H.S. wrestling: St. Augustine gets shot of confidence in win over Delsea
BUENA VISTA – There were no championships or bragging rights on the line.
It didn’t matter.
Thursday’s showdown between two of South Jersey’s elite wrestling squads performing in front of a raucous crowd inside “The Cave” lived up to its billing as a perfect tune-up for the postseason.
Eight days after falling short in heart-wrenching fashion against top-ranked Kingsway, No. 4 St. Augustine Prep knocked off No. 2 Delsea, 31-28, capturing one of the bigger regular-season victories in program history.
“We finally got one,” St. Augustine head coach Bill Ward said. “This is the type of meet that gets kids prepared for that next step (in the team and individual tournaments). Delsea always wants to wrestle and it gives us a chance to get better.”
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St. Augustine (9-4) certainly looks ready for next week when it attempts to defend its back-to-back Non-Public A titles. It won’t be easy: The Hermits are seeded third in the section behind Christian Brothers Academy and St. John Vianney.
Don’t tell that to the Hermits.
“We’re ready to go,” said junior Richie Grungo, who delivered a technical fall as the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 144 improved to 14-5, including a 5-0 record since coming back from injury.
“It was a long week coming back (after the Kingsway loss). We knew we had to get this win going into the playoffs and I’m glad we got it done. And we did it with a team win.”
If St. Augustine needed a shot of confidence, it got a big dose on Thursday.
In a meet that was added to the schedule just last week, St. Augustine’s big guns delivered key wins with bonus points to go along with a huge 4-2 win by Tristan McLeer thanks to a late third-period takedown in a toss-up match at 150.
However, the ability to save bonus points proved to be just as important as gaining them for the Hermits.
Delsea won the final four bouts of the meet, but only collected bonus points on Jared Schoppe’s pin at 175.
St. Augustine managed to stay off their backs in the final three bouts and that proved to be the difference.
Five weeks after being pinned by Delsea’s Luke Maxwell in the blood round at the Sam Cali tournament, junior Asher Jenkins put together a strong effort in a 3-1 loss at 215.
“Big-time effort by Jenkins,” Ward said. “He told me he wasn’t going to get pinned the next time Coach.”
Jenkins was true to his words.
“I had to go for the team first,” said Jenkins, who is 11-10 this season. “I didn’t want to risk it. If I get pinned, the match is in jeopardy.
“I’ve been thinking about getting this match ever since I got pinned the first time. It was kind of a revenge match for me. It’s a shame I couldn’t get the win, but I’m ecstatic I could still help the team win.”
The decision proved to be huge. St. Augustine heavyweight Brady Small lost a tough 2-0 decision to Rocco Bennett in the final bout at 285. If either Jenkins or Small had been pinned, the meet would have tied 31-31 with Delsea winning on criteria (most pins).
Delsea’s Greg Sawyer wasn’t pleased with the final result, but said the meet was exactly what the head coach was looking for.
“A good tough match going into groups,” Sawyer said. “It did exactly what we need. It put the emphasis on where we are coming short and where we’re not being tough enough with saving bonus points, those weight classes were obvious, we got out-toughed in those spots.”
Delsea (14-4) is the heavy favorite to win its seventh consecutive South Jersey Group 3 title next week and enters the sectional tournament as the top seed.
The Crusaders have their eyes on the bigger prize, one that has been somewhat elusive in their history. While they have won 18 South Jersey crowns, the program has only won the state title twice in 1991 and 2015.
After last year’s pandemic-shortened season limped through most of the dual meets, South Jersey wrestling fans have been treated to some classic duals this winter.
This meet had several top individual bouts, including Danny DiGiovecchino, No. 2 ranked at 190 by The Mat Pack, knocked off top-ranked Alex Marshall, 6-1. St. Augustine’s Kaden Naame, No. 2 at 113, dealt fourth-ranked Zavier Stokes a 5-1 loss and Bennett, No. 4 at heavyweight, beating No. 3 Small.
St. Augustine 31, Delsea 28
106: Jackson Slotnick, SA, md. Gage Summers, 9-1; 113: Kaden Naame, SA, d. Zavier Stokes, 5-1; 120: Jacob Hassett, D, p. Trevy Randle, 3:48; 126: D’Amani Almodovar, SA, p. Alex Zimmermann, 1:44; 132: Jamar Dixon Jr., D, md. Brandon Borman, 12-4; 138: Giovanni DeGeorge, D, d. Cooper Lange, 8-3; 144: Richie Grungo, D, tech fall Marius Fennell, 17-1, 4:39; 150: Tristan McLeer, SA, d. Austin Boos, 4-2; 157: Jake Slotnick, SA, md. Tyson Derenberger, 11-3; 165: Dennis Virelli, SA, p. Michael Hopkins, 2:59; 175: Jared Schoppe, D, p. Trey McLeer, 3:29; 190: Danny DiGiovecchino, D, d. Alex Marshall, 6-0; 215: Luke Maxwell, D, d. Asher Jenkins, 3-1; 285: Rocco Bennett, D, d. Brady Small, 2-0.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: H.S. wrestling: St. Augustine gets shot of confidence in win over Delsea
