Wrestling: Bush's 100th W propels Terriers to G1 title

PISCATAWAY -- Delaware Valley's wrestling team has been on such a major roll that it probably didn't want the ride to stop. Fortunately for the Terriers, when it finally did, they boarded the bus home with trophy in hand.

Coach Andy Fitz's team capped one of the most dominant runs of this postseason with a 47-16 shellacking of Hanover Park in the Group 1 state final on Sunday afternoon at Rutgers University's Jersey Mike's Arena.

Del Val is now 11-9 in state finals (8-7 in Group 2)

Delaware Valley (19-3), which captured its 11th championship overall and third in the past four years, won 10 bouts (seven with bonus) and finished with a staggering 29-7 edge in takedowns. In all, the Terriers outscored their opponents, 328-40 over five postseason matches, including a 64.6 average margin of victory in the run to a Central Jersey sectional title.

"I loved our vibe from the minute we woke up this morning," said coach Andy Fitz, who has guided the program to four of its state titles, three in Group 1 and a 30-28 win over Hanover Park in the Group 2 final 2017. "We had a practice back at Del Val and we were champing at the bit to get here. Unlike last year, everything went our way. Really proud of the guys."

Del Val, now 10-1 all-time vs. Hanover Park since 2002, left this arena with a much different feeling a year ago, when the favored Terriers dropped a 33-25 decision to Group 1 kingpin Paulsboro, which won its state-best 34th title and spoiled Del Val's bid for its first championship three-peat since winning four in a row from 1987-90 under Andy's father, Vince. The father-son coaching duo now has guided the Terriers to 10 of the program's 11 titles, while the other belongs to former head coach and current assistant Paul Petro (Group 2 in 1999).

"I think that [loss to Paulsboro] really helped us," said senior Jackson Bush, who picked up his 100th career victory by decking Hanover Park's Joey Borrello with an arm bar at 150 pounds. "Everybody kind of came together as a team. We had great chemistry this year. We had something to work for --  coming back after winning two straight, there's not as much motivation. This year, there was a lot of motivation. I feel like we saved our best for last."

Hanover Park (17-7), which was seeking its second state title and first since 2015, was up against it before the first whistle after losing the flip and not being able to navigate away from Del Val senior ace Jaden Perez, a returning state medalist. The Drexel recruit got things going with a technical fall of Nick DiFrancescantonio at 126 pounds. 

Del Val's 11 titles rank 4th among public schools

"We haven't won a toss in maybe three weeks," said Fitz, who did a fist pump coming back to the bench after winning the flip. "We needed all positive vibes. When we won the toss, we felt very good about our chances. We've been wrestling great all week and we got the matchups we wanted and the kids performed. It started at an ideal weight, we were able to beat one of their A-list guys in DiFrancescantonio. We just kind of rolled from there."

Perez, who improved to 115-19 overall, knew his job was to set the tone and wasn't surprised that his team dominated from the opening bout.

"I definitely wanted to get the guys ready to wrestle and hyped up," said Perez, who's been on fire of late despite battling a recent illness. "I think I got that going and we showed up exactly how I thought we were going to do. I'm not shocked at all."

After the teams split the first four bouts, Bush's milestone pin sparked a five-bout run (three pins and two tech falls) that was capped by senior Branden Sozanski's match-clinching fall at 190, which gave Del Val an insurmountable 38-7 lead through 10 bouts. Senior Luke Sinkewicz also decked Hanover Parks' Nando Otto at 157 to win the rubber match in their series after splitting two bouts last season.

"Yeah, good timing," Bush said of becoming the 15th member of the Terriers' 100-wins club. "We kept improving throughout the whole year and I think that showed out there today," Bush said. "I think we wrestled our best match of the season right there when the pressure was on."

Del Val, which is sitting on 876 wins as a program, was clearly on a mission and was not going to be denied this time around. 

"That junior year being ripped away from us really [stunk]," said Perez, who helped this senior class win four sectional and three state titles during their time in Del Val singlets. "I think that really lit a fire under us, including me. The chemistry of this team is something I've never experienced before. It truly is like a family. I know this is probably the best team I will ever be a part of so it's awesome."

DELAWARE VALLEY 47, HANOVER PARK 16

126 -- Sr. Jaden Perez (30-1), DV, tf. Jr. Nick DiFrancescantonio (26-7), 17-0, 4:35.
132 -- Sr. Santino Danise (10-1), HP, md. Jr. Tye Falkenstein (22-9), 9-1.
138 -- Jr. Michael Hasson (24-8), DV, tf. Sr. Cristian Cesaro (21-12), 19-4, 5:37.
144 -- Sr. Joey Tantawi (20-3), HP, d. Jr. Sebastian Dobak (17-6), 4-2.
150 -- Sr. Jackson Bush (27-4), DV, p. Sr. Joey Borrello (23-10), 3:39.
157 -- Sr. Luke Sinkewicz (25-5), DV, p. Sr. Nando Ott (23-10), 4:50.
165 -- Jr. Olivier Paul (22-7), DV, tf. Sr. Joe Filippone (10-12), 19-4, 2:30.
175 -- So. Marcus Gary (11-5), DV, tf. Jr. Ronny Madera (5-18), 16-1, 4:13.
190 -- Sr. Vincenzo LaValle (32-3), HP, p. Sr. Oren Nahum (7-14), :31.
215 -- Sr. Branden Sozanski (15-4), DV, p. Sr. Luke Stephenson (12-7), 4:20.
285 -- Jr. Luken Alberdi (24-7), DV, d. Jr. Aeeden Hamilton (21-11), 2-1.
106 -- Jr. Tristan Fawthrop (17-9), DV, d. So. Gabriella Conte (19-4), 6-4.
113 -- Sr. Giovanni Conte (22-10), HP, d. Fr. Tanner Donaruma (9-6), 4-0.
120 -- Jr. Julian Bednar (18-4), DV, d. Fr. Ethan Kaup (14-13), 14-10.
Records -- Hanover Park 17-7; Delaware Valley 19-3.
Officials -- Zac Papa and Anthony DeFlumeri.