By Andy Walter

CAMDEN — Trevor Copes was just a kid the first time he wrestled for a state title.

And the then-14-year-old Milford eighth grader was facing one of the state’s best all-time wrestlers, Smyrna’s Gabe Giampetro.

But Copes also knew he had nothing to lose.

“I was pretty nervous going up against a nationally ranked wrestler,” said Copes. “But I didn’t really feel the pressure. There was no pressure to really feel — I was in eighth grade.

“All the pressure was on the junior going for his third state title. It just felt good. ... It just got me excited for the years to come.”

Three seasons later, state finals have become familiar territory for Copes.

Now a junior at Caesar Rodney High — he transferred from Milford to CR two years ago — Copes has reached a state championship match for three years in a row.

With the Henlopen Conference tournament beginning today at Sussex Central, the 126-pounder is starting a path that he hopes will lead him back to a fourth-straight state final.

The Henlopen preliminary round is slated for 5 p.m. today in Georgetown with the quarterfinals starting at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the semifinals are scheduled for 11 a.m. with the finals expected to start at 4:30 p.m.

CR's Trevor Copes has lost only three times this season as a junior. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY STATE NEWS/GARY EMEIGH.

Copes is one of eight wrestlers who are back after winning Henlopen titles a year ago.

The fact that Copes is still trying to win his first state crown doesn’t faze the 17-year-old. Twice he had to face Giampietro for the title while last year he fell to Salesianum’s Cameron Davis in the finals.

“I came into my eighth-grade year thinking I could be a five-timer (state champion), of course,” said Copes. “But now that I’ve lost three already. ... I’m not afraid to lose any more. I can just go out there and have fun being the wrestler I know I can be now.

“For me, it’s not so much about winning state titles anymore. It’s more about the journey to the next level of wrestling after high school.”

During the regular season, Copes lost just three matches while winning three tourney titles. He also registered his 100th career victory.

Despite all his success, Riders’ coach Trey Mitchell said Copes is always trying to make himself better.

“He’s always willing to learn,” said Mitchell. “He’s always breaking down his video.

“Wins or losses, the first thing he does is he goes and watches what he can do better. He works hard. If he lost, he wants to beat you. If he beat you, he wants to beat you by more.”

Copes thinks he’s learned from being part of two different wrestling programs and working with two different coaches in Milford’s Don Parsley and Mitchell.

When he was in eighth grade at Milford, Copes said he realized he could beat older kids if he put the work in.

Trevor Copes, who started his career at Milford, lost to Smyrna standout Gabe Giampietro in each of his first two state finals. DAILY STATE NEWS FILE …

Mitchell said he doesn’t talk too much to Copes about his past accomplishments.

It goes back to a saying he tells his wrestlers: ‘The man who enjoys the journey goes further than the man who enjoys the destination.’ It’s just one match at a time.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt having a wrestler with Copes’ experience in the room. He’s the only current CR wrestler who’s won a Henlopen title.

Copes has wrestled in just two conference finals only because the tournament was canceled his eighth-grade season due to the COVID pandemic.

“As a team, we can all draw from each other’s experiences,” said Mitchell. “Definitely his experience in those big matches helps everyone.”

While all of Copes’ experiences in the state tournament haven’t been good ones, he’s ready to try it again.

Copes finds inspiration from the story his brother told him of a college wrestler. The wrestler never won a state title before capturing a national championship in college.

This time of year is always exciting for wrestlers.

“It’s just fun because, whatever you get, it’s what you put in,” said Copes.

“I still dwell on some of the times I lost,” he added. “But I can’t really be too mad about it. Obviously I didn’t work as hard as I could have — if I did I would be a state champion. I don’t let it bother me. I still have time.
“It keeps me hungry. I still have something to work for.”

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Bonus points

•Besides Copes, the other defending Henlopen champions are Sussex Central’s Malachi Stratton, Cape Henlopen’s Nicholas Walker, Indian River’s Jayvion Chandler, Laurel’s Stanley Pete, Lake Forest’s Nurrideen Ahmad-Statts, Cape Henlopen’s Patrick Donahue and Laurel’s Joseph Baynard. Donahue was named the Outstanding Wrestler at last year’s tournament.

•Downstate wrestlers won five of the 11 weight classes at the Delaware Girls’ Championships on Sunday. That included three winners from Sussex Tech: Logan Flood (138), MacKenzie Adams (145) and Lilly Nguyen (152).

The other downstate champions were Milford’s Autumn Littleton (114) and Smyrna’s Molly Bailey (126).

•Sussex Central’s Evan Cordrey (132) won all three of his matches with a pair of first-period pins, in helping the Golden Knights capture the DIAA Division I dual-meet state championship last week.

•Cape Henlopen junior Luke Arnold-Decyk posted pins in the Vikings’ last two matches in the DIAA Division I dual-meet state tournament. The 190-pounder’s pin with two matches remaining helped give the Vikings a 32-30 win over defending champion Salesianum in the semifinals.

•The DIAA individual state tournament will be held next Friday and Saturday at Cape Henlopen High.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at @DSNsports.