Oceanside earns conference crown

Of the 10 bouts Oceanside won Jan. 13 against visiting Farmingdale to clinch its first wrestling conference championship since 2004, all but 3 went the distance.

The Sailors sealed the crown in style by notching 7 pins, including the final three weight classes courtesy of junior Cole Parker (160), freshman Jared Marine (172) and sophomore Ben Rivezzo (189), capping a perfect run against Conference 1B rivals with a convincing 51-15 victory. The match was rescheduled from the previous week and changed sites because Farmingdale’s gym was unavailable.

“The boys knew what was at stake and they wanted that conference title really bad,” Oceanside coach Julio Flores said. “It was great to have the match at home. We had a lot of alumni come out to support us along with all the other fans.”

The match began at the 215-pound weight class on a coin flip and the Sailors grinded out two hard-fought decisions to set the tone. Junior Andrew Cagno won the opener, 4-1, and senior Matt Maldonado followed with a 2-1 decision at 285. Freshman Jake Strainese (102) then needed just 90 seconds to record a pin and Oceanside had a quick 12-0 lead it would never relinquish.

Following a forfeit at 110, freshman Jesse Bittenbender got the Sailors back into the win column with a 4-2 decision at 118. The Dalers took the next bout, but the Oceanside pin party began immediately after at 132 when sophomore Dan Gilmore needed 2:42 to finish off his opponent. Seniors Johnathan Beitzinger (138) and Hugh Bittenbender (145) both needed barely three minutes to get the job done as well.

“Both teams came in undefeated so it made for a lot of excitement,” Flores said. “Our guys were really focused knowing it was 18 years since the team last won a conference title.”

In the dual meet playoffs Jan. 20, the Sailors couldn’t overcome four pins by Herricks and fell 34-26. Marine, Rivezzo, Maldonado, Strainese, Beitzinger and Hugh Bittnbender earned Oceanside’s wins.

“It was a little disappointing not to advance, but now we can’t wait for the qualifier,” Flores said.

Oceanside (12-5 in dual meets) and seven other teams — Hewlett, Freeport, South Side, Roslyn, Valley Stream North, Lawrence and Hempstead — will head to Long Beach on Feb. 5 for one of Nassau’s five qualifier tournaments. Flores says he’s hopeful at least 10 Sailors advance to the county’s big stage Feb. 12-13 at Nassau Community College. The top five finishers in each weight class in each qualifier will move on.

The Sailors captured one regular-season tournament, the Harold Earl hosted by Valley Stream Central where they went 5-0.

“Overall, we’ve stayed pretty healthy,” Flores said. “The guys have been working hard and wrestling well. Now we just want to have the best finish possible.”

In the latest county rankings, posted Jan. 16, Hugh Bittenbender (22-3 record) was listed third at 138, and Marine (21-4) fifth at 172. Strainese boasts the next-best mark at 17-4.