Cape's Big House becomes home to state champions Lawson and Caruso
A house is not a home until you pack it with some memories. The Cape Big House hosted Home Schooled Saturday Night when Cory and Caruso scored dramatic state championship victories in front of a roaring Cape crowd that threatened to take the roof off the building. The dogs were off the chain.
“I watched a video of my dad prior to the match and afterward when I pointed up, it was to say 'That was for you, Dad,'" said 160-pound champion Cory Lawson, whose dad Duane was killed in a car fire when Cory was just 5 years old.
A double-leg takedown in overtime lifted Lawson to a 4-2 victory over top-seeded Kalen Wilson of Smyrna, a grappler Lawson had lost to three times during the season.
“He [Wilson] is so strong. When you shoot and get ahold of him, you had better lift and finish. If you miss just a little, you’ll be on your back,” said Lawson.
Anthony Caruso, Cape’s precocious and unflappable freshman, worked his patient and opportunistic game on Robbie Rosser of Milford, getting a takedown in the second period on the edge of the mat on the way out of bounds to lead 3-2 entering the final period.
“All points were scored in the second period,” said coach Chris Mattioni. “Rosser got a reverse followed by an Anthony escape before he got his takedown."
Caruso, the most limber wrestler of the tournament, survived on the bottom with Rosser twice being stopped for dangerous hold. And with six seconds left on a restart, Caruso went to the bottom, looked into the Cape fan section and started to smile. How do you know you have it when you ain’t never had it before [state title]? Only the precocious athlete knows, call it the sixth sense or the sick sense.
“The only match I ever saw Anthony lose was to Rosser in the middle school Henlopen finals two years ago,” said Beacon coach Pat Irelan. “Those guys have history. Rosser is a tough wrestler.”
The only woman head coach in the state, Jenna Pavlik, who wrestled for Cape in high school, guided her heavyweight Dominique Pierce to his ultimate tiebreaker victory against defending champion Brandon Dooley of William Penn. The crowd got behind Pierce when a takedown near the out-of-bounds line was waved off by the two officials. The win was the second ultimate tiebreaker in a row for Pierce. (The ultimate tiebreaker follows the sudden death stand-up minute and the “I’m down, you’re down” pair of 30 seconds. The guy who scored first in the match gets to choose.) Pierce got the call. He chose bottom, got out and won.
Other champions included Cameron Hayes of Caesar Rodney at 113, Greg Baum of Smyrna at 120, Dante Immediato of Middletown at 126, Chase Archangelo of Smyrna at 132, Andrew Brooks of Sanford at 138, Justin Bennett of Sussex Central at 145, Brandon Bautista of Sussex Central at 152, Larsen Wilson of Smyrna at 170, Joe Miller of Sallies at 182, Michael Clavier of CR at 195, and Nazr Roberson of Newark at 220.
Notes: Third-place finishes of local interest included Cape’s Vinnie Diego at 138, Ezekiel Marcozzi of Indian River at 160, John Morris of Sussex Central at 195, Joel Torres of Cape at 220, and Victor Cruz of Sussex Central at 285.
The 2016 state tournament was the fifth straight year at Cape. The Vikings will ask to host again, although rumor has it that the new Dover High School is interested in hosting. Joe Miller of Sallies was voted the meet's Outstanding Wrestler.
