The early initiative in the Central League wrestling title race belongs to Garnet Valley. Griffin Hollingsworth made sure of it.
Hollingsworth’s pin of Liam Walker in 2 minutes, 40 seconds clinched a 35-30 win for Garnet Valley Wednesday.
The clincher came on the heels of a decisive three-bout winning streak for GV. Coltin Deery scored a fall at 285, followed by Daniel Hussain doing likewise at 106. Matthew Ricci wrapped it up with a major decision at 113 to get GV (5-2, 2-0 Central) headed in the direction of a win.
Gavin Hollingsworth tallied a major decision at 145 to complement Desmon Perry’s pin at 152 and Austin Filippone’s decision at 170.
Upper Darby 61, Lower Merion 15 >> Farhan Chowdhury scored a pin at 106, as did Kevin Kerwood at 152 and Matt O’Neill at 160 to power the Royals.
Penncrest 61, Marple Newtown 13 >> Pins by Nickolas Partsanakis at 126 and Chris Reed at 138 sent the Lions to a win. Nick Martini added a pin at 170 as did heavyweight Will Steiner.
Marple’s Jon Long scored a 19-12 decision at 132, while 195-pounder Armen Dervishian notched a major decision.
Radnor 39, Strath Haven 36 >> Heavyweight Ifeyan Gavin’s pin in the penultimate match gave the Raiders the points they needed. Chris Henkel, Andrew Brown, Jahmair Rider (by pin) and Bobby Hydrisko notched consecutive wins from 138-160 for Radnor.
Haven’s Kelton Brunner, Gabe Federico and John Crawford each won by fall in matches at 113, 170 and 182 respectively.
Springfield 36, Harriton 28 >> In a match that featured just three contested bouts, Joe McCallig’s pin in one minute at 170 pounds was the only victory the Cougars needed.
In nonleague action:
Chichester 33, Archbishop Wood 32 >> The lightweights provided the wins, but it was the middleweight Eagles’ ability not to get pinned that helped them eke out a win despite the Vikings claiming the last four bouts. Chase Whartnaby (120), Pierce Thompson (132) and Bryan Rogers (145) all scored first-period pins, while Jeffrey Smarkola notched an 8-4 decision at 152.
In the Ches-Mont League:
Unionville 45, Sun Valley 29 >> Four straight wins – including a decision by 113-pounder R.J. Barlow, a major decision by 120-pounder Shane Holefelder and a pin by Jonathan O’Neill at 126 – kept the Vanguards close. Daniel Nearey (195) and Vincent Warrington (160) added wins.
