The Pirates wrestling team had their hopes of winning a second straight sectional title dashed on Wednesday night at the hands of the #2 West Deptford Eagles, 35-25.
Cinnaminson, the three-seed in the SJ2 bracket, is now 16-4 on the year and still has a huge quad on the schedule Saturday at Northern Burlington and then Districts next weekend.
“I’d like to win the team title at districts,” head coach Mike McConnell said. “I think it’s something that’s very doable. I want to help these guys realize their individual goals. Take a look at the district and see if we can make a run at some titles. I’m looking forward to the next week.”
After dominating Patriot rival Delran at home to open the playoffs Monday, the Pirates had to travel Wednesday to face the Eagles (12-7).
The match opened at 126 pounds with Jahsir Williams against Dylan Fischer. Williams was pinned in 0:54 to put Cinnaminson in an early 6-0 hole.
The Pirates went on to win the next three bouts as Jahmil Williams (132), Ryan Teague (138) and Joe Saxton (145) all won by decision to give Cinnaminson a 9-6 lead.
“Saxton and Jahmil, both of them came up with big wins right at the end of their matches,” McConnell said. “Both of those guys were quality opponents. Saxton had a good finish and was able to score.”
The bout between Jahmil Williams and Kyle Kaminski was one of the best of the night for either side. Williams was down late in the third period, but was able to get a takedown to win 8-7 with less than two seconds on the clock.
“Jahmil coming up with that takedown right at the end was just phenomenal,” McConnell said.
“In my match, I didn’t want to go to overtime,” Williams said. “I told myself that I was going to get the last takedown.”
West Deptford would then go on a five-bout win streak, including three pins, to take a commanding 31-9 lead.
With just five bouts remaining, the Pirates needed as many points as possible to attempt a comeback. Cinnaminson won four of the final five bouts, one via pin and one via major decision. The lone loss in the final five bouts came via major decision.
Kevin Schoch was the final wrestler of the night for Cinnaminson. Schoch won by major decision over Dominic Scirrotto 13-4 to pull the final score to 35-25.
“Kevin is a great athlete,” McConnell said. “Before his match I told him to go out there and do what you’re good at, be powerful. His season has been a rocky road. The fact that he’s peaking right now, is back in shape and scoring quality points, he’s going to give somebody a bad draw in districts.”
Cinnaminson returns to the mat on Saturday, February 13 when the Pirates travel to Northern Burlington for a quad at 10am.
“I think, in a lot of people’s eyes, they are unofficially number-one in the region,” McConnell said. “If we can go up there and get a win against them that would be great. I’m looking forward to another test as a team. This team’s a great group of guys.”
Match Results
126: Dylan Fischer, W, p. Jahsir Williams, 0:54
132: Jahmil Williams, C, d. Kyle Kaminski, 8-7
138: Ryan Teague, C, d. Andrew White, 5-0
145: Joe Saxton, C, d. Jake Paratore, 3-1
152: Jarryd Ley, W, p. Shane Spence, 4:38
160: Richie Brown, W, d. Mike Dunleavy, 4-2
170: Cameron Shields, W, d. Shaun Davilla, 11-3
182: Jason Carter, W, p. Eren Baysal, 1:16
195: Gio Gismondi, W, p. Andrew Halecki, 3:50
220: Joe Cody, C, d. Justin Roane, 4-3
285: Keith Swartley, C, p. Max Finocchi, 3:37
106: John Delia, W, d. TJ Emanuel, 12-2
113: Isaiah Elias, C, d. Nick Palese, 5-1
120: Kevin Schoch, C, d. Dominic Scirrotto, 13-4
