Upper weights lead Lawrence wrestlers

A lack of overall depth made winning dual meets a difficult proposition for the Lawrence wrestling team, however, it didn’t stop the Golden Tornadoes from having success on the mat. A slew of grapplers advanced to the county championships after solid performances at last Saturday’s Nassau Qualifier hosted by East Meadow High School.

Seniors Dimitri Samuels and Hamza Ramza lead a group of six Lawrence wrestlers who will compete for county supremacy. Both Samuels and Ramza began the season ranked atop their respective weight classes. 

Head coach Dom DelVecchio expected the team to have difficulty posting wins in dual meets, and isn’t surprised that he has wrestlers competing for county titles. “It’s tough to win dual meets when you have to forfeit so many weight classes,” DelVecchio said. “When you start the meet down 24 points, it’s tough to overcome. We didn’t have many lightweights, but we did very well in a lot of weight classes.”

Samuels is one of those wrestlers who had a solid season, and might be the guy to beat in the county tournament at 285 pounds. After finishing fifth in Nassau as a junior, Samuels is 25-0 in 2014-15. This year’s tournament could be his to lose.

Ramza was a county finalist as a junior. He’s 32-1, with his only loss coming in the county qualifier to East Meadow’s Marcus Watkins. DelVecchio believes that if Ramza wrestles to his ability, he has a very good chance at earning the county title at 220.

Senior Oskar Puk (34-1) enters the county tournament as the No. 2 at 152 after winning the qualifier. DelVecchio attributes Puk’s hard work and dedication to his success. He expects Puk, whose only loss came to top-ranked Elias Kokalis of Great Neck South in early January, to be a tough out at the county tournament, which begins Friday morning and concludes Sunday evening at Hofstra.

Junior Great Ezihia had a solid season on the mat in the 182-pound class. Ezihia, who went 21-10, and took first place at the annual Ralph Jansson Holiday Tournament at Valley Stream North, finished third at the qualifier. DelVecchio said Ezihia can place at the counties.

After finishing a match short of being All-County as a junior, Anthony Doll spent most of the season nursing a football injury, and didn’t get on the mat until January. When he returned, he posted a 12-5 record, and qualified for the county tournament at 170.  

Freshman Chris Vinas finished in fifth place at 113 at the qualifier. DelVecchio believes Vinas’s best wrestling is ahead of him.