Upper Chichester >> At this point in the season, Interboro’s collection of upperclassmen has guided the team through some early struggles. That group delivered again Wednesday night when the Bucs defeated rival Chicester, 35-30, on the road.
Junior 106-pounder Kyleigh D’Agostino started it off with a pin of Shane Gromek. All-Delco senior Eric Thomas pinned Tommy Smarkola at 145 pounds. And Jeff Finley, coming off a 3-0 day Saturday at Garnet Valley’s Rage in the Cage, defeated Noah Harvey in the 152-pound bout.
But it was an unlikely source who put Interboro on the fast track to its first Del Val League title since 2014. After the Eagles’ Eddie Sykes gave Chi a 24-23 lead, Bucs’ sophomore Anthony Zizza, at 182, followed with his best performance of the year. He caught JP Richardson with 10 seconds left in the first period to restore Interboro’s lead.
“I knew I could do a latch-on, because I do it in practice. I practice hard,” said Zizza. “I got the position, and I knew he was going to push in. So once he did, I put him on his back and held it.”
The six points provided the cushion the Bucs needed to secure their first league win of the year. Coupled with six points in hand thanks to a forfeit at 220 pounds, Zizza’s pin all but clinched the match.
“That’s huge. A kid like Anthony comes up and gets that big pin; that’s what we needed,” said Finley. “We came here with one job and one job only, and that was to win. Luckily for him he got six. We expected him to win, but we didn’t expect him to pin. But he did great.”
Zizza had a feeling early on that his match might make the difference between winning and losing.
“Well, I was thinking about the match for like an hour before hand,” he explained. “I knew the team was going to need me to come up big. I came out and did what I had to do and won.”
The victory came at the perfect time for an Interboro team coming off a seventh-place finish at Garnet Valley. The Bucs (5-11, 1-0 Del Val) have now won back-to-back matches as they head into the league season.
The Eagles (6-4, 0-1), on the other hand, wrestled short-handed. Junior standout Chris Smarkola missed the match with a knee injury and eligibility issues left Chi without a full roster. The Eagles also lost a six-pointer when Nick Baney dislocated his knee cap in a match with Shane Mathis at 138.
“We did all we could possibly do and the guys wrestled tough,” said Chi coach Jim Beletti. “It’s just one of those ones you hate to lose.”
Still, Interboro, specifically Zizza and D’Agostino, came up with bonus points at key junctures and doomed the hosts.
“If you know you’re outmatched you have to do whatever it takes not to get turned,” said Beletti. “We could have not gotten pinned. But that’s wrestling. Those things happen.”
The Bucs also had plenty of motivation. Last year, Chi upset Interboro to win the league for the first time since 2005. Finley didn’t want that to happen again.
“Two years ago we came here and beat them 50-something to six. Then last year they got us. I’ll admit that,” Finley said. “This year we came back, like I said, with one job and that was to win.”
Now the trick is maintaining that form so they can reclaim a conference they’ve dominated for so long. To hear Finley say it, though, a mid-season lapse is out of the question.
“We haven’t stopped for three straight weeks,” he said. “We practice hard every day. Even when we’re not practicing, you still go for runs. We just keep going. That’s what we plan on doing to win the Del Val.”
In the Central League:
Marple Newtown 51, Springfield 24 >> The Tigers rolled behind a dominating performance by 120-pounder Zac Elfernani, who recorded a fall in 15 seconds. Derek Dervishian (160) was also victorious via the pin.
Springfield’s Chris Sciarrino continued to inch closer to a special miletone. The 170-pound grappler is five wins shy of 100 after recording a pin in 1:53. Tyler Forbes (132) and Mike Psenicska (152) also notched pins for the Cougars.
Upper Darby 53, Conestoga 17 >> Colin Cronin picked up a 20-4 major decision in the 138-pound bout, helping the Royals (11-1) stay perfect in the Central League. Thomas Reif (120), Nick Venuti (126), Sam DePhillipo (132), Max Livingston (152), Brian Kennerly (195) and Pete Augustin (285) all earned pins for Upper Darby.
Garnet Valley 62, Haverford 12 >> Gavin Hollingsworth (106), Kevin Christie (113), Nicholas Gabos (126), Matt Marino (132), Dave Wood (138) and Nick Puliti (145) were among the winners for the Jaguars. Matt Weir logged a decision in the 195-pound match for Haverford.
Penncrest 55, Radnor 15 >> Ty D’Ortone (113), Brendon Stocku (120) and Christian Gallagher (126) registered consecutive pins as the Lions handily defeated the Raiders. Thomas Redmond, at 160 pounds, notched a decision for Radnor.
