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Young grapplers gain experience: Two wrestlers from Sussex reign at AAU tourney

By Glenn Rolfe, The Leader & State Register4/6/06

GEORGETOWN - Future hope is to someday have an organized club camp - a welcome mat of sorts for youngsters serious about competitive wrestling.

For now, parents and young wrestlers from western and central Sussex County are celebrating a recent bountiful weekend in New York's Great Lakes region.

Two mat marvels - Tyler Jump of Laurel and Jerome Dorsey of Seaford - placed first, leading the local place-winning parade at a regional Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournament held March 26 in the Buffalo suburb of Alden, N.Y.

The showing by wrestlers predominantly in Midget (9-10) and Bantam (11-12) age divisions from Georgetown, Gumboro, Laurel and Seaford in Alden followed competition in a monster one-day tournament at the Rochester Institute of Technology - a regional event featuring grapplers from the Great Lakes and Northeast areas.

The tourney at RIT played out before an estimated crowd of 3,000 spectators with approximately 2,000 entries, said Ken Carmichael, a spokesman for the Sussex County group.

Nearly 500 wrestlers competed in the Alden tourney. Eight local wrestlers participated in the two tournaments. Their trip included an overnight stay in Spencerport, N.Y., and sightseeing in Niagara Falls.

"The kids enjoyed it and they got some experience. That's pretty much what we were out for," said Carmichael. "This was kind of like 10 hours away. It was a lot of experience and for three of them to bring home first place in such a faraway place in pretty good."

At Alden, Tyler Jump reigned as the champion in the 50-pound class in the Midget Division (ages 9-10) while Jerome Dorsey, wrestling in the Bantam Division (11 and 12) topped the bracket in the 80-pound class.

In addition, five more wrestlers from Sussex placed at Alden. Nick Bennett and Charles West, both of Laurel, placed second, Demarco Dorsey and Matthew Tull, both of Seaford placed third and Chelsea Timmons (Gumboro) finished fourth.

Carmichael said Chelsea Timmons was one of about six female wrestlers in the tournament.

The eight local wrestlers all won their opening matches at Alden.

Gary Jump and Marvin Tull are coaches for the local group, which competes as a "team" under an unofficial Laurel wrestling club banner.

Carmichael, who wrestled for Sussex Central High School, said the goal is to have an official club to hopefully elevate the competition level to that of states known as wrestling hot-beds, such as Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Michigan.

"We're trying to form our own wrestling camp. Kids up there wrestle all year round," Carmichael said. "We're trying to form something where we can get kids in a routine of working year-round in wrestling and then we can be more competitive.

"Hopefully, with financial backing, we're talking about starting our own club in Georgetown for the younger kids so that they have something to do year-round," Mr. Carmichael said. "They have the Boys & Girls Club in Georgetown, but it's more like an after-school deal."

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