Sussex Academy wrestling excited for tournament season

Entering its third year as a varsity program, the Sussex Academy wrestling team is looking to continue its growth in the competitive Henlopen South.

Grapplers who were looking up to their leaders just a few years ago have now become the ones to lean on.

“Those freshmen and sophomores were a pretty big part of building this program before I got here – they're in their junior years now,” said coach Billy Ott. “We have two seniors, Ryan Buckler and Talah Patton, and it's kind of just a difference of leadership. These kids have been around the program for a while, so they're starting to understand what's expected coming in every day. It's already starting to wear off on our younger guys coming in.”

Ott takes over as the head coach after a few years as an assistant. Despite the shift, the goal remains the same.

“We are trying to build a wrestling culture here at Sussex Academy,” Ott said. “It definitely helps with having the middle school program being in its second year. I think they have about 29 kids that showed up for that. Just growing the sport here in general is going to start bringing some more success in.”

The varsity wrestlers are working hard to set a productive standard for the wrestling room.

“Honestly, it's been pretty intense,” Buckler said. “This year, I feel like a lot of the guys really want to get better, and they're willing to put in that work.”

“Everyone's like a family, and I feel like sometimes we missed that in the last couple years,” Patton said. “Everyone's learning, everyone's paying attention and we're all growing together.”

While there have been girls’ wrestling programs popping up, Sussex Academy does not have one, but Patton thinks she gains an advantage.

“I've been here for five years, so obviously I've stayed with the boys, and it definitely builds my strengths,” Patton said. 

Patton, who won Queen of the Jungle last year, is hoping to take a top spot in a couple of other tournaments at which she finished with bronze. She and the Seahawks understand their roster size isn’t what it needs to be for dual meets, but they trust their staff and measure success through their tournaments and individual bouts.

“Our coaching is really good,” Buckler said. “All of our wrestlers are pretty solid, but usually we lose the most points from forfeits and not being able to fill out the rosters.”

Coaches Ott, Cory Lawson and Justin Bennett would like to see their wrestlers collect wins, as they each did in high school, but they think self-improvement is the most important focus.

“It doesn't matter if they lose or not, just as long as they’re showing improvement each week, and that's what we're looking at,” Ott said. “Our older guys like Buckler, we're looking to him to be consistent, scoring those team points this year.”

“I'm excited to see our older guys and how well they do, since they've been a part of the program for quite a while now,” Buckler said. 

“If we keep growing like we have been over the last couple years, we're going to get there,” Patton said.