Six Owls reach county tournament

Lynbrook had four finalists in the Nassau wrestling qualifying tournament hosted by Long Beach on Feb. 5 and advanced six competitors to last weekend’s county championships at Hofstra.

Sophomore Charlie Curcio (125 pounds), junior Brandon Warshall (130), sophomore Matt Mott (189) and senior Jon Espinosa (215) all recorded at least two wins at the qualifier and were runners-up in their respective weight classes. Jason Espinosa (171) and senior Mario Puccio (285) placed fourth and also competed in the county tournament, while Dan Marom (125), Eddie Ferral (135), and Chris Francia (152) picked up All-Conference honors by finishing in the top six in the qualifier.

“We brought 13 kids to the qualifier and almost half of them got through,” Owls coach Bob Bennett said. “It was more than we’ve had in recent years, so I’m pleased.”

Bennett said it was tough to see Marom, the Owls’ leader in wins with 18, get upset as the No. 2 seed and fall short of reaching the county tournament. He lost to eventual champion Ricky Liang of Glen Cove and also fell to Glen Cove’s Rahul Nath, who picked up a wild-card berth to Hofstra as a result.

“Dan was one of our team leaders along with John Espinosa and one of the hardest workers in the room along with Curcio,” Bennett said. “It was just one of those things where nothing went his way in the qualifier. He’s looking to wrestle at the college level.” 

Of Lynbrook’s qualifying finalists, three suffered pins in the finals. Warshall fell to East Meadow’s Chris Dolan in 5:23, Mott was stopped by Anthony Rosa of Herricks in 52 seconds, and John Espinosa came up short against top-seeded Andrew Danziger of East Meadow in 2:22. Curcio lost a 9-4 decision to Glen Cove’s Ricky Liang.

“Curcio was our biggest surprise,” Bennett said. “I thought he’d get to Hofstra, but to finish second in the qualifier was impressive. He’s the type of kid who doesn’t care who he’s up against. He doesn’t get caught up in rankings. He just goes out and wrestles.”

Curcio upset top-seeded Nick Gangi of Mepham in the first round of the qualifier, avenging a regular-season loss in the process, then downed Long Beach’s Anthony Posada in the semifinals.

Puccio, who missed his junior campaign due to injury and got a late start this season along with a host of others after the championship football season carried into winter practice, won two regular-season tournaments and “battled right to the end every match,” Bennett said.

At Hofstra last weekend, Warshall added one victory.

Lynbrook competed against Bethpage, Glen Cove, Great Neck North, Lawrence and Valley Stream South in Conference 3B and came away with a 2-3 record in dual meets.