High expectations for Hewlett wrestling

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After finishing among Nassau County’s top dozen wrestling teams last season, Hewlett returned the bulk of its roster and appears to have enough horses to challenge for a championship.


The Bulldogs busted out of the gate with impressive showings in back-to-back tournaments, finishing third in the Battle at the Beach on Dec. 6 and then capturing the Sprig Gardner the following week. They had three individual champs in the Long Beach event, and four more in the Sprig, hosted by Bellmore-Merrick.


“We’re pretty excited,” coach Stephen Jones said. “We’re looking to be a top five dual meet and the county tournament team. The kids’ goal is to win one of them.”


Junior Owen Bachelder (138 pounds) and senior Charles Tsakh (160) took first in both tournaments. Jones said Bachelder, who placed third in the county last season at 132 pounds after winning the Nassau 126-pound title as a freshman, is among the most talented wrestlers in the county. “Owen’s a two-time state qualifier,” Jones said of Bachelder, who beat Jack Scurti of Half Hollow Hills East, 9-2, in the finals of the Sprig, and Long Beach’s Elijah Rodriguez, 2-0, in the Battle at the Beach finale.


Tsakh’s run to the Battle at the Beach title was capped by a pin of East Meadow’s Joshua Levenson at 1:11. The two met again Dec. 13 in the finals of the Sprig, and Tsakh took a 9-4 decision for the crown to help the Bulldogs to the team title in the 11-school field. “Charles fell just short of All-County and is looking to get there this season,” Jones said.


Hewlett compiled 230 points to edge Commack (228.5) and East Meadow (227) in a hotly contested Sprig. The Bulldogs had six finalists, including 132-pound champ Lucas Pincus and 285-pound champ Mike Curiel.

Pincus, a sophomore who was All-County as an eighth-grader when he placed sixth in Nassau, grinded out a 3-1 win over East Meadow’s Andre Cunha in the finals. In the Battle at the Beach, Pincus lost in the finals to defending state champion Vito Arujau of Syosset.


Curiel, a junior, pinned South Side’s Jason Dantona in 27 seconds to win the Sprig a week after he was nipped by senior teammate Paul Lane, 2-1, in the finals in the Battle at the Beach. Lane came back to grab fourth at the Sprig. “Mike and Paul are both beasts,” Jones said. “They’re two of the top guys in the county.”


Senior Alex Gordon (182) and senior Stephen Salerno (220) both made the finals in the Sprig, while junior Terry Micourt (182) was a finalist in the Battle at the Beach. Salerno took third in Long Beach, while senior Tredd Smith was fourth at 195. Smith also had a big pin in Hewlett’s 40-39 dual meet victory over Seaford on Dec. 17.


Hewlett is considered the team to beat in Conference 3B, which includes Bethpage, Glen Cove, Lawrence, North Shore and Roslyn.