Wrestling: Freshmen lead the way as Garnet Valley weathers slow start

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Rocco Fantazzi had a look of dismay upon his face following his team’s first two matches of the night. The Garnet Valley wrestling coach wanted his wrestlers to salvage some points, but didn’t get what he wanted when the Jaguars dropped 182- and 195-pound matches to get things started. His team needed a spark. It received it from two unlikely individuals. Freshmen Coltin Deery and Griffin Hollingsworth won by pin as Garnet Valley tallied five wins by fall in the first eight matches to upend Marple Newtown, 51-24, for a crucial Central League victory. The win keeps the Jaguars tied atop the league standings heading into its matchup against Upper Darby at home next Wednesday. The Royals downed Strath Haven to remain unbeaten in league play.

A major part of why Garnet Valley remains in first place was the performance of Deery, who pinned the Tigers’ Scott Novak in 1:09 in the 220-pound match. Hollingworth followed that up two matches later by recording the quickest pin of the night, defeating Gabe Farhan at 113 in 1:02 to put Garnet Valley (12-7, 6-0 Central League) up 24-9.

“One of the things we did do after the first two matches was stop the bleeding,” Fantazzi said. “We stopped their momentum and started our own by getting a few pins. We shut them down and shut the crowd down. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted, but that was something I wanted to see from our team.”

Hollingsworth came in with 10 wins, but his outlook for each match is the same.

“I just go out there and think I’m going to win my match,” he said. “That’s all it is. If I think I’m going to win, I’m going to win, then I’ll go out there and battle. I do whatever I have to in order to get that win.”

Frankie Reagan (106), Kevin Puliti (120) and Matt Flicker (126) pinned their opponents in consecutive matches to put the Jaguars in the driver seat, up 36-9 after eight matches. Desmon Perry added a pin in the 145-pound match in 3:26, and Austin Filippone pinned Nolan Rufo in 1:44 to close out the 160-pound match.

Marple Newtown (3-6, 2-2) did not back down from the challenge the Jaguars presented. Armen Dervishian came out and set the tone early, winning the 182-pound match in a 1-0 thriller over Brian West. Immediately following that, Stephen Bradley pinned Griffin Salus in 2:30, and the Tigers were out to a 9-0 lead.

Freshman Jimmy Nania put on the strongest match for the Tigers as he dominated in a 14-7 major decision at 132 pounds over Alex Rosata. Mohammed Iyoun was patient in the 138-pound match and eventually pinned Ethan Cooper in 5:58. Marple Newtown’s final victory came as Jake Bullock pinned Dillon Conlon in 3:59 at 152 pounds.

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PETE BANNAN – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Marple Newtown’s Stephen Bradley pins Garnet Valley’s Griffin Salus in the 195 pound weight class Wednesday evening.