Only three teams other than Indian River have managed to keep the undefeated Golden Knights of Sussex Central under a score of 58 on the mat. Only one of those three teams — Milford — also resides in the Henlopen South conference. Thus, Monday’s defense-heavy wrestling match between the Indians of the South and the Northern dominance of SC came as a reassuring confirmation of his team’s caliber to IR head coach Jeff Windish, even though it was a mark in the loss column.
Pitts“We’ve matched up against Sussex Central in tournaments,” said Windish. “They’re strong throughout and well-coached. They don’t have any noticeable holes in their lineup.”
He added that, despite the loss, he could not have been more impressed by the way his Indians handled the match.
“I’m really pleased with the way we wrestled,” he said. “We put 22 points on the board against, and held them to 57. That says a lot about what we have. I’m not asking for anything from my guys but 100 percent, and that’s exactly what each of them gave me today.”
Senior Mike Magaha (125) contributed points to IR’s side with a pin. He had his priorities straight when sizing up his competition.
“I knew he was tall, and a tough wrestler,” said Magaha. “I knew I had to stay low and watch the flexibility.”
Another notable contributor to the Indians’ score was junior Dar’Juan Pitts, whose strategic move up a class, to 135 pounds, proved to be a wise one, netting him a major decision.
“It was my choice to make the move,” he said. “It was pretty hard and it’s pretty competitive. The match was more of a momentum thing than anything else. You just have to go with it.”
Windish said he was more than satisfied with Pitts’ move.
Magaha“He came out and made a major decision for tonight’s match,” he said, “and he’s coming along well right now and peaking at the right time. He’s gone up against some good kids in the past week and he can keep that momentum going.”
Although some of the athletes hung their heads with the defeat, Windish had his chin up looking back on the seemingly mismatched confrontation.
“The kids wrestled and gave me everything they had,” he said, “and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for. We’ll see a couple of these guys in the conferences and things like that. They’re looking at a conference title on Friday. They’ve had a very good season, but we’ve shown that we’ve got some great guys, too.”
Delfino Pascual (103) and Matt McDowell (160) also registered pins against their SC rivals.
The Indians were set to face Dover on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7:15 p.m. (after the Coastal Point’s deadline) and will host William Penn on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 1 p.m. to finish out the season.