Flicker’s fateful fall sends GV to state dual meet tourney
UPPER DUBLIN >> West Chester Henderson was exactly where it wanted to be, down just four in the dual, but with 152-pounder Bobby English inches away from a pin that could set the Warriors up perfectly.
It seemed Garnet Valley was plenty comfortable in that position, the Jaguars’ backs against the wall, odds stacked heavily against them.
They had entered the district duals tournament seeded No. 13, after all, and no one expected them to move past the first round, let alone contend for a spot in the PIAA Duals. But when senior Matt Flicker found a burst of energy to get off his back, flip English to his and eventually pin him, Cinderella staved off midnight once again.
Thanks to Flicker’s fall, Garnet Valley knocked off No. 6 Henderson, 32-25, in the District 1 Class 3A consolation semifinals Saturday, earning the Jaguars their first trip to states since 2014. The
Jags dropped the consolation final to No. 2 Council Rock South, 67-12, but will be the fourth seed from District 1 in the state tournament, while Henderson was eliminated. Matt Ricci (113) and Kevin Puliti (120) were the only winners for the Jags against CR South. Both won by fall.
“First of all, we get the 13 seed and all year people have been writing us off, for the most part,” Jaguars coach Rocco Fantazzi said. “Maybe they should’ve, I don’t know, but we came in here and wanted to prove we can compete. We try year in and year out, and sometimes we do. We work hard, we have a very demanding schedule and we have a bunch of kids who believe in the program and believe in the system. They work hard and they’re doing this as a team and having fun doing it. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Warriors erased an early deficit with three straight wins by Killian Delaney (126), Sammy McMonagle (132) and Palmer Delaney (138). The only Jaguar in the pa-wrestling.com District 1 rankings is Griffin Hollingsworth (an honorable mention at 126), and he bumped up to 138, but couldn’t overtake his bigger foe.
Chris Wood gave GV a four-point lead with a major at 145, but that looked in jeopardy after English took an early lead.
“All the way up to 152, we were happy with where we were at,” Henderson coach Rob Beighley said. “We were ahead of the game. That 12-point swing, we couldn’t overcome.”
Flicker, who didn’t wrestle last season, but decided to come back out for his senior campaign, waited for the one small window of hope. And he did not miss.
“I felt him turn, originally, and I waited to feel his weight shift and then I threw him over,” Flicker said. “Once I turned him, I squeezed him as hard as I could.”
As a part of the 2017 team that lost in the consolation semis, Flicker came back with this opportunity on his mind.
“I was thinking I couldn’t give up,” Flicker added. “This was our shot to go to states and we hadn’t been there in a long time. This was my senior year and I wanted to make that happen.”
Henderson was seeking its first trip to states, and would’ve been the first from the West Chester school district to do so. Despite a pin by Koh Bauman (160) in the penultimate bout, the Warriors’ run ended just shy.
“It’s tough, but it’s a life lesson,” Beighley said. “That’s the first thing I told them, that some things don’t go your way. I thought we wrestled really well. I thought we wrestled our best match. Sometimes you have to go through things to get better on the other side. It’s disheartening. It was right there.”
The Jags are the lowestseeded team to ever qualify for states from District 1.
Garnet Valley will wrestle District 12 runner-up Archbishop Ryan, at the Raiders’ gym, Monday night. If the Jaguars can win that PIAA pigtail, they will become the first Delaware County team to compete in the PIAA Duals, in Hershey, Thursday.
“This group of guys, to get to this level, I don’t think we have any guys ranked, but they’re doing it as a team,” Fantazzi said. “We’re having fun doing it and we’re going to ride the wave until it crashes.”
Third-seeded Spring-Ford won the 3A team title with a 39-22 victory over No. 1 Quakertown.
In other wrestling action: HAVERFORD SCHOOL SPLITS >> Bill Brosko and Kwaku Adubofour both went 4-0 to help the Fords go 2-2 at the Cougar Duals at Martin Luther King High School.
Haverford School fell to Belmont Charter (25-24) and Lansdale Catholic (45-30), and defeated Oley Valley (3916) and Westtown (34-33). Consecutive wins by Ian Rush (182), who went
4-1, Sean Dougherty (195), Brosko (220) and Adubofour
(285) sealed the victory over Oley Valley.
Adubofour pin secured the win over Westtown. Jac Campbell also went 3-1 for the Fords.