GEORGETOWN — The Caesar Rodney High wrestling team will be relying on the middle of its order a lot this season as it looks to defend its Division I dual meet state championship. That middle carried the Riders to a Henlopen Conference Northern Division victory on Wednesday. Caesar Rodney won the last six matches to earn a 42-21 dual meet win at Sussex Central High. The contest pitted the two most recent Division I dual meet title winners against each other. The Riders moved to 2-0 in the Henlopen North and 4-1 overall. “The middle of the lineup is where we are best,” said CR 132-pounder Pat Wisniewski. “We know we need our hammers to score big and rack up bonus points. That’s eventually what we did.” Sussex Central dropped to 2-1 in the North and 4-1 overall. The Golden Knights led 18-6 after four matches and were on top at the halfway point 18-15. Mike Primo recorded a pin for the Riders at 126 pounds which tied things at 21-21. Wisniewski then deliv-ered a late takedown in his match to give CR its first lead of the dual. The Riders would not lose another match. “That was a big swing for us,” said CR assistant coach Chris Harris, acting as head coach for the night with Dan Rigby absent. “Then again, that’s where the heart of our lineup is right there,” Harris added. “We expect those guys to perform.” Wisniewski was down in his bout 3-2 with less than 20 seconds to go in the third period. He started his match-winning move with about 15 seconds left. He ended up earning a late takedown for two points plus two more back points. Those back points were critical after Wisniewski surrendered a late reversal with two seconds left and won the matchup 6-5 for a decision. “I knew I had to keep attacking and find an opening,” Wisniewski said of his winning move. “I saw it was there and I went for it.” Sussex Central’s 220-pounder Hiram Lasher puts Carson Timmons on his back to win by fall in the 1st period.[/caption] Ben Anderson (138) followed with a major-decision before Jackson Dean’s tech-fall at 145. Gabe Degraf-finreed won at 152 via decision and Riley Tracy’s pin at 160 wrapped things up. Sussex Central built its lead thanks to pins by Tarryl Sturgis (170), Michael Wright (195) and Hiram Lasher (220). The Riders responded with nine wins in the final 10 matches. Harris said one of the key victories came from freshman Marlon Smith who earned an 11-6 decision at 113. That match was one the Riders identified as one that could have gone either way prior to the dual. “He really stepped up and had a good match for us,” Harris said. Ryan Rigby added a pin for the Riders at 182. Kevin Hudson (285) and Dawson Mitchell (106) won their matches via decisions.

Mason Ankrom won the other match for Sussex Central thanks to a decision at 120.