Coatesville’s Dellicompagni, Stephens win titles at Donegal
MOUNT JOY — Coatesville junior Chase Stephens has had his fair share of moments on bigger stages, but teammate Ryan Dellicompagni had yet to have his moment.
The sophomore Red Raider got his chance Sunday at the Donegal Holiday tournament. After coming in with a 1-2 record after the opening tournament, Dellicompagni rose to the occasion and scored a major decision to win the 138-pound title.
Stephens followed soon after with a third-period fall to claim the 152-pound bracket. In all, five Red Raiders reached the medal stand in the two-day, 24-team tournament to help Coatesville to a fifth-place finish. Kennett sent seven to the podium, with two runner-ups — Logan Reigel (113 pounds) and Drew Massetti (126) — helping the Blue Demons to seventh.
Dellicompagni used a come-from-behind win in the semifinals over Notre Dame Green Pond’s Blake Daniel to propel him to a 16-2 win over Camp Hill’s Anthony Rini in the finals.
“It’s my first varsity win at a tournament, so it feels good to come out and win it,” Dellicompagni said. “I was expecting a really tough match and he was really strong, but I came out with the win and that’s all that matters.”
Stephens pushed his career win total to 80 with his 53rd and 54th career pins. He made quick work of Penn Manor’s Evan Phelan in the semis with a 49-second decking, and used a standing cement mixer to finish off Pequea Valley’s Dan Wanner in the finals.
“Coming in at this weight I feel a lot stronger against some of the kids and I can actually work some moves and get down some things I need to do,” Stephens said. “I feel very comfortable at this weight and I feel I can do very well at this weight or possibly 147.”
Stephens made his first trip to the state tournament last year, winning three bouts but falling one shy of earning a medal. Currently at 7-0, he has only gone six minutes once this year, racking up six pins along the way.
“It’s a stepping stone to get to states and hopefully place this year,” Stephens said. “This was some good warm-up competition to get ready for the big stretch at Hershey.”
A few Kennett wrestlers have their eye on Chocolatetown as well, and Massetti got a taste of what competition there would be like. Pitted against Lancaster Catholic’s Joe Lobeck for the second straight year in the finals, Massetti came up just short.
Lobeck, a returning Class AA state runner-up, led 1-0 in the third and while on top got a quick two-count for the deciding points, though the count was a little too quick for the Kennett side.
“I gotta learn from my mistakes,” Massetti said. “He’s really good on top, riding, and he’s really good on his feet. … I have to work on clearing the defense in neutral and taking shots better and getting in deeper.”
Reigel did one spot better from last year’s tournament, finishing second after a 7-0 loss to Bronson Garber of Upper Dauphin in the finals.
Mary Nichols (106) took fourth, Gerhardt Reiter (120), Jake Anderson (138) and Tyler LaCosta (160) placed fifth and Bryan Castaneda (220) finished eighth for Kennett.
“I was happy about what the kids did and it showed us a lot of what we have to work on yet,” Kennett coach Tyrone Johnson said. “I’m still trying to get over the (Massetti match). He wrestled a smart match the whole way through.”
Also medaling for Coatesville were Sean McBride (third at 182), Michael Moses (sixth at 106) and Colin McBride (sixth at 160).
Team Standings
1. Penn Manor, 168; 2. J. P. McCaskey, 144.5; 3. Camp Hill, 134; 4. Garden Spot, 130.5; 5. Coatesville, 128; 6. East Stroudsburg South, 123; 7. Kennett, 121.5; 7. Notre Dame Green Pond, 121.5; 9. Hatboro-Horsham, 114; 10. Upper Dauphin, 112.
Championship Finals
106- Altrogge (Norristown) maj. dec. McGuire (Notre Dame), 12-0
113- Garber (Upper Dauphin) dec. Reigel (Kennett), 7-0
120- Gould (East Stroudsburg South) dec. Wileman (Juniata), 11-4
126- Lobeck (Lancaster Catholic) dec. Massetti (Kennett), 3-1
132- Finkey (Garden Spot) dec. Fuentes (Norristown), 7-6
138- Dellicompagni (Coatesville) maj. dec. Rini (Camp Hill), 16-2
145- Marburger (Garden Spot) dec. Fisher (Pequea Valley), 5-3
152- Stephens (Coatesville) pinned Wanner (Pequea Valley, 4:26
160- Barley (Penn Manor) pinned Swarr (Garden Spot), 2:32
170- Zimmerman (Penn Manor) tech. fall Park (Calvert Hall), 3:35
182- Zimmerman (Troy) dec. Scott (Calvert Hall), 3-2
195- Kann (Penn Manor) dec. Teeter (Camp Hill), 7-1
220- Bryintgon (Canton) pinned Tomeo (Camp Hill), :28
285- Nicholas (Salisbury) dec. Wismer (Notre Dame), 3-2
