With a 7-1 record coming into a home tri-meet Saturday, the Pirates wanted to make sure they remained focused on the task at hand; winning both matches on the schedule for the day.
Cinnaminson was able to take care of business, defeating Hammonton 45-19 and Lower Cape May 66-9 to move their record to 9-1 with Patriot foe Delran (10-4, 2-0) looming on Wednesday.
In the first match of the day, the Pirates took on the Hammonton Blue Devils. Cinnaminson jumped out to a quick, 9-0 lead, but lost the next three bouts to fall into a 9-9 tie.
“In every weight class, our guys are going to fight the entire time,” head coach Mike McConnell said. “My guys are convinced they’re going to win. We expect them to go out there and win.”
“I don’t pay too much attention to who our opponents are. I try to approach every match the same way. They’ve been rising up and wrestling at a high level so I’ve tried to keep that going and have them believe in themselves.”
Before you could blink an eye, the Pirates won the next five bouts to take a commanding, 33-9 lead. The run was ignited by Eren Baysal, who scratched and clawed his way to a 5-2, come-from-behind victory at 170-pounds against Anthony Tucci.
“Baysal works hard in practice every day,” McConnell said. “He looks for areas that he needs to improve. You tell him something once, he remembers it, and he tries to apply it.”
Baysal explained what he needed to do to win his bout.
“The first two rounds, Tucci was out-muscling me. In the third round, when I got the reverse, I saw he barely had energy to fight. All he had on me was a death lock.”
“In the third period, that’s when I kept my stamina up, told myself to step my game up and wrestle hard.”
The Pirates split the final four bouts against Hammonton to come away with a 45-19 victory to move to 8-1.
“We’ve been practicing hard every day,” Baysal said. “We don’t skip. Every day we work hard.”
The middle match of the day pitted Hammonton against Lower Cape May, with the Blue Devils dominating for a split on the day.
Cinnaminson returned to the mat for the third and final match of the day against Lower Cape May. The opening bouts at 145 and 152-pounds were won by forfeit by the Pirates.
We finally got to see some wrestling in the third bout as Mike Dunleavy used a strong reverse to take a 2-1 lead in the third on Zack Campbell.
Campbell tied the bout at two late in the third with an escape point. Dunleavy absolutely dominated in overtime, winning the bout by a 7-3 decision.
The win put the Pirates up 15-0 and they never looked back.
“Dunleavy’s match was spectacular for him. That moment where he gave up an escape with three seconds to go, then nothing happened for a one minute go on his feet, and then two, 30-seconds go and he gets two takedowns because he capitalized at the right time.”
Andrew Halecki took the mat against Gannon Lowry at 195-pounds and absolutely dominated.
“Halecki turned two or three corners over the last two or three weeks,” McConnell said. “He got out there; attacking the legs and scoring takedowns where just a few matches back he didn’t really trust his shot. It seems like everything we are doing in practice, the guys are applying.”
Halecki went up 3-0 after two periods and then 7-0 in the third before winning by fall with a pin at 4:57 of the bout.
“The first period, my shots just weren’t working,” Halecki said. “The second period, I tried some new things.”
“I got the ankle pick and it worked, so I hit that three or four times and I ended up winning the match. The last time I got it and it took him (Lowry) right to his back.”
Cinnaminson suffered just two losses against Lower Cape May en route to the 33-9 victory to move to 9-1. The Pirates picked up six forfeit wins in their second match victory of the day, including four out of the final six bouts.
Wrestling returns to the mat on Wednesday, January 20 at 5:30pm at Delran for a Patriot Division showdown. McConnell offered the following as to what the Pirates need to bring from the tri-match Saturday into their match with the Bears.
“The way everybody’s forcing the action out there. They’re dominating with motion, with setups and they’re being more physical with wrestling on their feet. They are being more methodical on the mat.”
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