HERSHEY — On Friday, the Delaware County wrestlers had an eventful day at the Giant Center during the PIAA state tournament.
Ridley’s Curtis Nelson had a great day, making it to the gold medal match on Saturday, marking the first time a Green Raiders wrestler has reached the finals since 1974. Sun Valley’s Jameson Strickland, along with Garnet Valley’s Jessica Ayala and Reese Dewar, secured medals as well.
Nelson came from behind to defeat Santino Sloboda of Butler with a score of 6-4, earning a spot in the final match.
Coach Ron Rainey expressed pride and excitement, emphasizing Nelson's focus on winning the gold. He also highlighted Nelson's emotional victory, emphasizing his determination and last-minute reversal and back points.
It was a challenging day for some wrestlers, including Jayden Lee of Radnor, Brecken Strickland, and Hunter Delaney of Sun Valley, as well as Michael Spielman of Strath Haven.
During his consolation bout at 189 pounds, Spielman was slammed to the mat by Brody Daugherty of Manheim Central, resulting in Daugherty's disqualification after 44 seconds. Despite securing an eighth-place medal, Spielman's participation on Saturday is uncertain.
PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi described the incident as a body slam and confirmed that Spielman's ability to continue wrestling is being evaluated by the medical staff.
The last Delco wrestler to win a medal by disqualification at states was Ryan Stocku of Penncrest in 2017, who was unable to continue and finished eighth. Matt Marino of Garnet Valley also clinched a medal by disqualification in 2015, ultimately finishing seventh after being well ahead in points.
On Friday night, Strath Haven coach Anthony Gilliano awaited the doctor's evaluation of Spielman before making further decisions.
Gilliano stated that Spielman's condition had improved and expressed the goal of returning to wrestling if cleared.
Spielman forfeited his late-night match on Friday but remains eligible to compete for seventh place on Saturday according to PIAA rules.
While the semifinals were underway on Friday, the standout achievement came from the Delco female wrestlers, who secured spots on the podium for Saturday through determined performances in the inaugural season of PIAA-sanctioned girls wrestling.
In the 148-pound quarterfinals, Strickland defeated Myah Mulgrew of Cumberland Valley with a fall in 1:46, securing at least sixth place.
Despite being pinned by Zoey Haines of Gettysburg in just one minute, Strickland still has a chance to finish third.
At 142 pounds, Ayala secured at least a sixth-place medal by defeating Samantha Monroe of Delaware Valley with a fall at 5:01 in the quarterfinals. Although pinned in 38 seconds by Violette Lasure of Chestnut Ridge, Ayala has the opportunity to finish as high as third with a strong performance on Saturday.
Then there was Dewar, the 106-pound wrestler who recovered from a loss by being pinned at 1:13 by Madilyn Enterline of Greenville. She needed to defeat Emily Sarr of Souderton in the consolation matches to finish as high as third place.
Nelson advanced to the semifinals with a 12-7 victory over Braiden Weaver of Altoona, who defeated him 5-4 in the consolation round last year. Clearly, this fueled Nelson's determination. The win also ensured Nelson of at least a sixth-place medal.
“I should have defeated that opponent last year,” Nelson said. “I could see in the second period he was exhausted. So, I knew I could keep scoring points.”
After Weaver narrowed the margin to 5-4 in the third period, Nelson displayed the speed and spinning moves that have made him standout. He sacrificed a couple of escape points just to take his chances against Weaver, the final takedown involving a dazzling reverse move that impressed the crowd.
“We were confident that if Curtis wrestled his match more, he could achieve the takedowns he needed,” Rainey said. “That defeat last year put him in the 7-8 match. He had a chance for redemption.”
Nelson was in position to achieve the best result at the state championships for Ridley since Ron Venit finished fourth in 1984-85. Official state records only go back to 1978.
Nelson faced Sloboda of Butler in the late Friday semifinals. The winner was set to compete for the gold against the survivor of the semifinal between L. Sidun of Norwin and G Ballard of Northam.
Spielman suffered his first defeat of the postseason Friday afternoon. Trailing, 2-0, he was pinned by No. 1 seed Cooper Roscosky of Kiski Area. Roscosky executed a single leg takedown late in the first period, turned Spielman, and with 17 seconds remaining completed the pin. Spielman had an 8-0 record in the postseason.
For Lee, the dream ended in the third round of consolation matches at 114 pounds when Travis Clawson of Penn Manor secured a 12-2 major decision victory.
At 133 pounds, Strickland of Sun Valley was defeated in the second round of consolation matches by Christian Ford of Avon Grove, who earned a 1-0 decision. Strickland seemed to have a last-second escape that could have forced the match into overtime, but it didn't happen.
In the second round of consolation matches at 139 pounds, Delaney made a late comeback in the match but was defeated, 7-4, by Dominic Ferrara of Pine Richland.
