Delgado key fall guy in Hersey win
Pin-happy!
That's what both Hersey and Fremd were Thursday night - but the host Huskies finished just a bit happier.
The Huskies defeated the Vikings 41-34 in a Mid-Suburban League crossover and ended the Vikings' 12-match unbeaten streak thanks, in part, to 5 victories via fall.
The most important came when Sergio Delgado recorded what proved to be the match winner at 140 pounds with a victory by fall over Richard Stanton in 2:56 that sealed things for the Huskies.
Demetrios Mitchell (30-2) won by forfeit at 145 to give the Huskies their 7-point margin.
"What a night," said Hersey coach Jim Wormsley. "It's always good to get a win over a quality program like Fremd and to steal one from an MSL West team. But more importantly, it was great to see a kid like Sergio, one of our seniors, come through when we needed him the most."
"I was really nervous at the start of my match," said Delgado (16-12), who nearly fell victim to Stanton in the first period, but escaped with a late reversal to trail 6-4. "I knew the match was falling on my shoulders, so after finally getting warmed up and under control, I was able to come through for my team."
In a wild second period that required a GPS system to keep track of both wrestlers using every square inch of the mat, Delgado drew even at 6-6, took the lead with a subsequent near fall before putting away Stanton.
"I felt his hand slip a little and just chicken-winged him to get the pin," Delgado said.
The dual meet had seesawed back and forth from the beginning. The Huskies (17-6) opened strong when Sean Bonner (22-10) won by fall at 152, followed by a victory by technical fall from sophomore Jeff Koepke (26-7) in 4:34.
"Our team is beginning to come together because a lot of our first-year guys are gaining more experience and confidence with each match," Koepke said.
A win by Nick Carlson pulled the Vikings (12-1) to 11-4 and set up what Fremd fans have come to expect: Brett Opitz, Mike Dallas and Jimmy Norris - who are a combined 51-11 - went back-to-back-to-back with pins in lightning speed to give the visitors a 22-11 lead.
Hersey, which hosts defending East Division and MSL champion Wheeling in a key showdown tonight, answered with a trio of falls, as Stephon Scales, Josh Simmons and Kevin Snodgrass gave the Huskies a 29-22 lead.
That advantage vanished quickly when Fremd's Ron Hauser (125) pinned Richard Kim, and Will Tham outlasted Zach Whitehead 11-8.
Hansol Choi's 8-5 decision over Rory Peterson at 135 - coupled with Tham's victory - may have been the most entertaining match of the evening ... until Delgado brought the Huskies fans to their feet one match later.