PALISADE – When it’s needed, good teams and good athletes find a way to win.

And when the chips were down, the Rifle wrestling team and David Suminski found the extra gear to pull themselves to dual meet victories over Delta and Palisade Thursday night at the Palisade Triangular.

Suminski, who recently moved up a weight class from 135 to 140 pounds, found himself and his team in a perilous position against the Class 4A No. 7-ranked Delta Panthers.

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With his team down by three team points, heading into the 14th and final match of the dual, the Bear senior had to earn a major decision over Delta’s Anthony Laurita to give the Bears a win.

Suminski’s 5-0 victory against Laurita was just enough to put Rifle over the top.

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After seeing the match score go back-and-forth between the two teams, the Bears posted a 30-27 victory, which, combined with the 46-18 rout over Palisade, should move the Bears up a couple of spots in the state polls from its current No. 9 spot.

“Everyone wrestled real well tonight,” said Rifle coach Jim Suminski, who is also David’s father. “It came down to that last match with Delta, and David had to have a major and he got it.”

Rifle appeared to have a opening against the Panthers with a 12-point advantage when Delta left two weights open.

But, Jim Suminski knew better.

“You can’t count the meet on those open weights,” he said. “Those weights had two of our best kids in them.”

Delta overcame the deficit quickly.

The 12-0 lead vanished in the meet’s eighth match when Delta’s Derek Brewer scored an 11-0 major decision over Rifle’s 119-pounder Tyson Thompson.

Delta added to its 22-18 team lead when Chris Gilder scored a 10-3 win against the Bears’ Rodney Long in the 125-pound match. With two straight major decisions earned in as many matches, Cody Ward stopped the Panthers’ run with a 10-3 win over Bo Morgan at 130.

Delta’s Brent West returned the favor in the following match, downing Tyler Case, 12-1, to set up David Suminski’s comeback effort.

After the dramatic win over Delta, Palisade was a snap.

The Bears won 11-of-14 matches against the host Bulldogs. Four Rifle wrestlers won their matches with pinfalls. But, the biggest upset of the night came in the when Nick Worley earned a 15-6 major decision over Travis Bounds, who was ranked among the state’s top three wrestlers in the 4A 189-pound class.

In the pinfall decisions, Case recorded the quickest win – 1 minute, 18 seconds over Joey Logsdon. Ward defeated Bulldog Jeremy Winn at 2:42 in the 130-pound match. Heavyweight Kye Hunter took 3:21 to wrap up Dustin Deprospo and Rodney Long dispelled Palisade’s 125-pounder from the mat in 5:18.

Rifle concludes it’s weekend at the 16-team Pueblo Centennial tournament Saturday.

Rifle 30, Delta 27

103 – T. J. Foley (D) dec. Eddie Kreimier (R), 4-0; 112 – Abe Kincaide (D) dec. Luke Wooten (R), 5-3; 119 – Derek Brewer (D) major dec. Tyson Thompson (R), 11-0; 125 – Chris Gilder (D) major dec. Rodney Long (R), 10-3; 130 – Cody Ward (R) major dec. Bo Morgan (D), 10-3; 135 – Brent West (D) major dec. Tyler Case (R), 12-1; 140 – David Suminski (R) major dec. Anthony Lauita (D), 5-0; 145 – Dane Schaffer (R) dec. Tyler Moffitt (D), 5-3; 152 – Casie Dunlap (R) win by forfeit; 160 – Jesse Long (R) dec. Kevin Moffitt, 8-7; 171 – Anthony Alfini (R) dec. Trevor Jones (D), 6-4; 189 – Cody Hudson (D) major dec. Nick Worley (R), 12-0; 215 – James Schaffer (D) pinned David Lowell (R), :40; 275 – Kye Hunter (R) win by forfeit.

Rifle 48, Palisade 18

103 – Eddie Kreimier (R) dec. Zack Harvey (P), 8-4; 112 – Luke Wooten (R) dec. Forest Snyder (P), 5-3; 119 – Tyson Thompson (R) dec. Tim Wynn (P), 7-6; 125 – Rodney Long (R) pinned Howie Tate (P), 5:18; 130 – Cody Ward (R) pinned Jeremy Winn (P), 2:42; 135 – Tyler Case (R) pinned Joey Logsdon (P), 1:18; 140 – David Suminski (R) major dec. Rocco Weaver (P), 13-0; 145 – Dane Schaffer (R) major dec. Tyler Barnes (P), 9-3; 152 – Casie Dunlap (R) win by forfeit; 160 – Dustin Harris (P) dec. Jesse Long, 6-2; 171 – Anthony Alfini (R) win by forfeit; 189 – Nick Worley (R), major dec. Travis Bounds (P), 15-6; 215 – Eric Easterbrook (P) pinned David Lowell (R), 3:48; 275 – Kye Hunter (R) pinned Dustin Deprospo (P), 3:21.