Sussex Academy wrestling celebrates seniors against Seaford
Although they are still waiting for their first conference win following a 50-30 loss to Seaford, the Sussex Academy wrestling program enjoyed another milestone Jan. 22 – its first Senior Night.
The families of grapplers Douglas Horton and Gabe Hill and manager Olivia DiSalvo joined the three seniors as they walked down the center of the mat in a recognition ceremony prior to the Seahawks' match.
“I was just thinking about how far I've come; I started here when the program started, as a freshman, with different coaches and teams, just me and Doug,” Hill said. “Now we both have come quite far.”
“It really means a lot to me, going out with my family and recognizing them for what they've done for me, especially my dad growing up,” Horton said. “I always wrestled when I was young, so it was cool to walk out on the mat with him for probably one of the last times.”
Hill picked a pin in the second period despite bumping up a weight class for the first time, and Horton collected six points via a pin 21 seconds into his match.
“My mentality going through the rest of the season is that every guy that steps on the line thinks he has a chance to beat me, and my job is just to prove him wrong,” Horton said. “Any guy that goes against me doesn't have a chance if I wrestle my best.”
“It's been a great crew, working with these guys every day, coming in here during the wintertime and just seeing how they're growing; it's the same thing I say every time we interview, I just want to see that growth,” said coach Justin Bennett. “With these seniors, last year, they both went to the conferences: they both placed and they went to state. This year, I'm expecting the same thing. But this year, I'm expecting these two guys to actually place on that podium, if not come darn close to it.”
Joining the two seniors in the nightly pin club were Jeremy VanPelt, Andy Escalante-Roblero and Rico DiSalvo.
“I really like watching my brother [Rico] wrestle,” manager Olivia DiSalvo said. “That's probably one of the reasons why I am the manager.”
For the second match in a row, Sussex Academy had a chance heading into the final two matches. Down 38-30, the Seahawks needed a pin and at the minimum a three-point win to seal the deal. Although they were unable to do it, Sussex Academy’s wrestlers believe they can build off the loss.
“We're struggling a lot on our heavier weights, but I've already talked to a bunch of the kids about how we're going to work,” Horton said.
“We're practicing nonstop, as many practices as we can get in in a week, and these guys are refining that work. It's starting to slowly reflect out here on these matches and these close ones,” Bennett said.
