21, with just 215 and 285 left to wrestle.
Salesianum’s James Miller (215), the Beast of the East champion, caught and pinned Patrick Donahue (1:07) to close the gap to 32-27. All Tyler Costello had to do was not get dominated and not get pinned. The undersized heavyweight lost a 4-2 decision to Andrew Semmel for the final score of 32-30.
“Tyler is strong, smart and a tough kid,” said assistant coach Shane Jensen. “He knew exactly what his job was in that situation.”
Cape got earlier crucial wins from Austin Guerrieri, 106, over Mason Catania (9-1 major decision); Nick Walker, 144, over Chase Thompson (10-2 major decision); Noah Diamond, 150, over Gardner Hall (5-2 decision); and Brady Cole, 157, over Luca Scopio (8-4 decision).
In the other semifinal bracket, Sussex Central defeated Caesar Rodney 37-21, forfeiting the last three weight classes to be rested and ready for the finals. The only live wrestling win for the Riders was at 126, where Alex Batton won an 8-7 decision over Chase Murray.
The Cape versus Sussex Central match started at 113, and after five matches the Golden Knights led 24-0.
Cape cracked the code at 144 with Nick Walker’s 16-3 major decision over John Robillard, but Central came back with wins by Justin Craig, 150, over Noah Diamond 7-1 and Justin Negron, 157, 5-1 decision over Brady Cole.
A Hayden Wheeler pin of Maddox Roberts at 165 narrowed the wide gap to 30-10. Cape was mathematically alive with five matches remaining and a couple hammers in the toolbox with Donahue at 215 and Guerrieri at 106.
Central’s Gabe Cannon, 175, clinched the championship with a pin of Jeffrey Rainier at 2:26 for a 36-10 Golden Knights advantage.
Cape closed with 24 unanswered points, starting with Luke Arnold-Decyk’s pin of Ivan Flores at 4:35 at 190, followed by three straight forfeits to Patrick Donahue at 215, Tyler Costello at 285 and Austin Guerrieri at 106.
Delaware Military Academy defeated Saint Mark’s 38-32 to win the Division II dual meet state title.
The Henlopen Conference Championship is Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23 and 24 at Sussex Central High School.
