DePaul’s Ricky Cabanillas savors title with home and family by Darren Cooper of The Record
ATLANTIC CITY – Ricky Cabanillas will share his state title with his hometown, his school and most importantly, his family.
The DePaul junior capped a savage run through the 145-pound bracket with a 5-2 win over Nick Bennett of Delsea Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Cabanillas, a Whippany resident, was aware that his hometown had never had a state champion before Sunday. He made a bold prediction that next year he wouldn’t be the only state champion in his house.
“Next year, Nicky and I will be the first twins to win a state title, I guarantee that,” said Cabanillas.
Nicky Cabanillas, younger than his brother by eight minutes, finished fifth at 126 pounds, and he stood nearby his brother as he was interviewed soaking in the scene.
“There is no bond stronger than what Nicky and I have,” said Ricky. “We do everything together. To the day I die, we will be connected. I hope him seeing me win this gives him the determination to come back next year.”
Ricky showed determination and grit in his final against Bennett. He showed that he could get in deep on his shots early, but didn’t score until late in the first period and led 2-0.
“We knew nothing about [Bennett],” said DePaul coach Keith Karsen. “We wanted to go out there and get that first takedown and go up, and I guess he kind of a pulled back a little more than we like.”
MORE: Mickey O’Malley caps undefeated season with title
MORE: Complete results of NJSIAA Wrestling championship finals
MORE: Don Bosco’s Peter Acciardi wins 220-pound title
It was 3-1 Ricky early in the third when Bennett came at Ricky and briefly had him in a tough spot, but
the DePaul junior was able to scramble out of danger. A few seconds later, Ricky got a second takedown to go up 5-1 with less than a minute left. Then it was just a matter of who to hug first.
“We knew Bennett had headlocked a few guys earlier in the tournament, and he almost got him there at the end a little bit, we wanted him to finish low and keep his head down,” said Karsen. “He’s hard to score on. Even if you got him, he’s so strong, he would just muscle his way free.”
Ricky was a silver medalist last year at the same weight class, losing to Lenape Valley’s Nick Palumbo in the final. Karsen said that Ricky seemed comfortable in the weight class this season, so there was no reason to change, but Ricky drew laughs though when he said he was going out to celebrate Sunday night and would be “160 pounds” by the morning.
Ricky celebrated his victory by giving his father a big hug matside. The NJSIAA is now allowing parents to sit on one corner of the mat to watch the finals. That added to the moment in a big way.
“Without them I’m nothing,” said Ricky. “The tattoo on my chest says without my family I am nothing, and really, without them, I am nothing. Ever since I was little, my Dad drove me to practice and paid for the best coaches and Nick always keeps me going. I feel good I brought it home.”