Dover’s Matt O’Neal, top, battles Sussex Tech’s Ben Price in the 106-pound. match during Wednesday night’s dual meet in the Senators’ gym. O’Neal scored a pin in 1 minute, 16.4 seconds. The Senators won the match 38-34. (Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)
Heavyweight Tyler Rosello’s 5-4 decision in the night’s final match gave Dover High a dramatic 38-34 victory over Sussex Tech in Henlopen Conference Northern Division wrestling on Wednesday night.
The match was the season opener for both squads.
It was the second straight season that the Senators started the season with a win over the Ravens. Dover finished 5-6 in dual matches a year ago in Aaron Harris’ first season as coach.
Girls’ basketball
Caesar Rodney 52, Hodgson 41: Jordan Moseley and Alissa Haith netted 24 points apiece as the Riders picked up the nonconference win on Tuesday.
Leading by only a point at halftime, CR (1-1) outscored the Silver Eagles 31-21 in the second half to pull away.
Haith and Moseley combined to sink 18 of the Riders’ 19 field goals and 12 of their 14 free throws.
Milford 49, Delmar 12: The Buccaneers outscored the Wildcats 27-0 in the fourth quarter after leading the Henlopen South contest by only a point at halftime.
Tyra Mifflin tallied a game-high 16 points for Milford with Jonae Boone adding 11, hitting three of Milford’s five three-pointers in its season opener.
Delmarva Christian 55, Holly Grove Christian, Md. 41: Ashlee McCoy scored 18 points and Camryn Breasure added 16 as the Royals improved to 3-1.
Delmarva Christian built a 47-24 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Boys’ basketball
Delmarva Christian 61, Holly Grove Christian, Md. 35: Micah Magee collected 21 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists to pace the Royals.
Magee added three of Delmarva Christian’s six three-pointers. The Royals (2-2) also got 13 points from Aaron Mollock and 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals from Liam Catron.
College football
UD’s Jefferson 14th in rookie voting: Already selected as the top rookie in the Colonial Athletic Association this past fall, Delaware running back Thomas Jefferson finished 14th in STATS Inc.’s voting for the national Freshman Player of the Year Award.
Northern Arizona quarterback Case Cookus was the landslide winner as Freshman Player of the Year as he earned 107 first place votes and 618 points overall to outdistance runner-up John Santiago, a running back from North Dakota who earned 15 first place votes and 457 points overall.
Jefferson took over the starting running back spot after standouts Wes Hills and Jalen Randolph went down with season-ending injuries early in the campaign and flourished. He finished with team-highs of 178 carries for 890 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards per carry and catching 10 passes for 64 yards.
He surpassed the 100-yard mark three-times, including a season-high 174 yards vs. William & Mary and 163 yards and two touchdowns against North Carolina. William & Mary shared the CAA title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA FCS Tournament while North Carolina is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation at the FBS level, advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, and will take on No. 17 Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29.
He currently ranks sixth in the CAA in rushing yards per game (80.9) and his 890 yards are the second highest total by a rookie in UD history, trailing only 2010 CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year Andrew Pierce (1,655 yards). Jefferson currently ranks No. 5 among all FCS freshmen in yards per game and No. 9 in yards per carry (5.0 avg.).
College cross country
Hens’ Alaimo honored: Delaware women’s cross country standout Gabby Alaimo has been selected to the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team.
Alaimo, a junior, was one of nine student-athletes who excelled in the classroom and on the course this season. A top student-athlete from each school was selected.
A team co-captain, Alaimo carries a 3.787 grade point average, is a CoSIDA Academic All-American nominee, a six-time CAA Academic Honor Roll recipient, a National College Athlete Honor Society member, and a Dean’s List student. She is a UD Student Alumni Ambassador, a team Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative, and has been active with the CAA Food Drive, Delaware Christian Athletes, UDance (fundraiser for pediatric cancer), and the MORE Foundation (used sneaker drive initiative by team to give to third-world countries).
One of the team’s top performers, she competed in seven meets during the 2015 season and posted two top 10 finishes with a seventh place showing at the UD Blue & Gold Invitational and an eighth place finish at Lehigh Invitational. She also was the team’s fifth leading finisher at CAA Championships with a 40th overall showing. She is also a top distance runner for the UD indoor and outdoor track & field teams.