Grayson Davis, Nick Walker win wrestling titles for Cape
Cape Henlopen crowned two state champions inside its own house Feb. 28, with freshman Grayson Davis (45-3) winning the 150-pound title with a first period tech fall over Ian Alfree of Smyrna and senior Nick Walker (42-4) winning a 5-2 decision over Jerusalem Howard of Lake Forest in the 157-pound weight class. Walker is Cape only four-time Henlopen Conference champion and maintains a 4.1 GPA.
“Any time you go 5-0 in the money and also crown two state champions, it's a successful tournament,” said longtime assistant coach Shane Jensen.
Davis was voted the outstanding wrestler for the tournament with a record of 4-0, including a pin and two tech falls, all in the first period.
The DIAA individual state tournament does not award a team trophy, but the platform on trackwrestling.com computes the results.
The top 10 schools were: Salesianum with 223.5, Cape with 132, Delaware Military Academy with 128.5, Smyrna with 120, Caesar Rodney with 116.5, St. Georges Tech with 111, William Penn with 105.5, Sussex Tech with 77.5, Milford with 61 and Laurel with 57.5.
Cape closed out the tournament going 8-0, moving from fifth place up to seventh.
“We wrestled, closing it out,” said Cape coach Chris Mattioni. “All wrestlers who reach the money round are tough with winning records.”
Salesianum crowned five champions followed by Cape with two. Single champions also came from DMA, Caesar Rodney, Sussex Tech, William Penn, Charter School, Middletown and Milford.
Anthony Edwards of Sussex Tech won his second state title at 132 pounds with a tech fall over Zach Derbyshire of Salesianum. Edwards is the all-time winningest wrestler for the Ravens.
Greg Lockett of Milford won the 285-pound title with a great escape in the ultimate tiebreaker. He finished the season undefeated at 46-0.
The most emotional win in the finals was at 165 pounds by Camar Miller of William Penn, who won 11-10 over top seed Justin Ryland of DMA. The Colonials’s corner with coaches Joe Archangelo and Bijan Banks snapped like Rice Krispie Treats.
Cape third-place winners were Jack Hudson at 113 and Austin Guerrieri at 126.
Tripp Gannon closed out his career at Cape with a fifth-place finish at 138, while Blake Walker at 132, Cale Baker at 120 and Carson Tuer at 165 each made the podium by placing seventh overall.
Ben Donato of Caesar Rodney (41-6) won the 113-pound title with a 12-1 major decision over Michael Pierson of Smyrna.
Logan King of Sussex Tech, a junior, placed third at 138 pounds. Bennett Brumbley of Sussex Tech won his third-place match at 165 pounds over Chase Thomson of Salesianum 1-0. Seaford’s 165-pounder Doubensly Saint Jean, the 14th seed, was the story of the first day, posting two upsets to reach the semifinals. He was the first Seaford wrestler to reach the semifinal round in 14 years. He ended up placing sixth overall.
