Thanks to family ties, dominant WC Henderson wins 4th straight division title

DOWNINGTOWN >> If the Ches-Mont League had a Thanksgiving Dinner, Downingtown West was the proverbial host, Wednesday night.

West set up the kid table, or in this case, another mat, for a junior high dual meet, and fans crunched in a little tighter than normal to not only watch the Whippets battle West Chester Henderson, but a competition between Downingtown and Pierce Middle Schools.

With the family all gathered, so to speak, the Warriors made sure to continue a historic run, while West put on a gritty effort to make things interesting.

In the end, Henderson won its fourth straight Ches-Mont National Division crown with a 36-21 defeat of West, running the Warriors’ win streak to 20 against National foes, and 28 against the entire league.

“It feels amazing,” Henderson senior Palmer Delaney said. “I’ve been with this team for four years, back when my brother (Killian) was on it, and it feels good to leave it a lot better team than how we found it, being the best team in Henderson history.”

Henderson (5-0 division, 12-0 overall) hasn’t lost a league dual since 2018, when West was the top dog of the National. The Whippets (3-2, 9-6) were not there to just concede the title, and trailed the Warriors just 17-15 through the first seven bouts.

“We wanted to see these kids battle and stay in it the whole match,” West coach Brad Breese said. “We wrestled well and the kids were relaxed. We got some great battles from some young guys, so that was exciting.”

Breese praised Levi Richmond (113) and Jordan Barry (152), a freshman and a sophomore who almost upset a pair of seniors.

Richmond trailed 7-2 after two periods, but nearly pulled off the comeback before falling to Billy Forcine, 11-8. Later, Barry lost a 7-5 decision to Brett Patton.

In between, Henderson’s Carmen Cortese (120) picked up a major, as did Max Jackman (126) who earned all four of his major decision points against a resilient Sierra Landrum, who just refused to be pinned.

Billy Wilson (132) moved Henderson’s lead to 11 with a quick pin, but West’s Trevor Ross (138) pulled out an overtime win against Brien Wildermuth, and Dom Findora (145) earned a quick six to keep the contest in question.

As has happened many times over the last six years, a Delaney was there to ruin the plans of an opponent. Delaney’s pin put the Warriors back up 11, as Henderson won six of the last seven bouts.

“Family is the foundation of our program,” Henderson coach Rob Beighley said. “It’s one of the building blocks. The younger kids are here, seeing our guys, and they’ve been seeing them since the West Chester youth club. It’s their brothers and cousins and it’s almost a legacy thing, because they want to be what we are. They want to be a part of the Warrior culture.”

Palmer Delaney is the middle child of three wrestling Warriors. Together, Killian, Palmer and Hunter, a freshman, have contributed a combined 259 wins to the program the last six years.

Billy Wilson is the third brother from his family to wrestle for Henderson, and they’ve tallied 189 wins. 

Brett Patton is following his brother, Brad’s footsteps, and on the other mat, Wednesday, their cousin, Tyler Conroy, showed off why he may be a star in the Ches-Mont one day.

While Henderson has three sets of brothers on its roster, the Whippets don’t have any, currently, but Mason Hale (215) is the fourth brother to come through the program, upping the quartet’s win total to 407.

At one point, Wednesday, Downingtown athletic director, Corey Sigle, watched his freshman son, Chase Sigle (106), and his eighth-grade son, Brayden Sigle, compete at the same time, in the same gym. 

“You watch a kid go out in middle school and high school and do well and you know they’re going to graduate someday, but there’s a brother right behind,” Breese said. “It helps develop culture. We don’t have a lot of wrestlers at West. We have a lot of athletes, but not a lot of kids who just wrestle, so we always have to sell wrestling and family helps get that done.”

Henderson has eight seniors in the starting lineup, and West will be smelling blood next year, but Beighley will find satisfaction in not only a program that’s stayed on top, but also that Pierce topped Downingtown, 48-39, giving Henderson all the bragging rights at the adult table.

West Chester Henderson 36, Downingtown West 21

106- Sigle (DW) pinned Schalleur, 4:39 (0-6)

113- Forcine (WCH) dec. Richmond, 11-8 (3-6)

120- Cortese (WCH) maj. dec. Bernhard, 12-0 (7-6)

126- M. Jackman (WCH) maj. dec. Landrum, 13-0 (11-6)

132- Wilson (WCH) pinned Rentschler, :47 (17-6)

138- Ross (DW) dec. B. Wildermuth, 5-3, SV (17-9)

145- Findora (DW) pinned English, 1:05 (17-15)

152- Patton (WCH) dec. Barry, 7-5 (20-15)

160- P. Delaney (WCH) pinned Pate, 1:35 (26-15)

172- Beatty (WCH) dec. Hinrichsen, 8-4 (29-15)

189- McCarthy (WCH) maj. dec. Zhao, 13-4 (33-15)

215- Hale (DW) won by forfeit (33-21)

285- Keevill (WCH) dec. Mack, 6-4 (36-21)