Posted: Feb 27, 2024
Sussex Wins Region 19 and Gulf Atlantic District Tournament-7 Qualify for Nationals-Barzano named Coach of the Year
Sussex continues their historic run by following up the school's first ever Conference Championship with a Region 19 and Gulf Atlantic District Championship, 7 national qualifiers, 3 individual champions and a Coach of the Year award.
Saturday February 17th the Sussex Skylander Wrestling Team went to Scranton, PA to Lackawanna College. This was the host site for the 2024 Gulf Atlantic District Championship which is comprised of Region 10, Region 19, and Region 20. This includes Virgina, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
This is an individual tournament where wrestlers look to qualifying for a spot at the National Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa on March 1st and 2nd . Also, the teams are scored based on each wrestler's results to award Team Champion and Runner Up. Sussex entered the tournament with only 1 wrestler as the 1st seed in their bracket. However, wrestlers understand seeding isn't everything. Every Sussex wrestler contributed to the team scoring by either earning bonus point victories or upsets over higher seeds. They were not discouraged but instead excited for the opportunity to prove that they were overlooked or underestimated.
As the day Progressed Sussex was around 5th as a team. After a great round of semis and wrestle backs, Sussex found themselves in 3rd place heading into the finals and placing rounds. Sussex had 3 in the Finals, 3 in the 3/4th place match and 1 in the 5/6th place match. Sussex finished with a 3rd two 4ths and 5th. As the pacing round completed and the finals began, the team race was tight as Sussex remained in 3rd. The day of amazing performances continued, Sussex was able to go 3 for 3 in the finals finishing the day with: 3 champions - Roman Citro(125) Seth Hagensen(133) and Thaylor Sibblies (157). Shawn Pawlowski (174) finished 3rd, Noah Ripley and Shane Saulnier finished 4th and Chris Casale finished 5th . This not only qualified 7 wrestlers for the National Tournament in Iowa but also was enough to push Sussex into 1st place as a team. Sussex won the Region 19 Championship; The Gulf Atlantic District Championship and Coach Nick Barzano was Awarded Region/ District Coach of the year. Coach Barzano was also placed on the ballet for National Coach of the Year along with 7 other coaches, this award will be presented in Iowa at the tournament.
The Sussex Westling Team will fly out to Iowa on Wednesday February 28th and continue to search for the school's first All-American and National Champion. Good luck Skylanders!