Teemer, Rodriguez win county titles

It’s one “Drive for Five” down, one to go for Long Beach’s Jacori Teemer.

Last Sunday night at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex, Teemer became the second wrestler in Nassau history to capture a fifth county championship. He overcame an inadvertent elbow to his left temple to defeat North Shore junior Stephen Grabher by technical fall, 23-8, in the third period (5:15) of the 152-pound title bout.

“I’m a little upset I didn’t get the pin, because I wanted four [pins] in two minutes, but I’m excited about a fifth county title,” said Teemer, who joined Syosset’s Vito Arujau as Nassau’s lone five-time champs. “It’s a rare accomplishment. 

“He was quick and a good hand fighter,” Teemer said of Grabher, who knocked off Massapequa’s Garrett Gibbons in the semis. “I didn’t give in to his offense. I knew I could scramble and score off his shots, but he was tough.”

Teemer advanced to the finals on the strength of 85 seconds of work. In the semifinals on Sunday morning, he pinned Brandon Lopez of Great Neck South in 25 seconds. He was on the mat for a total of one minute the previous day, pinning Alex Skeries in the second round in 31 seconds, and Jonathan Rismany of Great Neck North in the quarterfinals in 29 ticks.

“It’s exciting, but at the same time I know Jacori’s mind is on Albany in two weeks,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. 

“He’s been a little banged up this season, but that’s pretty much behind him now,” he added. “He continues to work extremely hard to improve. His goal this season was to open up his offense and it’s made him that much more difficult to beat.”  

Teemer (28-0) will attempt to become the first Long Island wrestler — and second in state history — to win five New York State individual titles. The tournament is Feb. 23-24 at the Times Union Center. Last year, Teemer took home the 132-pound crown. He won at 126 as a sophomore, 106 as a freshman, and 99 as an eighth-grader.

Joining Teemer upstate will be senior Elijah Rodriguez, who made it back-to-back county titles with an 8-3 decision over Kennedy’s Boaz Smart in the 220-pound championship match. A key takedown gave Rodriguez, last year’s 195-pound champ, a three-point cushion against a talented opponent with a 24-pound weight advantage.

“I wrestled a very slow and controlled match against him last week in the qualifier,” Rodriguez explained. “I knew this time I had to be more physical and use my quickness because he’s a bigger kid.”

Like Teemer, Rodriguez was the No. 1 seed in his weight class and pinned his way to the finals. He pinned his first two opponents in less than a minute and took down Freeport’s Donovan Watson in the semis in 2:28.

The Marines had three other All-County finishers. Freshman Jeremiah Echeverria went 5-1 and placed third at 99, sophomore Max Maquet was fifth at 132, and senior Alex Michelman was sixth at 145.