By Kevin Eickman
MILFORD — Make no mistake about it, William Penn was the class of the Milford Invitational wrestling field, winning six individual titles on the 20-team Varsity Boys side.
William Penn’s champions were Julian Philips at 106, Nazeef Bush at 113, Christian Smith at 126, Jason Hugart at 157, Franklin Norris (Tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler) at 175, and Eliedxander Jarquin-Torres in the heavyweight class.
Colonials coach Joe Archangelo said he was very pleased his team took the long ride down to Milford.
“This is a great tournament and Milford does a great job running it,” Archangelo said. “Our guys were very prepared for this, and the results bore that out.”
On the host’s side, Milford’s Davonne Dallas was the team’s lone first-place winner at 150 pounds.
“Winning in your own building is a fantastic feeling,” he said after his championship match.
Milford had multiple podium finishers, with Randy Perez finishing third at 113, Daniel McElwee at 132, Jami White third at 157, and Gregory Lockett in the heavyweight division.
“I thought our team did well,” Milford Coach Don Parsley said. “As you know, it’s all about building to the big tournaments at the end of the season, so I was pleased with our progress.”
The tournament itself was the real star of the show. Besides the Boys, Varsity tournament, that was a Girls’ tournament and a Junior Varsity tournament.
Many factors contributed to making this tournament so exciting. The Boys’ format had 20 teams entered in a pool format, allowing the wrestlers to get more mat time by avoiding the traditional double-elimination bracket
“If you go with the double elimination setup, a lot of wrestlers will only get two matches. This way, they get at least four matches and up to six, depending on how well they do,” Parsley said. “That’s the goal, isn’t it? To grow the sport? A wrestler doesn’t get better sitting in the stands for six hours; they get better on the mat.”
Parsley said his favorite part of The Invitational was the Girls’ bracket. He has embraced the growth of the Girls’ Division, and even though it is in its infancy, he was thrilled with the turnout and proud to watch the quality of wrestling.
The Girls’ tournament would have 74 participants, with St. Georges accounting for 16 entries.
“The participation was fantastic. Everyone was enthusiastic, and it was wonderful to see. These young ladies are serious about their craft, and I think that the ceiling for this sport is very high,” Parsley said.
On the girls’ side, the team champion would be St. Georges, which would outscore Caesar Rodney in the action-packed event. Individual champions were Callie Dolt of Caesar Rodney at 100, Lily Moffett of Caesar Rodney at 107, Emarie Dolt of Caesar Rodney at 114, Isabella Tompkins of Dover at 120, Joy Lombardi of St. Georges at 126, Natalie Hackett of St. Georges at 132, Savannah Timney of Odessa at 138, Addison Weismiller of St. Georges at 145, Juliet Klecan of St. Andrews at 152, Madison Moore of St. Georges at 165, Madelein Lasell of St. Andrew’s at 185 and Vanessa Rodriguez-Reyes of Conrad at 235.
Kevin Eickman is the sports reporter for Milford Live, a sister publication
Source: delawarelive.com…