East Meadow pair win qualifier titles

East Meadow seniors Matt Power and Michael Tropiano were crowned champions at the Nassau County Qualifying Tournament hosted by Plainedge last Saturday, and nine Jets in all earned bids to this weekend’s Nassau County wrestling championships at Hofstra University. The final list of qualifiers for the county championships included second-place finishes by junior Adam Smith at 113 pounds and sophomore Matt Girsch at 99, three third-place finishers and a pair of fourth-place honorees.

“We’re going to keep our fingers crossed and see how this weekend goes,” coach Chris Critchley said of wrestling at Hofstra. “We’re hoping we are going to peak now.”

Power didn’t waste much time — or energy — in marching to the finals at 138 pounds, spending just 2:17 on the mats to knock off each of his first three opponents by pinfall. In running his record to 34-3 on the season, Power also controlled Roslyn’s Gabe Gallardo for a 6-1 victory in the championship round. After opening with a pin at the one minute mark of his first-round matchup, Power needed just 34 seconds to stop Plainedge’s Ryan Coder in the quarterfinals and 43 seconds to knock off Mike Barbuto of Valley Stream North in the semifinal round. Tropiano, a 145-pounder who missed chunks of the season due to various injuries, ran his overall record this season to 21-1 with his championship win.

“They both lost in the round before placing last season,” Critchley said. “Now they’re both champions and will be seeded. They’ve both already seen some tough competition.”

Smith had his run to a qualifying title ended by Plainedge’s Nick Scutellaro in a tight, 3-2, decision after winning his first three matches via major decision (one) and pin (two.) Coming on strong at the perfect time, Girsch turned continued work on his cradle into a pair of victories via pin, before getting pinned himself in the finals by Plainview’s Peter Pappas. “He’s able to defend [an opponent’s] shot and turn it into a cradle right away,” Critchley said of Girsch’s new finishing move.

Sophomore Josh Levenson continues to develop at 138, and earned his first trip to the County Tournament with a third-place finish. His classmate, Marcos Watkins also took third at 285, while senior Frank Clarke makes his third trip the counties after finishing third at 152. Freshman Andre Cunha (113) and junior Chris Santos (170) also qualified by taking fourth in their respective weight classes.

Clarke rolls in qualifier 

Clarke flexed its muscle in one of two Nassau Division II wrestling qualifiers last Friday, crowning seven champions on the way to finishing first in the four-team event. The Rams, coached by Mike Leonard, had junior Phil Liotta win at 106 pounds, sophomore Tyler Constantine take 113, junior Tom Stobe win at 120, senior Joe Weinberg prevail at 145, senior Justin Eufemia capture the 160-pound bracket, junior Michael Urso win at 170, and senior Enndy Nunez finish first at 220.