Successful qualifier for Oceanside

Junior John Cannella led Oceanside’s strong effort in last Saturday’s Nassau wrestling qualifying tournament hosted by Plainedge by capturing the 138-pound title with a win over the Red Devils’ Ben Re in the final.

“It was a huge day for him,” Sailors coach Julio Flores said of Cannella, who recently recovered from an injury. “He wasn’t in a great rhythm after the injury, which was a concern going into the qualifier. But once he won his first match, we could see he was on his game and could win it.”

Cannella will be one of at least 10 Oceanside representatives at the county Division I championships at Hofstra this Saturday and Sunday. The Sailors had three runners-up, four third-place finishers, and a pair of fourth-place finishers at the qualifier.

“I’m very happy with our performance in the qualifier after we beat Lynbrook in the dual meet playoffs,” Flores said. “We put a lot of freshmen in the qualifier and they held their own. All of the team leaders had some big wins.”

Senior Quinn O’Rourke, who placed second in the county last winter, will try to earn another All-County medal at Hofstra after finishing runner-up in the 113-pound qualifier bracket to Farmingdale’s Kevin Depalma. “Depalma just got the better of Quinn this time,” Flores said. “Quinn’s been awesome all season and if they meet again at counties, I’m confident he’ll win.”

Flores believes junior Maquie Hyde, who was third at 113, can be an X-factor on the big stage at Hofstra. “He can be explosive and catch anyone with a pin,” Flores said.

Daniel Fishman is one of a bunch of impressive freshmen on the team and bound for the county event after finishing second at 99 pounds in the qualifier. “He’s a talented kid who a lot of people might be sleeping on right now,” Flores said. “He only has three losses all season and can do damage at counties.”

Senior Mike Fishman has proven a handful at 120 all winter and reached the finals of the qualifier before falling to defending county champ Kyle Mosher of South Side. “Mike’s as strong as a moose for his weight class and came into the qualifier wrestling with a lot of confidence,” Flores said. “Mosher is a tremendous technical wrestler and Mike competed hard.”

Rob Espinal’s had an up and down campaign, the coach said, but was at the high end of the rollercoaster at the qualifier and finished third at 145. “He showed how determined he is,” Flores noted.

Senior CJ Kearney, who dealt with a shoulder injury last month, went into “beast mode,” Flores said, and took third at 170. Junior Riley Graham was fourth. “Getting two guys through in a difficult weight class was great,” the coach said.

Junior Roman Aguirre, a first-year grappler, was fourth at 182. “He’s learned and improved a lot,” Flores said. Zach Kluger was fourth at 160.

“You never know what can happen at counties,” Flores said. “It can be crazy, but I think we have some legitimate contenders to reach the podium.”