Cape wrestling closes out Sussex Tech 38-27 going the hard way home
The Cape wrestling team hosted a quadrangular meet Jan. 25 coming off two days of “shutdown for snow” week and was sliding on thin ice with no margin for error after falling behind Sussex Tech 27-3.
The match started at 106 rolling light to heavy, and everyone knows Cape is a team out of balance like a wobbly tire, while the Ravens are no joke, having won two tournaments and beaten Sussex Central earlier in the season.
“We weren’t where we hoped we could be entering 152, but the match was winnable," coach Chris Mattioni said.
Cape turned into the slide and straightened out, taking control and winning the last seven matches, which included three pins, two tech falls, a major and a minor decision for a 35-0 closeout run and a 38-27 victory.
“We knew what Cape had up top and knew they would roar back," said Ravens coach Scott Layfield.
Emerson Fajardo almost got decked by Donald Tingle at 106 but got off his back to force the match into overtime where he won 11-9. That was the great escape of the afternoon.
The Vikings actually trailed Tech 27-26 entering the 220 bout and closed out the team victory with pins by Tom Ott over Zachary Bell and Nick Carroll over Anthony Crew at 285 for the 38-27 final.
Cape also posted wins over Indian River 56-16 and Woodbridge 57-19.
Sussex Tech beat Woodbridge 59-14 and Indian River 72-8.
Cape has dual meets remaining against Dover and Charter School and an away match at Milford.
The six-team state dual championships for Divisions I and II are Tuesday, Feb. 11, at Smyrna. Cape will make its first trip to that format and is hoping for a No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round.
Caesar Rodney, with perhaps the most balanced team in the state, defeated Salesianum 38-24 Jan. 25. The Riders wrestle at Smyrna Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Sussex Tech is vying for the sixth spot in the tournament but still has to wrestle Caesar Rodney, Salesianum and Polytech.
The steep incline toward the summit of the season hasn’t even begun.
Results of the Cape versus Sussex Tech match are as follows: 106: Emerson Fajardo (CH) dec. Donald Tingle 11-9; 113: Ju’Wan Massey (ST) tech fall Justin Wright 18-3; 120: Tyler Jump (ST) fall Eriq Gloria :54; 126: Cole Hineline (ST) dec. Dante Jaquet 8-3; 132: Hunter Robles (ST) maj. dec. Vinnie Diego 10-2; 138: Matt Wilson (ST) maj. dec. Elliot Young 12-0; 145: Kris Cannon (ST) dec. Nick Diego 7-6; 152: J.J. Currie (CH) maj. dec. Dmarco Dorsey 12-4; 160: Austin Smith (CH) tech fall Colin Bergh 17-0; 170: Justin Lopez (CH) tech fall Dalton Scheuerman 17-2; 182: Andre Flowers (CH) fall Josh James 2:45; 195: Aaron Mattioni (CH) dec. Ryan Parker 4-2; 220: Tom Ott (CH) fall Zach Bell 1:55; 285: Nick Carroll (CH) fall Anthony Crew 2:40.
