Athletes of the Week March 7

Bennett Brumbley  

Bennett placed third in the 165-pound weight class at the recent DIAA Wrestling State Championships. Sussex Tech coach Scott Layfield: “Bennett is an awesome young man, a hard worker and a leader in the room. Stanley Pete has been his kryptonite, but this past weekend, Bennett beat Stanley twice to place third. Next year, state champ!” Bennett was 40-9 heading into the tournament and seeded fifth. He lost to eventual champion Jacob Ebaugh in the semifinals after upsetting hometown Laurel friend Stanley Pete in quarterfinals. Bennett wrestled back to face Pete again in the third-place match, winning 4-2. Bennett also placed third in the Henlopen Conference, beating Cape’s Carson Tuer. A longtime 5K runner with Seashore Striders and cross country runner at Sussex Tech, Bennett said his focus will be on wrestling his senior year. His goal is to win a state championship. He certainly has a shot at getting that done. 

Patrick Donahue

Patrick was top dog all season in Delaware at 215 pounds. He closed out the season with a state championship victory. He’s a two-year captain, three-time Henlopen Conference champion, three-time state placer and a 2025 state champion. Cape coach Chris Mattioni said, “He is like a sponge – just getting better and better. He fell in love with wrestling at Sussex Academy, and transferred to Cape his sophomore year. He always leads by example and is passionate about the sport.” Patrick finished his senior season with a 44-3 record with 30 pins. His career record is 123-33 with 67 pins. His pin total puts him second on the career pin list behind Chris Handlin. “He will be missed next year, but he plans to continue wrestling at the Virginia Military Institute,” Mattioni said. 

Blake Walker

Blake, a Cape freshman, turned it on at the end of the season, coming back to grab third place at the DIAA Wrestling Championships. Coach Chris Mattioni: “He’s a freshman who had a slow start to the season. He was 2-2 at the Southern Slam and 1-2 at Beast, took sixth at Governor Mifflin and did not place at the War on the Shore. He had some tough losses during the season, but worked hard and wrestled his best at the end of the season.” He took third at the Henlopen Conference tournament, avenging a loss to Lake Forest’s Mason Ferrell. Ferrell pinned him at the dual, but Blake won by major decision at the conference meet. He also beat Seth Milligan of Sussex Central by tech fall; he had previously beat him in close matches. Blake continued his dominant performance at the state meet, finishing third. He lost a close match to Nate Moore of Laurel in the quarters. “Blake is a true competitor who hates to lose,” Mattioni said. “He has come a long way since the beginning of the season. He works hard in the practice room.” He finished with an overall record of 31-19 with 13 pins.

Nick Walker 

Nick defended his top seeding at 150 pounds at the DIAA Wrestling Championships in front of a full house in his home gym at Cape Henlopen. Nick is a junior who’s been a team captain two years, won a Henlopen Conference title three times, finished second at the state meet twice and won his first state title this year. Coach Chris Mattioni: “Nick is among the hardest workers on the team and has a tremendous drive to excel in wrestling. He has excellent leadership abilities, and he and Patrick [Donahue] have done a nice job motivating others.” Nick finished with a 42-5 record with 15 pins. All of his losses were out of state – two at the Southern Slam, and one each at the Beast and War on the Shore, and he lost to a 157-pounder at the Iron Horse Duals. “He is a tough competitor who never backs down,” Mattioni said. He has a career record of 109-20 with 43 pins.