Coming into Saturday’s tri-match, which was scheduled to be a quad until the early morning, the Pirates knew they were walking into a tough couple of matches.
On tap for the day was Collingswood, which has the one-seed in the upcoming SJ2 Tournament, Shawnee (a Group 5 school) and Absegami. Absegami had to cancel its appearance due to skin issues.
The day opened with Collingswood and Shawnee tangling on the mat. The Panthers dominated the Renegades.
Cinnaminson’s first go on the mat came against Shawnee as the Pirates looked for win 15 on the season.
“I liked the intensity level we came out with,” head coach Mike McConnell said. “We got some bonus points where we needed to.”
The Pirates jumped out to a 15-0 lead on pins by Mike Dunleavy at 160 and Shaun Davilla at 170 and a decision by Andrew Halecki at 195.
Shawnee picked up its first win at 195 pounds as freshman Eddie Davilla lost in his varsity debut, 4-2.
“Eddie’s been doing a lot of hard work in the room and if he had a little more match experience, he probably could’ve made out a little better in his matches,” McConnell said.
“He had some good matchups, guys who have been wrestling all season and have winning records, and he held his own. I hope he realizes that. He’s young. He’s a tough kid. He could turn into a really good wrestler by the end of the season if he keeps working hard.”
Joe Cody and Keith Swartley would win their bouts before the Pirates forfeited at 106 pounds.
Kevin Schoch, in just his second match back from injury, came from behind late in his bout at 120 pounds to pick up a 5-4 win and expand the Pirates lead over Shawnee to 27-15.
“I would’ve liked to have had more matches for him up until now, but most importantly, we wanted to get him healthy before he wrestled again,” McConnell said. “He’s a good, powerful 120-pounder.”
At 138 and 145, Ryan Teague and Joe Saxton picked up 4-0 and 4-1 wins to clinch the match for the Pirates, who did not have to wrestle the final bout at 152 (Shane Spence), but instead forfeited to get things going with Collingswood.
“I would have liked to have had Spence wrestle at the end there, but I just wanted to move on and finish up,” McConnell said. “Guys have been peaking at the right time.”
Cinnaminson took down Shawnee 33-27 for win 15.
After a brief break, the showdown with Collingswood began.
Things started on a good note for the Pirates at 170 as Shaun Davilla picked up a 14-4 major decision.
Cinnaminson would lose the next three bouts to trail 15-4 as Keith Swartley prepared to take the mat against Ryan Harper. Swartley came away with a 5-1 win that brought the Pirates within 15-7.
The eight-point deficit would be the closest Cinnaminson would come for the remainder of the match with the Panthers despite a major decision win by Isaiah Elias and wins by Jahmil Williams and Teague.
Collingswood picked up a forfeit at 106, a pin at 120, a major decision at 126 and pins at 152 and 160 to finish the day. All told, that’s a total of 28 points across five bouts.
The forfeit at 106 was the second of the day for the Pirates, who were without TJ Emanuel due to an injury.
“Not having TJ really hurt at 106, but he should be back in the lineup next week,” McConnell said.
The Panthers picked up the victory, 46-17, as the Pirates dropped to 15-3 on the year.
Cinnaminson returns to the mat Monday, February 8 at 7pm to face Delran in the first round of the South, Group 2 Tournament. The Pirates defeated Patriot rival Delran 37-33 earlier this season.
“Next week, TJ should be back in the lineup. Anthony Pencook has been cleared to wrestle,” McConnell said about his team’s health heading into the coming week.
“We just have to get him practiced up and ready to go. We might have a wrestle-off. I like having the competition in the room and some seasoned guys getting back in the lineup.”
