Local wrestlers thrive in same qualifier

Luck of the draw placed Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham at the same Nassau wrestling qualifier tournament where there was no shortage of excitement at Massapequa High School last Saturday.

Kennedy produced three champions on the way to a runner-up finish behind the hosts in the seven-team event, Calhoun had twins Anthony and Thomas Fitzsimmons emerge victorious, and Mepham’s Joel Zambrano stood tall and earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler award.

“We’ve had such a great season with 10 underclassmen in the starting lineup,” Kennedy coach Brian DeGaetano said. “We won the conference and carried the momentum right into the qualifier.”

The Cougars are sending at least 12 representatives to the Nassau County championships, which begin at 9 a.m. on Friday and conclude Sunday night at Hofstra. Calhoun qualified at least seven; Mepham at least six.

Senior Tom Block (145 pounds), junior Matt Schwartz (152) and sophomore Eric Brach (99) brought home titles for the Kennedy, which had a 19-6 record in dual meets.

Block had a thrilling 9-8 win over Calhoun sophomore Alex Cruz in the finals “It was the best match I’ve seen all season,” DeGaetano said. “Tom won it with a takedown with about nine seconds left. He’s such a hard-working kid. It’ll be his first time in the county tournament.”

Schwartz capped a dominant performance in the qualifier with a technical fall victory over Ross Rubin of North Shore in the finals. He’s ranked sixth in Nassau and expected to contend for All-County status, DeGaetano said. Brach improved to 26-1 on the season with a win over Stephen Grabher of North Shore in the finals. 

Kennedy seniors Dan Arkow and Vinny Bagnasco, sophomore Sean Nanos (106), and freshman Jack Krug (132) also advanced to the finals. Arkow was topped by Anthony Fitzsimmons in the 170-pound title bout, 8-5. “Anthony just missed being All-County the past two years and he’s on a mission,” Colts coach Steve Romano said of Fitzsimmons, who is 32-0. “He’s looking to get to the county finals and take it from there.”

Thomas Fitzsimmons defeated Bagnasco in the 182-pound final by tech fall. “Thomas has lost only one match to a Nassau opponent, so we’re expecting big things from him at the county tournament also,” Romano said. 

Cruz’s tough loss to Block was one of a handful of tight matches he’s come up just short. “Alex is strong and scrappy,” he said. “He’s going up against older kids at 145 and is on the verge of taking the next step.”

Calhoun senior Isaiah Arroyo also lost a hard-fought final, 6-5, to Valley Stream South’s Joel Hernandez at 160. “It was back and forth,” Romano said.

Mepham’s Zambrano, a county finalist last winter and two time All-County performer, enters the big stage at Hofstra with a record of 32-3. None of his losses are to Nassau-based opponents. He beat Massapequa’s Shane Gibbons, 3-2, in the finals of the qualifier at 113. “Joel’s goal is to win a county title,” Pirates coach Rich Anderson said.

Mepham junior Jose Pineda, a first-year competitor, was runner-up at 220. Senior Chris Juchem (182), junior Greg Laupheimer (145) and sophomore Jeremy Pekoff (106) all placed third.