Darton State wins first District Championship; Hicks Coach of the Year

Darton State wins first District Championship; Hicks Coach of the Year
February 16, 2014

ALBANY – Darton State College shocked NJCAA wrestling as the Cavaliers took their first-ever Eastern District II Championship title, today at Darton, and head wrestling coach James Hicks became Darton’s first to win Eastern District II Coach of Year.

The Cavaliers went into the tournament ranked No. 30 in the nation, and hit the mats against higher ranked schools from the Northeast Coast, where wrestling has historically been stronger than the programs south of the Mason-Dixon line. Apparently, no one told that to the Cavaliers.

“I knew that if we wrestled well, we could win it,” Hicks said.

His team performed exceptionally well. The Cavaliers’ 197-pounder was injured prior to the tournament, so Darton was unable to compete in that weight class. The Cavaliers had to get the win by scoring extra points in the nine other weight divisions by way of pins, tech falls and major decisions.

“When you’re dominating matches, you get bonus points,” Hicks said. “That was the key to us winning with nine guys.”

Darton scored 94.5 team points. Nassau scored 87 to finish second, and Glouchester CC scored 78.5 to finish third.

Darton’s Davion Caston, Quitni Noel and Zach Wright all finished in 1st place in the lower weights of 125-lbs., 133 lbs., and 141-lbs., respectively. Their performances paved the way for the middle and upper weights.

“A lot of the upper weights came through this year,” Noel said. “That’s what makes us stronger than we were last season.”

The sophomore added, “And a lot of the schools underestimate us. I went into this with the mindset of this is my last year, you know, I got to win.”

Noel and teammates Caston, Wright, Orlando Nwade, Anthony Smith, Matt Carroll, Anthony Saulle and Jesse Rowland all qualified for the National Championship tournament, to be held in Spokane, Wash., beginningMarch 1.

 

See full results below:

 

 

 

 

NJCAA Eastern District II Qualifier Results for Darton College
125 - Quintni Noel (9-15) placed 1st and scored 13.50 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Quintni Noel (Darton College) 9-15 won by tech fall over Alex DeVito (Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology) 0-12 (TF-1.5 0:00 (20-3))
    Semifinal - Quintni Noel (Darton College) 9-15 won by decision over Etai Yonah (Gloucester Community College) 16-13 (Dec 10-6)
    1st Place Match - Quintni Noel (Darton College) 9-15 won by decision over Enriquez DeJesus (Nassau Community College) 4-4 (Dec 7-4)

133 - Davion Caston (11-2) placed 1st and scored 16.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Davion Caston (Darton College) 11-2 received a bye () (Bye)
    Semifinal - Davion Caston (Darton College) 11-2 won by fall over Santiago Valdez (Nassau Community College) 6-8 (Fall 1:41)
    1st Place Match - Davion Caston (Darton College) 11-2 won by injury default over William Elliot (Gloucester Community College) 13-4 (Inj. 0:00)

141 - Zach Wright (14-6) placed 1st and scored 16.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Zach Wright (Darton College) 14-6 received a bye () (Bye)
    Semifinal - Zach Wright (Darton College) 14-6 won by fall over Richard Dennison (SUNY Sullivan) 21-10 (Fall 6:27)
    1st Place Match - Zach Wright (Darton College) 14-6 won by fall over Travis McDowell (Gloucester Community College) 22-7 (Fall 4:39)

149 - Orlando Nawade (15-10) placed 4th and scored 2.00 team points.
    Semifinal - Daniel Pak (Gloucester Community College) 32-3 won by major decision over Orlando Nawade (Darton College) 15-10 (MD 10-0)
    3rd Place Match - DeAndre Johnson (Spartansburg Methodist College) 20-5 won by fall over Orlando Nawade (Darton College) 15-10 (Fall 0:44)

157 - Anthony Smith (11-7) placed 2nd and scored 9.00 team points.
    Semifinal - Anthony Smith (Darton College) 11-7 won by major decision over Cole Cameron (Gloucester Community College) 20-7 (MD 8-0)
    1st Place Match - Kyle Wade (Nassau Community College) 14-5 won by fall over Anthony Smith (Darton College) 11-7 (Fall 1:33)

165 - Matt Carroll (10-10) placed 2nd and scored 11.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Matt Carroll (Darton College) 10-10 won by fall over William Thomas (Spartansburg Methodist College) 7-4 (Fall 2:28)
    Semifinal - Matt Carroll (Darton College) 10-10 won by decision over Anthony Dawson (Gloucester Community College) 13-8 (Dec 7-6)
    1st Place Match - Adam DeJesus (Nassau Community College) 9-7 won by major decision over Matt Carroll (Darton College) 10-10 (MD 14-6)

174 - Anthony Saulle (4-3) placed 2nd and scored 13.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Anthony Saulle (Darton College) 4-3 won by fall over Kevin Thomas (Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology) 3-10 (Fall 0:30)
    Semifinal - Anthony Saulle (Darton College) 4-3 won by fall over Angelo D`Agostino (Middlesex Community College) 5-7 (Fall 5:43)
    1st Place Match - Nick Moore (Gloucester Community College) 19-6 won by fall over Anthony Saulle (Darton College) 4-3 (Fall 4:51)

184 - Emory Searles (9-12) placed 4th and scored 3.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Nick Dell Priscolli (Gloucester Community College) 17-9 won by decision over Emory Searles (Darton College) 9-12 (Dec 4-1)
    Cons. Round 1 - Emory Searles (Darton College) 9-12 won by decision over Zackary Baron (Nassau Community College) 7-7 (Dec 10-3)
    Cons. Semi - Emory Searles (Darton College) 9-12 won by decision over Cole Leighton (Spartansburg Methodist College) 12-8 (Dec 11-7)
    3rd Place Match - Nick Dell Priscolli (Gloucester Community College) 17-9 won by decision over Emory Searles (Darton College) 9-12 (Dec 7-5)

285 - Jesse Rowlen (4-10) placed 2nd and scored 11.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Jesse Rowlen (Darton College) 4-10 received a bye () (Bye)
    Semifinal - Jesse Rowlen (Darton College) 4-10 won by fall over Nick Brennan (Nassau Community College) 5-9 (Fall 1:35)
    1st Place Match - John Griswold (Spartansburg Methodist College) 20-2 won by decision over Jesse Rowlen (Darton College) 4-10 (Dec 10-4)