Wrestling resumed and a good time was had by most but not all

White noise is wireless infiltration from the world of restless spirits coming through as static electricity or just a high school wrestling riot - take your pick. Sunday night, Feb. 21, just past dinner time, a power outage north of Nassau was counter-balanced by a power surge inside the Cape gym at the Henlopen Conference Wrestling Championships.

Joel Collins of Sussex Central was battling Anthony Bonville in the 130-pound title bout. The Central crowd was rocking, standing and snapping with every point scored by Collins. Bonville reversed Collins but put him too briefly to his back to get the points. The other side of the gym erupted with a roar. Most thought this was about the Central versus Smyrna longtime rivalry and the fact that defending 140-pound state champion Cody Broomall walked out of Smyrna and into the Central lineup with two weeks left in the season.

But this emotional, energized overdrive behavior by the Central fan base was most certainly for their kid and against Milford coach Don Parsley, who sometimes behaves like a professional wrestling manager. Parsley is a lightning rod. Just a week before, he threw his shoe onto the mat in a quad meet at Central in a match versus Sussex Tech. Anthony Bonville, the Milford grappler, was simply a good kid caught in the middle of a situation he couldn’t possibly understand.

What happened next is open to investigation and interpretation, but most versions have coach Parsley turning his back as Collins came over for the post-match handshake. That alleged slight reportedly provoked a visit from father Collins who told Parsley he was - insert body part and modifier here!

Parsley - I witnessed this - walked toward the Central crowd, pointed and asked to have the “I’m a what?” insulting party removed from the gym.

It is not polite to point and I’d rather stick my hand in a helicopter rotor than call out 40 years of Georgetown/Millsboro  wrestling going all the way back to heavyweight champion Joe Booth.

A sidebar to the drama saw longtime Central assistant Chip Illian come loose because someone had allegedly insulted his teenage daughter.

The stands partially emptied and a police countywide all-call went out “everyone head to Cape and get the helicopter airborne.”

Several individuals got feisty but the “white noise” fell well short of riot status as there were no fat lips, swollen cheeks, black eyes and no blood.

And wrestling resumed and a good time was had by most but not all.

CONFLICTED CHRISTIANS - There is no doubt that no one in the local community has invested more time over the years and helped a more diverse group of young kids through wrestling than Benny Mitchell. And there is no doubt that Kaleb LaMaire and Trey Mitchell were at Beacon Middle School before electing Caesar Rodney for high school. Maybe it’s because of the school colors and maybe wrestling coach Dickie Howell and the Rider program were the attraction. Let’s just say school choice when you’re the one not chosen can cause conflicted feelings. I know Benny Mitchell on lots of levels and he knows everyone connected to wrestling in Delaware. Trey Mitchell, at 119 pounds, was a surprise champion at and went through Chris Young - a pin that stung the gym - in the semis on his way to the title. Lemaire was dominant at 103 scoring three pins in the tournament. If you see these kids you need to congratulate them and when you wrestling guys see Benny I want you to give him a big man hug, and if he backs up hit him with a stalling warning..

SNIPPETS - If you want more sports buy more advertising. Check the Cape Gazette website for more on the Henlopen Conference wrestling.

Team Standings: 1-Sussex Central 268.5, 2-Smyrna 211, 3-Caesar Rodney 193, 4-Sussex Tech 137, 5-Cape Henlopen 135.5, 6-Milford 124, 7-Indian River 113, 8-Polytech 104, 9-Laurel 75.5, 10-Seaford 57, 11-Dover 52, 12-Delmar 51, 13-Lake Forest 41, 14-Woodbridge. Coach of the year: Jeff Windish (Indian River).

Championship Results: 103-(1) Kaleb LeMaire (CR) pinned (2) Jeremy West 3:44, 112-(1) Spencer Rhoades (Smy) dec. (3) Jimmy Watts (Poly) 4-3, 119-(3) Trey Mitchell (CR) dec. (1) David Hershberger (Smy) 3-1, 125-(1) Brandon Shultie (SC) tech. fall (2) Brandon Poffenberger (Smy) 15-0 (3:15), 130-(1) Joel Collins (SC) dec. (3) Anthony Bonville (Mil) 8-5, 135-(1) Wendell Cannon (SusT) maj. dec. (3) Kurt Bentley (Poly) 3-2, 140-(1) Cody Broomall (SC) pinned (3) Tyere Joyner (Dover) 4:27, 145-(1) Codey Combs (Sussex Central) maj. dec. (2) John Walters (Polytech) 12-0, 152-(1) Issah Meade (CR) dec. (2) Kenny Boyles (Smy) 5-4, 160-(2) Cody Carbine (Smy) dec. (1) Jay Matheus (SC) 4-2, 171-(2) David Melnick (CR) pinned (4) Ryan Rife (Smy) 4:14, 189-(1) Artis Thorne (Poly) dec. (3) Ryan Schafer (SC) 8-2, 215-(1) Joey Spicer (SC) dec. (3) Joe Casullo (SusT) 11-5, 285-(1) Katteem Harmon (IR) pinned (3) Eddie Winder (SC) 3:12. Outstanding wrestler: Wendell Cannon (Sussex Tech, 135).