The Delaware Hayes wrestling team made a late push, winning three of the last four matches of the night, but Hilliard Darby’s fast start was enough to lift it to a key 37-31 OCC dual-meet win Thursday in Delaware.
“We did battle back quite a bit,” Pacers coach Kevin Rieman said. “The difference was we gave up too many bonus points — mostly pins.”
The Panthers bumped their league record to 3-0 with the win while the Pacers fell to 2-1.
With their team down 31-16, Hayes’ Corbin May (182 pounds), Jacob McCloskey (195) and Nathan Robinson (220) picked up back-to-back-to-back wins, two via pins, to even things up at 31 with one match to go.
May forced Darby’s Justen Shaw to the mat in 3:56, McCloskey slipped past Bradley Weaver 3-1 and Robinson pinned Blayne Barnes in 1:32.
The run ended there, though, as the Panthers’ Rodney Beneker (285) pinned the Pacers’ JVon Cain in the final match of the night to smooth out the scoring summary.
“Their guys did a better job fighting and keeping matches to decisions,” Rieman said. “They were the better team tonight, but our guys are ready to get back to work tomorrow.”
Hayes lost three of the first four matches to fall into an early 15-4 hole. Zack Raquepaw (132) and Zach Williams (138) got the Pacers back into things, though. Raquepaw knocked off Darby’s Ryan Cade 6-2 before Williams picked up a 16-1 tech fall against Muneeb Ajouni.
Other Hayes winners included Tamas Eder, who won via a 16-3 major decision at 106; and Emmett Cain, who won 9-0 at 160.
Also: Olentangy Berlin 67, Thomas Worthington 6; Olentangy 37, Westerville South 28; Olentangy Liberty 50, Olentangy Orange 17
