WORTON — Kent County’s Caleb George and Beckett Vivier were winners in their high school wrestling debut here Jan. 7 against James M. Bennett.
George’s pin at 285 pounds provided the Trojans with their first points of the night and Vivier stuck his opponent in the 126-pound bout in just 30 seconds to force a 24-24 tie with still plenty of wrestling to be done, and their contributions were instrumental in the team’s 48-36 victory.
In the final match of the tri-meet, three forfeits did in host KCHS, which came out on the short end of a 48-33 decision won by St. Michaels.
Kent County coach Chris Yiannakis was more than satisfied with the split of dual matches.
He said he was happy to come out with the win against J.M. Bennett, a much larger school in Salisbury, but was just as pleased, if not more so, with the performance against St. Michaels.
“I wasn’t expecting to score more than 24 points against St. Michaels,” Yiannakis said, noting that the Saints filled all 14 weight classes.
Of the 11 contested bouts, the Trojans won more than half, leading Yiannakis to say he and his staff were “thrilled” with the outcome.
“We’re definitely improving,” he said.
It was Legacy Night, and the Trojans were wrestling in front of a large and supportive audience that included dozens of young girls and boys in the Kent County Junior Wrestling program.
The match against James Bennett started at the 175-pound bout, and host KCHS quickly fell behind, 18-0, after losing twice by pin and forfeiting at 190.
In his first-ever match, junior Caleb George ended the shutout and started a run of three wins in a row with a pin in the heavyweight bout.
Freshman Karoly Quevedo and sophomore JJ Hinefelt won by forfeit at 106 and 113, respectively, for the first tie, 18-18.
The match would be tied again at 24-all after sophomore Beckett Vivier’s 30-second pin at 126 and at 30-all after freshman Jake Stumpf’s first-period pin at 138.
Senior captain Noah Iacona’s win by forfeit at 144 pounds nudged the Trojans ahead, 36-30, but their guests leveled the score again with a third-period pin at 150.
With two bouts remaining, sophomore Barrett Gruszynski at 157 restored Kent County’s lead for good, 42-36, with a pin at the buzzer at the end of the first period.
Senior captain Scottie Ford wrapped up the victory with a win by pin with 1 minute, 19 seconds elapsed in the final bout.
After forfeiting at 190 pounds to open the nightcap against St. Michaels, Kent County trailed for most of the match.
Escaping a near fall, senior Danny Harris won by pin at 215 to tie the team score at 6-apiece and Quevedo’s quick pin at 106 produced another tie, 12-12.
Hinefelt gave the Trojans their only lead in the match, 18-12, after sticking Gavin Becker in 52 seconds.
St. Michaels won by forfeit at 120, by pin at 126 and by another forfeit at 132 to pull ahead, 30-18.
KCHS would close to 30-28 following Stumpf’s second-period pin at 138 and Iacona’s 10-0 major decision at 144, but would not come all the way back.
Of the four remaining bouts, the Trojans won only one — Ford by a 15-0 technical fall at 165. He built an 11-0 lead less than a minute into the bout.
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Kent County’s girls won all three of their matches against St. Michaels’ girls: Exodus Blake by pin in 23 seconds, Taylor Franklin by injury default and Quevedo by a 19-3 technical fall.
Franklin rallied from a 7-3 deficit at the end of the first period to draw even at 10-10 after the second period. Her opponent was not able to come out for the final period.
Quevedo led 16-3 after the first period. Her three-point takedown just 17 seconds into the second period put her over the top. At 95 ½ pounds and “four foot something,” she wrestled a heavier and taller opponent.
