Prum, Ridley get on top of Upper Darby
RIDLEY TWP. >> The big guy, Tommy Bramwell, was upset Wednesday but it was still a memorable senior night for the Ridley wrestling team.
The Green Raiders rode upperclassmen J.C. Shaak and Ryan Prum to a 40-31 victory over Central League rival Upper Darby.
Shaak opened his last home match for the Green Raiders with a 12-7 decision over Matthew O’Neill at 160 pounds. Six lead changes later, Prum ended it with a win by fall in 1:04 over Jordan Wilson at 152 pounds. The Raiders (15-9, 5-3) led by just three points at the time.
“I told my team while we were wrapping it up here that he more than paid his dues over the past four years,” Ridley coach Tony Fabri said. “The first three years he took his lumps. But he’s having a lot of success this year and he’s having fun with it and that was a great way for him to go out as a senior.”
Fabri always will remember this senior class, including Bramwell, the fourthranked wrestler in District 1 at 285 pounds.
Bramwell (6-6, 280) grabbed an early 2-0 lead on Clinton Madu, who tipped the scales at 219 pounds. But it was all Madu from there on out, the shorter wrestler using his explosiveness, quickness and savvy to turn the big guy this way and that.
Madu is another senior, albeit in just his second year of wrestling.
“I just didn’t want to get under him because if I get under him, I’m toast, man,” said Madu, who hiked his record to 17-11 this season. “I just tried to do those duck-unders and slip through because I’m really flexible. I was like, I’ve got to be smart about this and wrestle hard.”
Shaak (18-9) had a lively match with O’Neill before taking charge. After Nick Murro won on an escape with four seconds left at
170 pounds, the Royals (109, 4-3) got on the board with Sabbir Uddin pinning Sean O’Daugherty at 1:10 to knot the team score at 6.
After Bryce Regan (Ridley) and Patrick Kerwood (Upper Darby) exchanged pins, and Madu had the entire Royals contingent standing as he beat Bramwell to give the visitors their first lead.
Alex Traelor (106) put the Green Raiders back in front but Keito Shaw (28-6) gave the lead back to the Royals. Pins by Kevin Rainey (120) of Ridley and Joe O’Neill
(126) of Upper Darby left the Royals with a 25-22 advantage.
While Marty Cowan (132) and Eli Rodriguez (138) won by fall to give the Green Raiders breathing room, the Royals got within 34-31 on a pin by Kevin Kerwood
(21-6, 15 pins at 145). That left it up to Prum, who dominated from start to finish.
“I was just trying to get his head down,” Prum said of his opponent. “He went up a little bit high and then I came with a headlock, brought him down and just squeezed it from there on out. This will be it for me.
“I’ve been wrestling to win and just to have fun with it. I had a rough time coming up but this year I’ve done a lot better and I’ve enjoyed it, and just competing.”
Plum is headed to Susquehanna University to play lacrosse.
Bramwell, the All-Delco offensive lineman, decided to walk-on at Delaware to play football. Fabri is going to miss them, along with Shaak (18-9) and the other seniors.
“Good group of gentlemen,” Fabri said. “It was a lot of fun. A lot of these guys aren’t from wrestling backgrounds. Bramwell, Prum, they’re not big wrestling families and they’ve worked their tail off to get to this point. So, it was nice for them to go off with a win.”
What Fabri appreciates is the foundation the seniors laid for a program on the verge of turning the corner.
The seniors, particularly Bramwell (23-4), have a golden opportunity ahead to help the Ridley wrestling program take its next step.
“I wish I could tell you how far away we are,” Fabri said. “But I think we’re pointed in the right direction. My goal, most importantly, is I’ve got to put guys on the podium in Hershey. And we have yet to get there. We’ve been a match away or a point away all five years that I’ve been here. So, we’ve got to end that and we’ve got to get somebody on the podium.”
The Green Raiders host the Central League wrestling championships that begin Saturday at 9 a.m.
The South Class AAA sectionals are the following weekend at Interboro High, followed by the East AAA regionals March 1-2 at Souderton.
It’s a chance for Bramwell (37-12) to cement his legacy. The loss Wednesday was a wakeup call for Bramwell, whose left eye was scuffed and bleeding from a couple of head tie-ups.
“I didn’t wrestle (well),” Bramwell said. “Hopefully I’m working toward a possible medal at states. I’ve got to go to work every day.”