WESTTOWN >> If you came to West Chester Rustin, Thursday night, for some dramatic wrestling, you probably walked away disappointed.
The four higher-seeded teams outscored their foes, 235-61.
But West Chester Henderson’s Killian Delaney made sure some history was on display. With a pin against Sun Valley’s Jayson Tokolics, Delaney became Henderson’s all-time winningest wrestler with 149 career victories, passing two-time state champion, Jermaine Jones.
Delaney’s pin, which added to his school record tally of 87, was one of eight by the Warriors, who cruised by Sun Valley, 58-15, in the first round of the District 1-3A Duals.
“It’s a cool thing to have,” Delaney said. “To finally see that number, it wasn’t too big hanging over me, but it’s cool to finally pass it.”
West Chester Henderson’s Killian Delaney. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
The Warriors (13-1) were the only Ches-Mont League team, out of five, to advance to next Friday’s quarterfinals at Upper Dublin. Henderson will take on No. 3 Spring-Ford in what now becomes a double elimination tournament with the top four advancing to the PIAA Duals.
The hosting No. 16 Golden Knights were trampled by No. 1 Quakertown, 62-9, and No. 12 Downingtown West couldn’t keep up with No. 5 Owen J. Roberts, falling, 47-34.
Henderson hopes to punch its first ticket as a team to Hershey, where Delaney (126 pounds) is one of three Warriors with two state medals, along with Jones and Dan Kennett.
West Chester Henderson’s Cash Artis cradles Sun Valley’s Vince Warrington for a fall at 182 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
“I’m very proud of him,” Beighley said. “Henderson has had a lot of tradition and a lot of top-notch wrestlers come through the program. For Killian to match that amount of wins, it’s special.”
Against the Vanguards, Henderson won 11 of the first 12 bouts, but Beighley knows the ante gets way upped from here.
“Spring-Ford is a bunch of hammers,” Beighley said. “They’re consistent up and down the lineup and don’t have many chinks. We have to be at our best.”
West Chester Henderson’s Bobby English runs a bar against Sun Valley’s Antonio Vincent-DiEmidio in an 11-2 major decision at 152 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
West (5-3) is at its best at the upper weights, but by the time the dual got there, it was already too late.
Owen J. won seven of the first eight bouts, all by fall, and clinched the outcome before the Whippets could make their run.
“We knew it was gonna come down to bonus,” West coach Brad Breese said. “I thought we battled. There were some situations where we got pinned I thought we’d be able to hold them to a technical fall or a major and we could’ve had a chance. We had six wins and I thought we had a chance at one more, but (OJR) has good attackers and they were a little tougher than we were.”
Downingtown West’s Ryan Note works on a pin against Owen J. Roberts’ Zach Sturm at 106 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Rustin (6-5), shorthanded for the second straight night with three starters out of the lineup, got thrown into the fire against the top seeded Panthers.
Alex Pratzner (145) earned a 7-2 win over Patrick McCoy, who was ranked No. 5 in the district on pa-wrestling.com, and Anthony Meadows pinned at 195. Third-ranked Jimmy King (120), of Rustin, saw a lead vanish late on a takedown by No. 2 Kyle Miller in a 4-3 loss.
“It’s good to wrestle great competition and see where we are and where our needs are,” said Rick McLaughlin, who filled in for head coach Tony Finding. “It exposes our weaknesses and that’s good this time of year because it gives us a month to fix it before the individual postseason.”
West Chester Rustin’s Jimmy King tries to scramble for a takedown against Quakertown’s Kyle Miller in a 4-3 loss at 120 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)
Thirteenth-seed Garnet Valley pulled the upset of the tournament, so far, knocking off No. 4 Council Rock North, 33-32, at Council Rock South.
Ninth-seed Downingtown East was eliminated by No. 8 Neshaminy, 40-32.
